How to analyze competitors’ Google Ads

Statista forecasts that Google's digital advertising revenue could hit nearly $340 billion by 2027, accounting for about 40% of global digital ad spend. With brands investing heavily in Google Ads, you must go beyond simply running campaigns. It’s time to actively analyze your competitors.

By analyzing competitor ads, you can uncover valuable insights into your competitors' strategies, refine your approach, and boost your return on investment (ROI). Understanding what works for them empowers you to craft better ad copy, optimize targeting, and pinpoint market gaps.

This is your resource for Google Ads competitor analysis and demonstrates how Google Ads competitors analysis software and tools like SOAX can help you gain a competitive edge. It also shows you how to check a competitor's Google Ads and provides actionable insights to refine your ad strategies.

So, whether you're using a dedicated Google Ads competitors analysis tool or software, this guide covers everything you need for a comprehensive analysis.

Why analyze competitors’ Google Ads?

Monitoring competitor ads isn’t just about keeping an eye on what others are doing, it’s about using data to refine your strategy and stay ahead.

Here’s why you should analyze competitor ads:

Understanding competitor strategies

Competitor ads reveal how they target audiences, structure messaging, and bid on keywords. Analyze ad copy, keywords, and landing pages to see what resonates with their audience, then apply those insights—possibly with improvements—to your campaigns.

If a competitor consistently uses a particular call to action or promotional offer, test that approach in your own ads.

Study their ad formats (video, text, shopping) and adapt their best ideas to boost your engagement and conversions.

Budget and spend insights

When you estimate a competitor's ad spend, you directly gauge their commitment to capturing market share. If you see them consistently bidding on high-value keywords, adjust your budget allocation accordingly and explore alternative keyword opportunities.

Track ad frequency and duration so that you can infer their ROI. If an ad runs for months, that likely means it delivers positive results. Conversely, frequent changes in messaging or keywords might indicate they struggle to maintain a strong ROI.

By tracking these metrics, you also learn how to check competitors' Google ads budget, so you can understand their spending patterns in detail.

International and local insights

Competitors adjust ad messaging by location. Analyze localized differences to understand how they tailor offers for specific markets. A company dominating one country might barely appear in another, giving you the chance to target less competitive regions.

Local ad analysis also uncovers cultural preferences and consumer behavior differences. Use these insights to craft campaigns that resonate with specific demographics and improve conversion rates.

Optimizing your ad strategy and discovering new opportunities

Identify gaps in competitor strategies and position your ads more effectively. If they miss certain keywords or neglect specific demographics, capitalize on those weaknesses to gain an advantage.

For example, if a competitor targets high-intent keywords but ignores informational search terms, develop content-rich ads to capture prospects early in the buyer’s journey.

Also, spot emerging trends. Such as increased use of video ads or shifts in product focus and act on these insights quickly to keep your brand ahead of the curve.

Manual methods to analyze competitor’s Google Ads

You can analyze competitor Google Ads using both manual and automated methods. Manual methods work well for quick insights, while automated tools help you track data continuously at scale.

Google Ads preview tool

The Google Ads Preview and Diagnosis Tool lets you see how ads appear for specific keywords in different locations. Since it doesn’t rely on your search history, it provides an unbiased view of the ad landscape.

1. Log into your Google Ads account.
2. Navigate to Tools & Settings > Ad Preview and Diagnosis.
3. Enter a target keyword and select your desired location, language, and device type.
4. Analyze the search results to see competitor ads and placements.

Pros:
✅ Provides a clean snapshot of localized ad results, free from personal search history
✅ Free to use (if you already have a Google Ads account)
✅ Allows you to test different locations and devices

Cons:
❌ You'll need to run it manually for each keyword and location
❌ Not scalable for tracking large volumes of data or ongoing monitoring
❌ Doesn’t provide deeper insights into ad performance or spend

While the Google Ads Preview Tool is useful for checking real-time results, it lacks automation. For deeper analysis and continuous monitoring, automated methods such as proxies and scraper APIs are more effective.

Incognito/private browsing searches

Performing Google searches in an incognito or private browsing window helps reduce the influence of your personal search history, giving a more neutral view of competitor ads. However, results may still be affected by factors like IP address and location.

1. Open an incognito (Chrome) or private browsing (Firefox, Edge, Safari) window
2. Manually enter your search query in Google

If analyzing ads for a specific location, append a location keyword (e.g., “best marketing software New York”).

Pros:

✅ Simple—no need for extra tools or accounts
✅ Helps reduce personalization effects caused by past searches

Cons:

❌ Results can still be influenced by IP address and geolocation
❌ Labor-intensive, requiring repeated manual searches
❌ Inconsistent for comparative analysis, as ad placements change dynamically

While this method provides a quick way to check where competitors are using Google ads, it lacks precision and scalability. For more accurate and repeatable results, automated tools like proxies and scraper APIs are better suited.

Localized keyword searches

Appending location-specific terms to your search queries can help you see ads targeted to different regions. However, Google often prioritizes results based on your actual IP address, making this method somewhat unreliable for true localized ad research.

1. Open Google Search in a browser.
2. Enter your search query, appending a location keyword (e.g., "hotel Paris" or "best marketing agency in London").
3. Review the ad placements and competitors appearing in the search results.

Pros:

✅ Quick for one-off checks—no extra tools required.
✅ Allows you to manually compare how competitors target different locations.

Cons:

❌ Google may still use your actual location to personalize results.
❌ Not efficient for tracking multiple locations or keywords at scale.
❌ Limited control over search variations beyond simple location modifiers.

Chrome developer tools for geolocation simulation

Google Chrome's Developer Tools allow you to simulate a different geographic location, providing a more precise way to check ads as they appear in specific areas.

1. Open Google Chrome and navigate to Google Search.
2. Press F12 (Windows) or Command+Option+I (Mac) to open Developer Tools.
3. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right of the page > More Tools > Sensors.
4. Under Geolocation, select Other and enter your custom latitude/longitude coordinates.
5. Refresh the Google search page to see ads as they appear in that simulated location.

Pros:

✅ Provides precise control over the simulated location.
✅ More reliable than manual localized searches.
✅ Useful for spot-checking how competitors target specific regions.

Cons:

❌ Requires technical know-how and manual setup.
❌ Not scalable for ongoing or automated ad monitoring.
❌ Limited to one location at a time, requiring frequent adjustments.

Automated methods

Automated methods let you collect large-scale competitor ad data efficiently. By using proxies and scraper APIs, you can track ad performance across multiple regions and keywords without manual effort.

Use proxies for geo-specific data

Proxies let you simulate browsing from different locations, allowing you to view localized Google Ads as if you were physically in those regions. This is useful for monitoring how competitors tailor ads to local markets.

1. Choose a proxy provider like SOAX that offers residential or mobile proxies
2. Configure your scraping tool or browser to route traffic through a proxy server in the desired location
3. Perform automated searches to collect localized Google Ad data

Example: Using Python with requests and SOAX proxies

import requests

proxies = {
  "http": "http://your_soax_proxy:port",
  "https": "https://your_soax_proxy:port"
}

url = "https://www.google.com/search?q=best+marketing+software"

headers = {
  "User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/110.0.0.0 Safari/537.36"
}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, proxies=proxies)

print(response.text)  # This will display the HTML of the search results

Pros:
✅ Bypasses geo-restrictions, providing accurate local search results.
✅ Enables multi-region data collection simultaneously.

Cons:
❌ Requires proper proxy management to avoid IP bans.
❌ Involves additional costs for high-quality proxies.

Use scraper APIs

Scraper APIs automate the extraction of Google Ads data by sending requests with predefined keywords, locations, and search parameters. This eliminates the need for manual browsing.

1. Choose a Google SERP scraper API (e.g., SOAX Scraper API).
2. Configure the API to send requests for specific keywords and locations.
3. Collect and parse the returned data in JSON or CSV format.

Example: Using SOAX Scraper API in Python

import requests

api_url = "https://api.soax.com/google-search"

params = {
  "q": "best marketing software",
  "location": "New York, USA",
  "device": "desktop",
  "api_key": "your_soax_api_key"
}

response = requests.get(api_url, params=params)

ads_data = response.json()

print(ads_data)  # This will output structured ad data

Pros:
✅ Highly scalable—ideal for analyzing large keyword lists.
✅ Provides real-time data that integrates with data workflows.

Cons:
❌ Requires initial setup and API configuration.
❌ Some APIs have rate limits or require paid plans for extended usage.

For quick and small-scale analysis, proxies work well. However, for ongoing competitor tracking, scraper APIs provide a more efficient and scalable solution.

How to analyze competitors’ Google Ads

Analyzing competitor ads is an important step in optimizing your own Google Ads strategy. By studying how competitors bid, craft ad copy, and target specific audiences, you can refine your campaigns to increase visibility, boost conversions, and reduce costs.

In this section, you’ll follow a structured approach to analyze competitor ads using automated scraping tools. Learn how to identify competitors, extract data, analyze key metrics, compare regional differences, and implement actionable strategies based on your findings.

Identify your competitors and target locations

Before gathering data, determine which competitors actively advertise in your industry. Start by searching for industry-relevant keywords on Google and noting which brands consistently appear in the paid search results. Companies that frequently rank at the top are investing heavily in Google Ads, making them prime candidates for analysis.

Once you compile a list of competitors, define the regions where you want to analyze their ads. If you operate in multiple regions, monitor localized ad differences to identify underserved or oversaturated markets.

Also, consider device targeting. Some competitors may bid aggressively on mobile searches but scale back on desktop ads. Understanding these nuances helps you align your campaigns with the most effective strategies.

Extract competitor ad data using a SERP scraper API

Manually tracking competitor ads across multiple keywords and locations is inefficient. Instead, SERP (Search Engine Results Page) Scraper APIs, such as ours at SOAX, allow you to automate the process and extract structured data, including ad copy, display URLs, landing pages, ad positioning, and the frequency of ad appearances.

To collect this data, you can set up an automated script that retrieves Google Ads results for selected keywords and locations. Below is an example of how you can use SOAX’s API to fetch competitor ads dynamically:

import requests

api_url = "https://api.soax.com/google-search"

params = {
  "q": "best project management software",
  "location": "San Francisco, USA",
  "device": "desktop",
  "api_key": "your_soax_api_key"
}

response = requests.get(api_url, params=params)

ads_data = response.json()

for ad in ads_data.get("ads", []):
  print(f"Headline: {ad['headline']}")
  print(f"Description: {ad['description']}")
  print(f"Display URL: {ad['display_url']}")
  print(f"Landing Page: {ad['landing_page']}\n")

By running this script, you can automatically retrieve and store competitor ad data, making it easy to analyze trends over time. This method is scalable and allows you to monitor multiple locations simultaneously, something manual methods cannot achieve efficiently.

Analyze key metrics

Once you extract the ad data, analyze the following metrics:

• Ad Frequency:
  If a competitor appears consistently for high-value keywords, they likely allocate a significant budget. Use this information to gauge their commitment to certain keywords.
• Ad Copy Variations:
  Track changes in ad copy over time to see which messaging tactics drive engagement, and optimize your own ad copy accordingly.
• Positioning Trends:
  Dominance in the top three ad slots suggests strong bidding strategies. If competitors appear only occasionally, they might be targeting specific time slots or audience segments.
• Landing Page Strategies:
  Examine whether competitors direct traffic to highly optimized conversion funnels or generic homepages. Well-structured landing pages indicate a focus on conversion optimization.

Compare data across regions and competitors

Automated tools let you compare competitor ad strategies across regions.

For example, a competitor might dominate the U.S. market but have little presence in Europe, an insight that helps you target less competitive regions.

Different regions might also show localized ad messaging. A company might vary its offers or pricing based on location.

By comparing these differences, you can refine your messaging for each region and uncover untapped opportunities.

Turn insights into actionable strategies

Once you analyze the data, apply your insights to your campaigns:

• Improve your ad copy:
  Identify high-performing phrases and offers used by competitors, then adapt them to suit your brand and audience.
• Optimize bidding strategies:
  If competitors outbid you, adjust your maximum CPC or target alternative keywords with less competition.
• Refine your landing pages:
  If competitors use highly optimized landing pages, ensure your pages are conversion-focused, fast-loading, and user-friendly.

Ongoing monitoring and adjustments

Competitor strategies evolve. Run your scraper at regular intervals (weekly or monthly) to track shifts in ad positioning, messaging, and bidding trends.

Maintain a historical record to spot long-term trends and react accordingly.

Keep an eye on emerging competitors and continuously test new ad variations through A/B testing to further refine your strategy.

By integrating competitor insights into your strategy, you ensure your Google Ads campaigns remain competitive, cost-effective, and high-performing.

Conclusion

Today, analyzing competitor Google Ads is no longer optional, it’s a necessity. Understanding how competitors structure their campaigns, allocate budgets, and tailor messaging across different regions provides invaluable insights that can refine your strategy.

To take your competitor analysis to the next level, our SERP Scraper API. With a $1.99 trial, you can access powerful scraping capabilities and proxy networks that provide deep insights into your market.

Start optimizing your Google Ads strategy with data-driven precision and ensure your business remains at the forefront of digital advertising.