It’s the tried and true method of advertising online using the keywords your visitors or users are searching for as a way to connect with them. The best thing about competitive paid search research is knowing the search terms that your competitor is bidding on, the amount of budget spent and even the performance of them without having to wait on your own campaigns.
On this page, we’ll look at different SEM research tools for performance keyword insight on competitors paid search campaigns.
Paid Search Research Software
| Provider | Pricing | Organic SEO | Paid SEM | Competitor Traffic | Review | Free Trial | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 SEMrush | $99 Month | Yes, full suite of organic SEO research tools | Yes, the best selection of tools | Yes, estimates on competitor on-site metrics | Review | Free Trial | @semrush | Technical SEO Analysis, Backlink Research, Backlink Management, Keyword Rank Tracking, Ranking History, Organic Traffic Estimates, Local Rankings, Local SEO Listing Research, Keyword Competitors, PPC Keyword Research, PLA Research, Display Ad Research, PPC Ad Research, Paid Search Research, Competitor Traffic Analysis, |
 Spy Fu | $40 Month | Yes, limited to backlinks and keywords | Yes, limited to search PPC only | No | Review | Free Trial | @spyfu | Backlink Research, Ranking History, Backlink Management, Keyword Rank Tracking, Organic Traffic Estimates, Keyword Competitors, Paid Search Research, PPC Keyword Research, PPC Ad Research, |
 Mangools | $50 Month | Yes, limited only backlinks and keywords | Yes | Yes | Review | Free Trial | @mangools | Backlink Research, Keyword Rank Tracking, Organic Traffic Estimates, Local Rankings, Keyword Competitors, |
 SEO Power Suite | $299 License | Yes, robust and full featured | No | Yes, traffic estimates and other metrics | Review | Free Trial | @seopowersuite | Technical SEO Analysis, Backlink Research, Backlink Management, Keyword Rank Tracking, Ranking History, Organic Traffic Estimates, Local Rankings, Keyword Competitors, Competitor Traffic Analysis, |
 Raven Tools | $110 Month | Yes, well-featured only missing competitor keyword analysis | No | No | Review | Free Trial | @raventools | Technical SEO Analysis, Backlink Research, Keyword Rank Tracking, Organic Traffic Estimates, Local Rankings, |
Why Use SEO Software for Paid Search Research
A successful paid search campaign is usually dictated by clicks and conversions, and if you’re targeting the wrong keywords that might not happen. Here are some of the reasons you might consider researching competitors first:
- Cost Estimates: Estimate some of the expected cost or spend that you might incur for specific keywords.
- Longtail Keywords: Identifying longtail keywords that your competitors might not be aware of.
- Strategy: Invaluable insight into your competitor’s actual campaigns performance.
The worst scenario you can find yourself in is spending a bunch of the budget in order to optimize your paid search campaigns but this can be prevented. Using SEO software with paid search analysis can help you use your competitor’s data to save time and money. We found SEMrush and SpyFu to be the only providers offering this data.
Related Resources
- SEMrush: Excellent tool for competitor SEM research.
- SpyFu: Another great tool for competitor ad spying
- PPC Articles