A quick primer
Auction Insights shows which competitors you overlap with; a different competitor mix explains a gap on its own. The Search Terms report can reveal a subtler semantic difference within a group.
What to check before you touch anything
- Whether the competitor mix matches for both groups.
- How mixed the real queries are in each group.
- Whether both groups lead to the same landing page.
- Whether the groups are comparable in age.
Possible approaches, by category
- Ecommerce. Check the feed for stock status or price differences.
- B2C local services. The gap can come down to geography.
- B2B lead generation. Groups often target different roles within the same topic.
- Subscription products. The gap can tie to which pricing tier each group promotes.
- Use an A/B testing or session recording tool to compare behavior side by side.
- DataMind breaks the gap into a mix effect and a within effect automatically.