The PPC Tools Every Advertiser Should Be Using

Running PPC campaigns without the right tools is like trying to build a house with just a hammer - you might get something done, but it'll take forever and probably won't look great. Here are the essential tools that make PPC management faster, easier, smarter… and more profitable.

Research and Competitive Intelligence

Google Keyword Planner is free and gives you search volumes directly from Google. It's perfect for starting out - but the data can be vague for smaller accounts. SEMrush and Ahrefs offer more detailed keyword data, including difficulty scores and competitor insights - at a cost. It’s around $100-300 per month but pays for itself quickly.

SpyFu lets you see exactly which keywords your competitors are bidding on and what their ads look like. Similarweb shows you their traffic sources and top-performing pages. These tools help you find gaps in your strategy and avoid reinventing the wheel - instead of guessing what works, you can see what's already working for others in your industry.

Tracking, Testing, and Creative Tools

Google Tag Manager is essential for proper conversion tracking—it's free and lets you manage all your tracking codes in one place. Looker Studio creates beautiful, automated reports that update in real-time. Supermetrics connects all your advertising platforms to create unified dashboards, saving hours of manual data pulling.

ChatGPT can generate dozens of ad variations in minutes when you give it the right prompts. For high-converting ad copy and visuals, check out AdCreative.ai - it’s specifically focused on this. When you want PPC landing pages, A/B testing built in, and conversion-focused templates, it’s got to be Unbounce and Instapage. These tools let you test more variations faster than doing everything manually.