Spy on your competitors’ PPC keywords — so you can beat them at their own game!
February 4, 2008 – 5:53 pmPay-per-click advertising is a GREAT low-cost way to drive immediate traffic to your sites.
… IF you know how to do it right!
A well-planned pay-per-click (PPC) campaign can get your website into the top search results — and in front of a large audience of potential customers — in minutes.
But used improperly, PPC advertising can be a quick route to bankruptcy.
Eek!
To make sure you’re bidding the right amount of money on the right keywords, it helps to know what your competition is doing.
And now there are three great online tools that show you exactly that!
1. KeywordSpy
KeywordSpy is a great online tool that tells you…
- The keywords being used to advertise in Google, Yahoo and Windows Live
- The approximate cost per click for each keyword
- The ad position attained for that keyword
- The number of competitors advertising under the same keyword
KeywordSpy offers a free trial in which you give them a descriptive keyword and they send you a list of your competitors and the keywords they’re using.
The full-price version costs $89.95 per month.
You can check out both the free and trial versions at: www.keywordspy.com.
2. KeyCompete
KeyCompete is a similar tool that offers a one-day trial for $19, plus a monthly rate of $39.
Two levels of yearly plan are also available.
You can learn more at: www.keycompete.com
Both of the tools above only show you the keywords your competitors are using for their PPC ads.
If you want to know exactly which keywords your competitors are optimizing their sites for as well, check out one of my personal favorites:
3. Spyfu
In addition to revealing the keywords your competitors are bidding on for their PPC ads, Spyfu also shows you the keywords they’re optimizing their site for.
Spyfu offers a free trial, plus a 3-day subscription for only $6.75. A monthly subscription costs $38.50.
But in my opinion, it’s well worth it — this kind of information is pure marketing gold!
You can learn more about Spyfu at: www.spyfu.com
Note: Nicole Ephgrave is IMC’s resident search marketing expert. You can get more SEO tips by clicking here.