Answers that name Semrush

Yes. If you mean competitor intelligence specifically for Google Search Ads/PPC, there are several good options.

Best options

• semrush.com — probably the strongest all-around option. You can enter a competitor's domain and see estimated paid keywords, ad copy, competitors, ad positions, and estimated spend. It also tracks changes over time. Semrush Semrush
• spyfu.com — particularly focused on Google PPC competitor intelligence. It provides competitors' paid keywords, historical ads/ad tests, estimated clicks/spend, and PPC competitors. SpyFu SpyFu
• adstransparency.google.com — Google's own free source. You can search an advertiser/domain and see the actual Search ads Google has published. The major limitation is that it doesn't expose keywords, bids, spend, impressions, or performance. Ad Transparency Ad Transparency

The important distinction

There are really two types of competitor intelligence:

One caveat: competitor spend, keywords, and performance are estimates, not Google's actual account data. Google's public transparency database gives you the ads themselves, but not the underlying commercial targeting/bidding data. Semrush

If you're asking because you're looking for something more specialized than Semrush/SpyFu—e.g. a tool that continuously monitors a set of competitors' Google Search ads, detects new ads/landing pages/offers, and alerts you when they change, that's a somewhat different category. I can find the best tools specifically for that use case.

Yes. There are several tools specifically designed for Google Search Ads competitor intelligence (PPC competitive analysis). They vary in whether they show keywords, ad copy, spend estimates, historical ads, or auction-level competition.

Best-known Google Search Ads competitor intelligence tools

Free options from Google

• Google Ads Auction Insights — best if you already run Search campaigns. It shows who is competing with you in the same auctions, including impression share, overlap rate, and top-of-page rate. It does not reveal competitors’ full keyword lists or ad copy. www.semrush.com
• Google Ads Transparency Center — lets you view ads run by advertisers on Google, but it does not provide bidding, keyword, or spend intelligence. www.semrush.com

What I’d pick depending on your goal

• “What keywords are my competitors buying?” → SpyFu or Semrush www.semrush.comwww.spyfu.com
• “What ads and messaging are they testing?” → Semrush or SpyFu www.spyfu.comwww.semrush.comwww.spyfu.com
• “Who is actually outranking me in my auctions?” → Google Ads Auction Insights www.semrush.com
• “I manage PPC for clients/agencies” → Semrush + SpyFu together is a common combination
• “I need competitor monitoring over time” → SpyFu’s historical PPC data is particularly useful www.spyfu.comwww.semrush.comwww.spyfu.com

One caveat: no third-party tool can see a competitor’s actual Google Ads account. Their spend, bids, and conversions are estimated from external data. The most reliable competitive picture usually combines:

1. Google Auction Insights (your real auctions),
2. competitor ad libraries,
3. third-party PPC intelligence tools. clickpatrol.comwww.semrush.com

If you’re looking specifically for B2B SaaS, ecommerce, local services, or agency/client PPC monitoring, the best choice can differ.

If by “spying” you mean legitimate competitive intelligence on publicly observable Google Search ads, I’d shortlist these:

My #1: SpyFu

If your specific question is “What are my competitors doing in Google Search Ads?”, I'd start with SpyFu.

It lets you research competitors' paid keywords, estimated ad spend, ad history, ad variations, keyword overlap, and PPC competitors. SpyFu specifically emphasizes historical Google Ads data and tested ad variants. SpyFu SpyFu

That's particularly useful because you can ask questions like:

• Which keywords has Competitor A consistently paid for?
• Which ads have they kept running for months?
• What messaging/offers do they repeatedly test?
• Which keywords do they buy that we don't?
• Who are the emerging advertisers entering our auctions?
• How has their paid-search strategy changed over time?

spyfu.com

When I'd choose Semrush instead

I'd buy Semrush if you want competitive intelligence to extend beyond Google Ads into SEO, content, backlinks, traffic, etc.

Its Advertising Research product exposes competitors' paid keywords, ad copy, estimated spend/traffic, competitors and historical trends; Semrush says its advertising history can go back to 2012. Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

So my rule of thumb is:

Pure PPC intelligence → SpyFu
PPC + serious SEO/marketing intelligence → Semrush

One important caveat

None of these tools literally sees your competitor's Google Ads account. They're reconstructing competitive intelligence from observed search results and their own databases. Consequently, spend, traffic, keywords and impression estimates are estimates, not ground truth. Semrush explicitly warns that its advertising numbers shouldn't be treated as the competitor's actual Google Ads spend, and that some ads can be missed because of geography, timing, targeting, or database coverage. Semrush

I'd therefore combine a paid intelligence platform with Google's Ads Transparency Center, which lets you inspect ads associated with a particular advertiser. It doesn't give you their keywords, bids or performance, but it's useful for validating the actual creative you're seeing. Semrush

If I were setting up a serious competitor-monitoring stack today:
SpyFu + Google Ads Transparency Center for PPC intelligence, with Semrush added if SEO/market intelligence matters too.

If you tell me what industry you're in, roughly how many competitors you want to monitor, and whether you're B2B or B2C, I can narrow this down to the best 2–3 tools and explain exactly what each will let you see.

If you specifically want to monitor competitor Google Search ads, Google Display creatives, and the landing pages those ads drive to, these are the strongest options:

My shortlist by use case

• You mainly care about Google Search competitors (keywords, ad copy, landing pages):

• Semrush
• SpyFu
• PPCSpy
• You mainly care about Display banners, placements, and funnel paths:

• Adbeat
• You want a creative swipe file + landing page monitoring system:

• AdSpyder
• Panoramata (also tracks competitor ads and landing pages historically). Panoramata
• You want to monitor a small set of named competitors continuously:

• Look for tools with alerts/change tracking rather than just databases. For example, some platforms detect new ads, copy changes, and landing page changes over time. Sector Apex

A practical stack many PPC teams use:

1. Semrush/SpyFu → discover competitor keywords and Search strategy
2. Adbeat → analyze Display creative and placements
3. AdSpyder → build a creative library and track messaging trends

If your priority is specifically Google Ads only (Search + Display + Performance Max), I’d narrow the choice differently than if you also care about Meta/TikTok/LinkedIn ads.

If you specifically want competitor Google Search + Display creatives + landing pages, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Similarweb

Similarweb Search Ads Analytics is probably the closest single tool to what you're describing. It lets you investigate competitor search ads, keywords, estimated ad performance, and—importantly—the final URLs/landing pages those ads send traffic to. www.similarweb.com

For Display specifically: Adbeat

Adbeat is stronger if your priority is display creative intelligence. It tracks competitor display creatives, publishers/placements, ad networks, landing pages, estimated spend/share, and can send alerts when advertisers launch campaigns. www.adbeat.com

Best Google Search specialist: Semrush

Semrush Advertising Research is excellent for finding competitors' Google Ads copy, keywords, trends, and landing pages. Its Pages report specifically identifies landing pages receiving paid traffic from competitor Google Ads campaigns. www.semrush.com

Free option: Google's own database

Google Ads Transparency Center lets you search advertisers and inspect ads that Google has served across Search, YouTube, and Display. It's useful for validating the actual creative, but it's much less useful as an ongoing competitive-monitoring system because you don't get the same alerting, spend, placement, and landing-page intelligence. adstransparency.google.com

If I were building a competitor-monitoring stack:
Similarweb + Adbeat would be my strongest combination: Similarweb for Search → keyword → ad → landing page, and Adbeat for Display → creative → placement → landing page → alerts.

If you tell me your budget (e.g. <$200/mo, $500/mo, $2k+/mo), I can narrow this down to the 2–3 tools that are actually worth paying for.

If you mean one platform that combines competitive intelligence + ad spying specifically for Google Search and Display, the strongest options are:

My recommendation

If you need both Search and Display: Similarweb is probably the closest fit. Its Ad Intelligence product explicitly covers competitors' display, video, social, and search activity, including creatives, landing pages, keywords, and spend trends. Similarweb

similarweb.com

If Google Search is the priority: SpyFu is particularly strong. It provides competitor PPC keywords, estimated spend, ad copy, ad history, and tracking of changes over time. SpyFu SpyFu

spyfu.com

If you want an all-in-one marketing platform: Semrush is the better choice. Its Advertising Research covers competitor paid keywords, ad copy, spend estimates and historical trends, while its broader advertising toolkit extends into Google Display and other channels. Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

Bottom line

• Best combined Search + Display intelligence: Similarweb
• Best Google Search ad spy: SpyFu
• Best all-around competitive marketing suite: Semrush
• Best dedicated Display ad intelligence: Adbeat

If your goal is “show me exactly what competitors are running on Google Search + Google Display, their creatives, keywords, landing pages, estimated spend, and how campaigns change over time,” I'd shortlist Similarweb vs. Semrush vs. SpyFu + Adbeat.

If you need both Search and Display: Similarweb is probably the closest fit. Its Ad Intelligence product explicitly covers competitors' display, video, social, and search activity, including creatives, landing pages, keywords, and spend trends. similarweb.com

similarweb.com

If Google Search is the priority: SpyFu is particularly strong. It provides competitor PPC keywords, estimated spend, ad copy, ad history, and tracking of changes over time.

If you’re looking for competitive intelligence + ad spy capabilities specifically for Google Search and Google Display campaigns, these are the main solutions to evaluate:

Adsroid### Best choices by use case

• For Google Search competitor keyword + copy analysis

• SpyFu → best value for historical competitor PPC data.
• iSpionage → strong for analyzing competitor landing pages and ad groups.
• Semrush → best if you also need SEO, market intelligence, and reporting.
• For Google Display Network ad spying

• Adbeat → one of the strongest dedicated display intelligence platforms, with insights into creatives, publishers, and placements. Adbeat
• PowerAdSpy → useful for creative discovery and funnel inspiration. PowerAdSpy
• AdSpyder → broader cross-channel ad intelligence with display coverage. AdSpyder
• For agencies managing multiple clients

• Semrush + Adbeat is a common combination: - Semrush → paid search strategy and keyword intelligence
• Adbeat → display creative, publisher, and placement intelligence
• For enterprise competitive intelligence

• Adthena, Semrush Enterprise, or Adbeat are usually better fits because they focus more on market-level insights rather than only ad screenshots.

If you need one platform only

A practical shortlist:

1. Semrush — best all-around marketing intelligence suite
2. AdSpyder — best unified ad library approach across channels AdSpyder
3. SpyFu — best value for Google Search PPC spying
4. Adbeat — best for serious Google Display intelligence Adbeat

The right choice depends on whether your priority is keyword bidding intelligence, creative/ad copy discovery, display placements, or full competitor monitoring.