Want Stronger Google Ads? Start With Competitor Research

Article by: Jake Cronin, Paid-Ads Specialist

Step 1: Identify Your Real Competitors Using Auction Insights

Before you go searching the web for brand names you think you’re competing with, take a look at Google’s own data.

In your Google Ads account, head to the Auction Insights report. This tells you exactly which advertisers are appearing alongside you in the same auctions – based on impression share, overlap rate, and other useful metrics.

Key things to look for:

Who’s showing up most often in the same searches?
Who’s consistently outranking you?
Are there any new names you hadn’t considered before?

This is your real competitive set – not just the brands you think you’re competing with.

Step 2: See Their Actual Ads in Google’s Ads Transparency Centre

Now that you know who’s showing up, it’s time to see how they’re showing up.

Head to the Google Ads Transparency Centre – it’s a free tool that lets you search for any advertiser and view their current ads across search, display, video and app formats.

What to look for:

Common offers or promotions
Repeated CTAs or headlines
How they position their brand (tone, language, structure)

You can even filter ads by date, so you’re not just seeing old campaigns – you’re getting a live view of what they’re running right now.

Step 3: Optional – Use Paid Tools for Deeper Insight

If you want to go beyond surface-level research, tools like SpyFu or SEMrush can give you a deeper view of your competitors’ ad history.

These tools can show you:

Which keywords they’re targeting
How long specific ads have been running
Historical copy trends and changes

The key insight here? Ads that have been live for six months or more are usually performing well. If a business is putting consistent spend behind a message, there’s a reason for it.

Look for patterns across their messaging, promotions and calls to action – these can inform how you position your own ads to stand out.

Step 4: Use What You’ve Learned to Build Smarter Ads

Once you’ve gathered this intel, you’re no longer guessing. You know:

Who your true competitors are
How they’re showing up in the market
What angles and offers they’re leaning on
Where there’s opportunity to be different or better

Use this to guide your messaging, test new hooks, and position your offer in a way that’s both relevant and unique.

Jake Cronin

Paid Acquisition 🚀

Christian Horne

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