Adopting A Competitor-Focused Approach For PPC Advertising

Some business owners have a hard time getting their websites to rank for certain keywords organically. In this case, running PPC advertising campaigns may be the next best alternative. This form of marketing allows business owners to bid on keywords that trigger their links when entered in search queries. In addition to using non-branded keywords (terms that don’t reference a brand name), it is important to use a balanced mix of branded terms as well. This means bidding on your competitors’ product and brand names. For example, if you are in the fashion industry, you might want to be bid on Gucci or Off-White branded terms. Today, one could be missing out if he or she does not run PPC marketing campaigns with a competitor-focused approach.

Always Focus on Quality

Before starting to run a campaign, it is important that you adopt the right mindset. Oftentimes, companies make the mistake of focusing on raw numbers when it comes to leads. As the famous adage goes, “quality over quantity.” To assess the quality of leads, determine if they fall in line with your target audience through factors like age group, purchasing power, and more. When you present the right products / services to the right people, they are more likely to move through the sales funnel.

Never Skimp on Keyword Research

Now that you understand the importance of quality, the next step is to create a list of your competitors. Simply note down whoever comes to your mind and perform keyword research on each of them. Some of the metrics you need to research on include:

• Estimated keyword bids
• Keyword variations (including the amount used)
• Average monthly search volume
• Conflicting or negative meanings (if any)

In addition to researching keywords based on your direct competitors’ brand names, do the same thing for their product or service names as well.

Note: You will eventually have to narrow down your list to the top three competitors. That’s when you can nail down the message that you want to convey.

Make Use of A/B Testing

While regularly A/B testing one’s online marketing campaigns is important, it may be time- and resource-consuming. That’s why business owners should aim to streamline the testing procedures from the get-go. For example, business owners should avoid dropping their competitors’ name directly in the main ad copy. The reason being is that trademarked terms tend to cause your ads to get rejected. Another tip to keep in mind is to edit one element at a time. If you make bulk changes, it can get increasingly difficult to determine the cause of any change in performance. For example, if you change the call-to-action in an ad, keep the headline intact, and vice versa.

Create Champion Landing Pages

Landing pages can make or break one’s paid-per-click campaign. That’s why it is recommended that you build unique landing pages for each competitor to direct traffic away from them. Your ad content shouldn’t only provide answers that the prospects seek (e.g., information about Competitor ABC), but also explain how your company stacks up against said information. To make things more visual, you can create tables that compare product features side by side.