When to keyword target competitor brands

Competitor Branded Keywords

Bidding on competitor branded keywords can be a tricky proposition. Typically if we were creating a new campaign, we would avoid bidding on competitor brands and actually we would probably put them in as negative keywords. From the multitude of campaigns that we have managed over the years, bidding on competitor branded keywords is a tough fight and usually a losing proposition. If you can imagine, your probably going to get a lot of ad clicks from competitor branded keywords, but the bounce rate on your webpage will be a lot higher since a lot of people will click on your ad thinking its the competitors website and unless given a compelling reason to stay, will leave as quick as they arrive. Although a tough slog there are a couple situations where it may be advantageous to bid on competitor keywords.

When to Target

There are two main situations that we think its a good idea to target competitor branded keywords. One situation is almost out of necessity and the other is much more strategic. The first reason is because your operating a mature campaign with thousands of keywords. You've done a lot of keyword research and expansion, are scoring highly on all the keywords you use, but have more budget to spend.

Mature PPC Campaign

In this first situation, it is definately worthwhile to test ads that directly target and try to sell oneself as better than the competitor brand. Usually, if your company is in this situation most likely it is not a bad bet, because you are already doing a considerable amount of income and it may be likely you have a superior product and service.

Competitor Brand Highly Associated with Product/Service

The other situation where it might make sense is if there is a Competitor Brand in your space that everyone associates with the service or product that you offer, you believe your product/service is superior, and you would like to go at them head on. For example let's use the Brand Uber. Everyone usually associates a ride-sharing service with their brand. Customers who google the company are likely to be looking for ride-sharing. If you had a new company in the same industry and felt your service was better, it might be worthwhile to use "Uber" as one of your targeted keywords in ad campaign.

Overall, it's usually tough to directly target a competitor brand. It might not always be worth the hassle to target them directly. But, if you fall under one of the two situations it might be a smart move to fight your competitor head on.