#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
§ Senior Client Manager at Point It Digital Marketing
§ 5 Years in PPC
§ Oversee $35M in Yearly Media
§ Global SEM Program Lead
§ 20 Person Team
§ 30 Languages
§ 60 Markets
§ 2015 US Search Award “Young Search Professional”
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
ASK YOURSELF…
WHO
are your competitors?
WHAT
kind of competitors are they?
WHERE
are they competing with you?
WHY
are they competing with you?
WHEN
should you take action?
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
WHO
are your competitors?
Assumption: I know exactly who my online competitors are!
Pull Auction Insights data to determine:
• Who are my relevant competitors in PPC?
• If domains showing ads with aren’t relative, are you bidding on the right keywords?
Then, take that data & make it actionable!
• No, not by starting at rows & rows of raw data in Excel…
• We’ll review my favorite PPC competitor analysis tools that can help you visualize your competitor trends
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
WHAT
kind of competitors are they?
Assumption: All my competitors are exactly the same
Research domains showing with yours ads to identify
• Affiliates
• CSEs • OTAs
Understand if you’re getting the full story
• Can’t distinguish partners pointing to the same domain – it’ll all be lumped under “You” in Auction Insights
• Escalate non-‐approved trademark users
• Search Arbitragers • Resellers • “True” Competitors
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
WHERE
are they competing with you?
Assumption: Non-‐branded keywords see the most competition
Label top performing keywords, including Branded!
• Don’t pull out your hair trying to monitor every single keyword
• Your “cash cows” are going to see the quickest impact if competitor enters and inflates CPCs to push you out
Set up alerts, reports, & automated bidding rules
• Set up automated Search Impression Share Reports
• Use Google & Bings automated rules when competitors getting more aggressive to maintain crucial impression share
• Test Google’s Portfolio Strategy: Target Page Location
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
WHY
are they competing with you?
Assumption: I only need to worry about my copy, not my competitor’s
Review competitor ads regularly
• What are your competitors offering?
• Are they using clear CTAs? • In a heavily occupied vertical, how are they standing out?
• I’ll share my favorite competitor ad monitoring tools in next slides
Test your messaging tactics
• The proof is in the pudding! Test copy to see what drives results
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
WHEN
should you take action?
Assumption: I’ll worry about my competitors later
Later? You cray cray! Take action now § Don’t spend every waking moment obsessing § Your first priority should be driving results for your account § But competitors can rock your boat, and knowing how to
steer the ship is the first step in the right direction Take your ego out of it, be smart, & use the 5 W’s
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS TOOL
§ Research US + INTL markets § PLA vs. Paid Search trends § Domain vs. Domain § Desktop vs. Mobile ad copy
3rd Party Tools NOTE: I was not paid by any of these tools
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS TOOL
§ Google vs. Bing ad copy § First & last seen dates of ads
(how often competitor testing?) § Ad lists with URLs
(including tracking parameters)
3rd Party Tools NOTE: I was not paid by any of these tools
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS TOOL
§ Color-‐coded ad change grids § Highlights top performing ads § Venn diagrams of shared
keywords (paid & organic) § Segments top competitors
(paid & organic)
3rd Party Tools NOTE: I was not paid by any of these tools
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS TOOL
AdWords Keyword Planner Review relative impression share for new keywords compared to
top market leaders & similar advertisers in your
keyword categories
Using Keyword Planner Tool
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS TOOL
BrainLabs Auction Insights Script (my favorite!)
• Copy/paste their script into Google Sheet • Pull segmented campaign data • Pull segmented Auction Insight data • Throw both into Google Sheet • Automatically generates graphs that
illustrate competitive metrics alongside your trending CPCs
Using Auction Insights Data
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS TOOL
Segmented Reporting Can segment Auction Insights data by Time and/or Device to get the fuller picture of your competitor
trends
Using Auction Insights Data
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
Don’t let your PPC competitors drive you crazy
Reactive PPC tactics can result in A LOT of wasted time & spend
Your approach should be
smart & strategic
BE A SMART COOKIE
#SMX #32B @MaddieMarketer
Check out my blog post on these
PPC Competitor Analysis Tools!
www.pointit.com/blog/
ppc-competitor-analysis