Why PPC Specialists Need Serpstat Or How To Earn Money Doing Nothing

When it comes to PPC, one of the easiest wins is launching a campaign using the keywords your competitors already bid on. Why? Because your competitors have already invested in these keywords, which means there's a good chance they're relevant to your niche. The more often a keyword appears across competitor campaigns, the more likely it is to be relevant to your business. Of course, you may run into highly competitive auctions. But that's a risk with any keyword. So without further ado, here's how to find them:

Go to Serpstat, sign up if you don't have an account yet. Enter your competitor's domain into the search bar, choose the database, and click "Search."

Go to "Domain Analysis" → "PPC Research" and click on "Keywords."

Export this report and analyze it.

Pay particular attention to the "Keyword" column.

Here you'll find all the keywords your competitor uses in paid advertising. It's a ready-made keyword list you can use to launch your own PPC campaign. Alternatively, you can exclude these keywords from your list to avoid direct competition.

Writing ad copy may seem simple, but inspiration doesn't always strike on demand. This hack will help you find fresh ideas when you're stuck. Just like before, we'll borrow ideas from our competitors.

Switch from "Keywords" to "Ad examples" in PPC Research.

Export the report.

Pay attention to the "Title" and "Text" columns.

A landing page is an important part of a successful PPC campaign. Research your competitors and analyze the landing pages they use. This will help you understand which strategies work and which don't. Spend a few minutes each day tracking your competitors' landing pages so you don't miss any changes. Analyze what changed, why they made the updates, and how it affected conversions.

To do this, use the "Ads" feature in PPC Research. If you've already exported this report, just reopen it and look at the "URL" column.

Now you can see which strategies your competitors are using. Use these insights to refine your PPC campaign and work with your developer and designer to create new landing pages with clear, compelling CTAs.

How? You guessed it — we'll borrow from our competitors!
Let's compare the keywords we use with theirs.

Go to the "Domain vs Domain" feature, also located in PPC Research.

Enter your domain in the first box and your competitors' domains in the remaining fields.
Analyze the results and compile a list of missing keywords:

• unique to competitor #1;

• unique to competitor #2;

• common to both competitors.

Use these keywords to expand your keyword research. But what if you're already ahead of your competitors and there's nothing left to borrow? Read on to find out ;)

If you're already targeting more keywords than your competitors, you might be wondering where to find ideas for new campaigns. You could brainstorm, spend hours reading blogs and forums — or just use Serpstat ;)

This method combines several reports. Here's how it works:

Enter a high-volume keyword relevant to your website into the Serpstat search box. For example, if you sell smartphones, enter "smartphone".

Then export the following reports one by one:

• Keyword Research → SEO Research → Keyword Selection;

• Keyword Research → SEO Research → Search Suggestions;

• Keyword Research → PPC Research → Keywords.

Once you've exported all three reports, combine them into a single file.

Now you have a large file packed with niche keywords. Group them and remove any irrelevant entries. More keywords means more traffic potential, so be prepared to allocate a larger budget for your PPC campaigns.

All of the hacks above are well-known and widely used by PPC professionals. They're tried and tested, so you can start using them with confidence. The next two methods can either drive significant traffic growth or drain your entire ad budget.

If you're an experienced PPC specialist or work at a PPC agency with a high volume of traffic, give this method a try.

Enter a competitor's branded keyword into the Serpstat search box — let's use Amazon as an example. Then go to "Keyword Research" → "SEO Research" and click on "Search Suggestions." Export this report and analyze it.

This strategy is controversial and expensive. Since your pages won't naturally contain your competitor's branded keywords, you'll need to increase your keyword bids. Pair these branded keywords with generic, neutral ad copy. For example, an ad targeting the keyword "amazon" could read: "The biggest online retailer." You can also run campaigns using negative brand keywords — something like "[brand name] alternative."

This hack focuses specifically on informational keywords. Align your PPC ads with informational pages on your website, such as blog articles. This method probably won't drive high conversions, but it's great for building brand awareness. By answering your audience's questions, you'll build trust and encourage them to buy from you.

Enter the URL of your blog or any informational section of your website into the Serpstat search box, then select the "URL prefix" filter on the left.

Go to "Domain Analysis," then "SEO Research" and click on "Top Pages."

Export this report and analyze it.

PPC specialists can use Serpstat to:

• find competitor keywords and use them in their own PPC campaigns;

• analyze competitor ads and borrow creative ideas;

• monitor competitor landing pages and track changes over time;

• find missing keywords;

• discover additional keywords;

• run PPC campaigns targeting competitor branded keywords;

• launch ad campaigns using high-volume keywords to promote the blog or other informational pages.