How to benchmark PPC competitors: The definitive guide
Prior to launching any PPC campaign, you must benchmark your competitors. This vital step will help you identify strategic best practices and set your account apart – which can improve performance dramatically.
On a more tactical level, benchmarking allows you to:
- Gather audience insights to better allocate budget.
- Assess ad quality and relevance to spark higher creativity levels.
- Identify ideal customer journeys that will improve conversion rates.
- Find common ground for comparison instead of using results from generic studies.
In this article, I will explore how to benchmark PPC competitors using accurate and reliable data sources.
1. Identify your PPC competitorsWhile in-house marketers know direct competitors and distributors by heart, online competitors may vary from real-life competitors. In practice, this means that you can identify other competitors as follows:
- Direct competitors: They offer nearly identical products or services. They are your most obvious competitors.
- Indirect competitors: They do not offer the same products or services but target the same audience. Think sleeping app vs. mattresses. Depending on the audience, they can be harmful or a mild nuisance.
- Distributors, affiliates and comparison sites: They promote your products and your competitors’. Half competitors, half partners: you should not ignore them.
To identify indirect competitors, I recommend you start by using Google Ads Auction Insights report. It is reliable and free (as long as you run a Search/Shopping campaign).
Select a keyword (preferably exact or phrase match type) and note competitors with high Impression Shares.
In the below table, you’ll find an example for mattresses. Notice direct, indirect and distributor competitors:
Legend:
– Direct competitors