On September 23, Google is making a significant change that will impact how advertisers track their competition in search auctions. The removal of Auction Insights from Looker Studio means advertisers will no longer be able to easily view competitive metrics within their reporting dashboards. As a result, marketers must pivot to new strategies for maintaining visibility into their competitive landscape. Those relying on Looker Studio for these insights will need to make timely adjustments to avoid disruptions.
In this blog, we’ll break down what this change means for advertisers and how tools like Adthena can ensure you don’t lose sight of crucial competitor data.
What’s changing with Auction Insights?
- Auction Insights removal: Google is removing Auction Insights fields from Looker Studio, impacting how advertisers access competitive data within this tool.
- Action required: Advertisers must adjust their Looker Studio reports by September 23 to avoid disruptions, as these metrics will only be accessible directly in Google Ads.
- Impact: Advertisers will need to rely on Google Ads for competitive metrics, necessitating adjustments in reporting and strategy tools to continue tracking ad performance effectively.
Why this matters: The impact on advertisers
Reduced competitor visibility: Advertisers lose the ability to view competitive metrics directly in Looker Studio, making it harder to track how their ads compare to competitors.
Risk of data gaps: Without timely adjustments, reports may break, leading to incomplete data and missed opportunities to optimize against competitors.
Increased time spent on reporting: Advertisers may spend more time on reporting and analysis, as they will now have to access competitive metrics directly from the Google Ads interface. This shift could introduce inefficiencies, especially for those managing multiple accounts or campaigns.
Stay competitive: How Adthena fills the gap
Adthena can help mitigate the impact of Google’s removal of Auction Insights from Looker Studio in the following ways:
1. Unified reporting
With Adthena’s data integrated into your workflow via our Looker Studio Connector, included as part of the Adthena subscription, you can maintain a holistic view of your competitive positioning without needing to switch between multiple platforms. This streamlines reporting and decision-making, saving time, and providing richer insights.
As you can see above, the first page of our report contains some insights on market share trends, competitor volume, and performance vs previous period. A view like this can help identify any major shifts in competitor activity and how it might be impacting your core PPC metrics.
2. Enhanced competitor visibility
Adthena provides comprehensive competitor analysis by tracking competitors’ movements, market share, and performance across search auctions. This can fill the gap left by the removal of Auction Insights from Looker Studio, giving advertisers detailed insights into their competitive landscape.
If you’re interested in a more granular view, you can break down competitor market share vs previous period to see what could be driving market changes. For example, is a specific competitor now appearing on more terms, or are they maybe simply spending more? Are they appearing on less terms, but with a higher average position?
You can break this down even further by analyzing performance on search term level to quickly identify top competitors, how competitive different terms are, and where you get the most volume.
3. Deeper competitor data & estimates
Auction Insights only displays data for terms where your ads appear, limiting your view. With Adthena’s Whole Market View, you not only see data for the terms you bid on, but also for those where your competitors are active, even if you’re not. Auction insights restrict insights to the auctions you participated in, while Adthena provides a full view of the competitive landscape for each term.
Want to learn more?
Want competitors’ insights into your reports? You can explore our easy integration that provides you with comprehensive market visibility, detailed competitor insights, and unified reporting.
You can stay ahead of competitors and ensure that your reporting remains seamless, accurate, and actionable.
Request a demo to see Adthena in action.
