Everyone knows they don’t get 100% conversions because their competitors get the most part. But, apart from knowing some names of top competitors, no one has ever bothered to study more details about them. Many advertisers and business owners don’t know who competes against them in Google Ads Auction Insights.
You are missing a lot if you don’t know who your competitors are, what keywords they are spending on, what day of the week they bid aggressively, and what part of the day they bid less or more. Imagine not taking advantage of keywords that your competitors never touched.
So today, I am going to explain what Google Ads Auction Insights are, what they mean, and how to use them to spy on your top competitors and get better conversion rates.
What are Google Ads Auction Insights?
Google Ads Auction Insights provides insights into competitors that are competing against your keywords or ads in your targeted location. This report gives us six important columns to understand our competitors. Let’s cover what each of these six columns means.
Impression Share
It is the percentage of the number of impressions you received divided by the total eligible impressions your ad was eligible for.
- Increasing budget can increase your share of impressions.
- A highly competitive market can cause a low impression share.
For Example – If 100 people search for your targeted keyword and your ad appears 90 times, your Impression Share = 90% (90/100).
Top of Page Rate
Top of page rate tells you how often your ad (or the ad of another advertiser, depending on which row you’re viewing) was shown at the top of the page, above the unpaid search results.
- This is the visibility for the top four search results.
- A very important metric to consider for optimization.
If your ad appears 90 times and out of those 90 times, it shows in the top positions above organic results (mostly) 72 times, your Top of Page Rate = 80% (72/90).
Absolute Top of the Page Rate
Absolute top of the page rate tells you how often your ad (or the ad of another advertiser, depending on which row you’re viewing) was shown at the absolute top of the page as the very first ad above the organic search results.
- Great to check keywords with a higher chance of performing.
If your ad appears 90 times and is in position #1 exactly 30 times, your Absolute Top of Page Rate = 33% (30/90).
Position Above Rate
Position above rate is how often another advertiser’s ad was shown in a higher position than yours when both of your ads were shown at the same time.
- A high Position Above Rate for a competitor means they are bidding high on these keywords or have a better ad rank.
If your ad appears 90 times and Competitor B appears 60 times, but they rank above you 45 times out of those 60 overlapping impressions, your Position Above Rate vs. Competitor B = 75% (45/60).
Overlap Rate
Overlap rate is how often your ad and another advertiser’s ad received an impression.
- Top competitors have a high overlap rate.
- Overlap rate tells you which competitors you need to focus on more.
If your ad appears 90 times and Competitor A’s ad appears 70 times, your Overlap Rate with Competitor A = 77.7% (70/90).
Outranking Share
Outranking share tells you how often your ad ranked higher in the auction than another advertiser’s ad or if your ad showed when theirs didn’t.
- A low outranking share means the competitor is bidding high on these keywords.
If 100 people search and Competitor C’s ad appears 80 times, but your ad appears above them or instead of them in 65 cases, your Outranking Share vs. Competitor C = 81.25% (65/80).
How to Find Auction Insights in Google Ads?
Auction Insights are available at All Campaigns level, Campaign levels, Ad groups and Keyword levels.
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Campaign Level: Navigate to the ‘Campaigns’ tab, select the desired campaign, and click on ‘Auction Insights’ to see competitor data relevant to that campaign.
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Ad Group Level: Within a specific campaign, go to the ‘Ad Groups’ tab, choose an ad group, and then access ‘Auction Insights’ for more granular insights.
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Keyword Level: In the ‘Keywords’ tab, select one or more keywords, then click on ‘Auction Insights’ to understand competitor performance for specific search terms.
6 Strategies to Use Google Ads Auction Insights to Unlock Opportunities
Identify Shifts in Competitor Spend and Grab Opportunities
How to Analyze:
- Search Impression Share indicates a change in competitor spend over time.
- A sudden rise in impression share often indicates increased spending, while a drop suggests a decrease.
- Go to the Auction Insights tab in the Reports Editor to view its graph over time.
Actionable Steps:
- If competitors lower their impression share, capitalize by increasing your bids and spend to dominate the auction.
- During high-spend periods, focus on improving ad quality and targeting niche keywords to stay competitive without overspending.
Pinpoint and Target Low Competition Periods
How to Analyze:
- Use Auction Insights in Google Ads to identify periods when competitor impression shares are low.
- Look for patterns such as weekends, early mornings, or end-of-month trends.
Actionable Steps:
- Schedule ads during these low-competition windows to maximize visibility.
- Adjust bids dynamically using automated rules or manual adjustments for optimal performance.
Adjusting Keyword Bids Based on Competitor Activity
How to Analyze:
- Review your top-performing keywords in Google Ads Auction Insights and compare them against competitor metrics like overlap rate and position above rate.
- Identify less competitive keywords and high-converting keywords.
Actionable Steps:
- Increase bids on keywords with low competition or high conversion potential.
- Lower bids or pause ads on overly competitive keywords where CPCs are not sustainable.
Analyzing if Competitors are Bidding on Your Brand Keywords
How to Analyze:
- Check Auction Insights in Google Ads for high overlap rates on your branded campaigns.
- Look for competitor ads targeting your brand keywords and analyze their messaging.
Actionable Steps:
- Protect your brand by increasing bids on branded keywords.
- Craft compelling ad copy that highlights your unique value proposition to retain audience trust.
Pro Tip: If no one else is bidding on your branded keywords, decrease the budget to reduce the cost per click.
Assessing Competitor Device Targeting
How to Analyze:
- Use device segmentation in Google Adwords Auction Insights to evaluate competitor performance across mobile, desktop, and tablet devices.
Actionable Steps:
- If competitors dominate a device category, adjust your bids or optimize ads for that device.
- For example, prioritize mobile optimization if competitors have strong desktop performance.
Identify Landing Page Opportunity
How to Analyze:
- Look for high overlap rates in Auction Insights Google Ads to identify competitors consistently competing with your campaigns.
- Visit their landing pages to assess design, content, and offerings.
Actionable Steps:
- Highlight your unique selling points (USPs) that competitors lack, such as better pricing, stronger guarantees, or exclusive features.
- Use A/B testing to refine landing pages for maximum impact.
Pro Tip: Users like to visit 3 to 4 top landing pages at once. Having a better offer, copy, and design will give you a competitive edge. Offer them what others don’t.
Conclusion
Google Ads Auction Insights is one of the most underutilized features in Google Ads. Understand and note actionable insights to adjust your future Google Ads strategy. The best practice for using Google Ads Auction Insights is to view them in Report Editor in the monthly time series line chart.
If you need to understand more and want us to help identify opportunities and grow your business, contact us today and Schedule a free audit of your Google Ads and landing pages.