Whether you're in tech, retail, or any other niche, understanding how competitors structure their ads, what messages they convey, and which channels they use can provide valuable insights. A competitor ads analysis allows you to identify new opportunities and gaps that you can use to your advantage.
In this article, we'll be covering below to help you analyze competitor ads like an experienced marketer:
Competitor ads analysis involves examining your competitors' advertising strategies to understand their strengths and weaknesses. It helps you learn from their successes and avoid their mistakes, making your marketing efforts more refined and cost-efficient.
You can focus on these common ad types for your competitor ads analysis and fine-tune your strategy from there.
Using the right tools for competitor ads analysis allows you to automate the process and save time. Here are some effective tools and methods:
Kaya: Competitor Ad Intelligence Tool consolidates ad data from ad libraries like Google Transparency Center and Meta Ads Library to analyze key information, such as:
The two-pronged approach of Kaya’s Competitor Ad Intelligence Tool allows you to improve your sign-ups and overcome creative blocks. Curious about your competitors' ad strategies? Uncover their secrets with a free report here.
SEMrush: SEMrush provides comprehensive competitor ad analysis covering PPC, display ads, and more. It helps startups understand where competitors are investing their ad budgets and how effective those investments are.
SpyFu: SpyFu allows you to see every keyword competitors have bought on Google, every ad variation, and how they performed.
Although they may take a bit more time than competitor ad analysis tools, manual searches are a cheap and realistic way to find competitor ads and engage in discussions with industry experts. Here are some manual search strategies for competitor ad analysis.
Once you find ads on different platforms, you want to zoom in and extract helpful insights quickly. Here are the ad elements to analyze in your competitor’s ads.
An effective ad copy should be compelling, clear, concise, and relatable, touching on the audience's needs and desires. It should address a specific audience and highlight the features and benefits of the product.
For instance, Stripe, a fintech startup, uses ad copy emphasizing ease of use and smooth integration, targeting developers with phrases like 'built for developers.' The messaging is clear, and there’s no ambiguity. The ad copy also communicates the USP, positioning Stripe as the solution for seamless global payments processing.
A strong CTA drives user action. CTAs also have several dimensions you can analyze aside from the text, such as their position in the ad, their customization, and the styling. Customized CTAs convert 42% more visitors, while Copyblogger increased its clickthrough by 45% after switching to button-shaped CTAs.
In the cited example, Stripe includes two CTAs. One in the first line and the other in the second line of the copy. The first, ‘Sign up with Stripe, ' targets audiences who are ready to use the service. The second ‘contact us’ targets those who need more information.
You also want to check if it is customized and contains powerful words, such as ‘Get started,’ ‘Join now,’ ‘Sign up for free,’ etc. DoorDash uses CTAs like 'Order now,' and ‘become a restaurant partner,.’ Although the CTAs target different audiences, they are both direct and lead the audience to take the next action.
Your competitors are likely targeting the same audience demographic as you. They may be doing better by going after an audience segment or locations that you may not have considered. They may also be retargeting to entice previous website visitors. Analyzing their target audience lets you see that. DoorDash emphasizes its home delivery, targeting people looking for convenient e-commerce.
Where and when ads are placed can impact performance. The type of product and target audience could also impact when and where competitors place their ads. Some timing may signal seasonality, new market opportunities, a product launch, or a strategic shift.
A fashion brand targeting teenagers and young adults would do well on a platform like TikTok. Around 68% of TikTokers are between 17 and 24, making it the most popular platform for the younger generation. HubSpot mainly advertises on LinkedIn because their products (CRM) target B2B companies and marketing professionals.
Visuals are crucial for capturing attention and conveying a message quickly. Consider visual elements in your competitor’s ads, like logos and ad images within search ads. These elements make ads memorable. Check the imagery, fonts, colors, and design aesthetics used in your competitor's ad visuals. Consider how these elements tie into the overall message and appeal of the ad. Consider LinkedIn’s display ad.
There’s a real pain in hiring—the cost and time. They address that with the message, insert a happy man, which denotes an ideal candidate and invite them to post a job for free. It balances messaging with visuals and CTA.
Choosing the right ad format helps you communicate in a way that resonates with your target audience. If you’re a healthy food brand, text ads will not cut it. You want to use videos and also make them conversational, like giving your audience the chance to try out the recipes at home.
No matter the ad type or tool, competitor ad analysis can be ineffective if not properly done. Here are best practices to help you extract the most impactful insights from your ad analysis.
Keyword research reveals high-performing keywords used by your competitors. It also gives you an insight into low-competition keywords that you can target.
On the one hand, you have keywords that you can compete on, and on the other hand, you can quickly assert dominance in the low-competition keywords before your competitors catch on. Not conducting keyword research will lead to low ad relevance and poor targeting, which results in higher costs per acquisition (CPA) and low conversion rates.
A SWOT analysis allows you to itemize the findings from the ad analysis. It offers a clear view of what works for your competitor’s ad strategy and the gaps you can exploit. It also shows you the threats, which are factors beyond your control. For example, you could identify platforms that are prone to ad blockers; if you run ads on such platforms, you risk losing your investment.
For a more in-depth analysis, consider looking into this Competitive Positioning Framework. Use this to compare against your competitors and identify your solution/benefit statements, core differentiators, category(s), and market position.
Remember, your competitors may be distinguished brands, emerging disruptors, as well as adjacent solutions. Explore brands that would complement your product or services. Brands that your customers trust and/or use together with your product may suggest opportunities for collaboration and integration.
Monitor the frequency and channels where your competitors place their ads. An increase in ad frequency or a shift in placement may indicate a higher ad budget commitment, seasonal promotions, or a new product launch. A high ad frequency may also suggest your competitors are aggressively targeting a new audience or engaging in retargeting to maximize conversion opportunities.
You can use Google Alerts to receive notifications about changes in a competitor’s Google ad activities. Alerts allow you to keep up with shifts in your competitors' ad strategies, such as new campaigns or changes in their messaging.
For instance, if a competitor stops running ads on a keyword, it is likely that such a keyword has become ineffective. Without alerts, you are unaware of that and continue to invest in those keywords, which could deplete your ad budget. Tracking competitor ads also allows you to stay agile and swiftly react to changes in your competitor’s ad strategies.
A/B testing involves comparing two versions of an ad to see which performs better. Use insights from competitor ads to inform your A/B tests. If a competitor's ad with a specific CTA performs well, you can A/B tests with variations, yours or that of another high-performing competitor.
For instance, if competitor A uses 'Sign Up Now' and achieves high conversions, test variations like 'Join Us Today' or 'Get Started’ in your ads. A/B tests work well because they are a data-driven approach that allows you to compare two options to see which works better.
Following the above best practices allows you to collect data-driven insights. But after that, you need to act. Here are practical tips on using the data from your competitor’s ad analysis.
Identifying trends and patterns: Following the insights from your competitor’s ad analysis, you can identify industry and ad platform trends. For instance, if you notice competitors focusing on holiday-themed ads in November, it indicates that seasonal campaigns are effective.
Benchmarking against your own ads: Compare their performance metrics against yours. Such side-by-side comparisons let you know how you stack up against your competitors. If you’re falling behind, you can take another look at their ad activities or A/B test their strategies against yours, from which you can improve based on the results.
Inspiration for new creative approaches: Competitor ads can inspire new creative ideas. Study their ad designs, messaging, and formats to spark creativity in your campaigns. If a competitor uses engaging video ads that perform well, consider incorporating video into your ad strategy to enhance engagement.
Adjusting your targeting and strategy: If you find out that your competitors are targeting demographics or platforms you have not considered, you can then readjust your ads to target that demographic or a subsection of it that fits closer to your product.
Enhancing your ad spend efficiency: Identify which ad types and placements yield the best ROI, and consider shifting resources to that. Also, monitor when your competitors stop running ads, as that could be a sign that the target keywords are no longer effective. It could also be that advertising on such platforms has become redundant. In both cases, you need to pull the plugs on your ads and focus on the better-performing ones.
Kaya uses competitor ad analysis to deliver impactful ad campaigns and ROI improvements for its clients. At Kaya, AI is fully integrated into our processes, easing marketing decision-making.
Kaya focuses on two key areas for competitor analysis, using the AI-driven Competitor Ad Intelligence Tool to consolidate ad data from ad libraries like Google Transparency Center and Meta ads library and analyze for information below.
For Google Ads, we look into the competitors’ keyword strategies, including their ad spend. By doing so, we've expanded our B2B tech startup clients' reach and significantly increased their sign-ups.
When it comes to Meta Ads, we analyze competitors' ad types, messaging, and offers. By studying their longest-running ads, we uncover successful themes and target audience insights. This helped us overcome a creative block for a B2C YC-backed startup client, leading to fresh, engaging ad content.
By combining AI-powered analysis with human expertise, Kaya delivers impactful ad campaigns that drive results. Our data-driven approach ensures that every marketing decision is informed, strategic, and tailored to each client's unique needs.
Competitor ads analysis gives you a clear idea of what competitors are doing right or wrong. However, many startups do not do it the right way. By following the outlined best practices, you can extract and act on the right data-driven insights.
Kaya’s Competitor Ad Intelligence Tool allows you to synthesize data from native ad libraries like Google Transparency Center and Meta Ads Library, from which you can identify effective keywords, assess ad relevance, and understand ad messaging. This simplifies your decision-making and helps you improve ROI quickly.
© Kaya Technologies Ltd.
