3 Audience Targeting Tips to Outsmart Your PPC Competition

You might be happy with your current PPC campaign performance but it can be better. Way better! No, this does not mean pumping ridiculous amounts of money into the campaign. There is an easier, more effective way to get great leads – targeting your PPC competitor’s audience. Sharp PPC competition targeting is one of the best ways to better your PPC campaign performance and get good quality leads without overextending your campaign budgets.

But why target your PPC competitors’ audience? Why not go for a whole new set of leads?

• Finding new leads can be expensive, but competitor leads will cost less.
• Competitor leads are already looking for the product or service you are selling.
• These leads are already primed and prepped, so you won’t need to change your current campaigns radically.

What should your approach be for targeting PPC Competition?

First, let’s start by knowing what NOT to do. Many make the mistake of brand bidding. There are better approaches than this. In brand bidding, you need to do something creative. You are simply targeting the keywords and terms used by your competitors and showing up where your competitors show up hoping that their customers click on your ad instead of them. Here’s what is wrong with the brand bidding approach:

• Accidental Clicks – There’s a good chance audiences click on your ad thinking they are clicking on your competitor. But once they realize their mistake, they will quickly leave your landing page, increasing the bounce rate.
• Legal Issues – Different countries have different rules and regulations regarding advertising campaigns, so you might get into legal trouble for copying your competitors’ campaigns.
• Negative Perception – Audiences that come to you accidentally thinking you are the competitor can get a negative perception of your brand. They will most likely see you as a knock-off brand because many low-price, low-quality brands use this approach to sell their products.

The approach you DO NEED to take is an action-based one. In this approach, you are not targeting keywords and phrases; you are targeting ideas and actions. You are going for audiences that are already your potential customers, so it will be much easier to turn them into customers through smart targeting and advertising strategies. To elaborate more on this, here are 3 ways to target your PPC competitors’ audience:

1. Targeting Competitors’ Customers Who are Unhappy with Them

This group of customers is most likely to switch to you. They are unhappy, angry even, with their current services and have decided to switch. Some may have already selected the product or service they want, but most are still looking for it. You must convert These leads into your customers through PPC Competition targeting. A direct approach is needed where you can use keywords and terms like “how to cancel,” “service contract termination,” and other long-tail keywords in the service format.

One approach you can take in this scenario is helping your customers with their cancellation process. Many services make cancellation very difficult in their hopes that customers will give up and stay with them. This is a very foolish approach as it frustrates costumes even more, making them determined to leave. You can help and guide them through the tedious online cancellation processes, offering technical and legal support. These positive gestures will make you a loyal customer.

2. Target Audiences Already Looking for Alternatives Through Comparison

Many customers actively look for products and services and their alternatives simultaneously. Such people like to compare the products’ and services’ prices and features. Some customers are already customers of the competitor but are looking to switch. For them, the comparisons look like great options. But there is a caveat to this type of approach. This will work best when your product is exactly like your competitor’s or better. A similar product must work hard to convince the customer to switch. However, since the customer is already looking to switch, you can offer better prices and educate the customer on how you are better than the competitor.

An example will help you understand this better. A customer has been ordering McDonald’s Big Macs online but wants something different. This is a great opportunity for Burger King, who can advertise their signature Whopper through targeted PPC advertising. They can also convince the customers to switch by offering a better price and a chance to customize the Whopper, as McDonald’s does not allow customization to the Big Mac.

3. Target Customers Looking For Competitors’ Support

This type of PPC target has a 50-50 chance of switching over to you, but it is worth exploring this option. In this approach, you target competitors’ customers who are looking for their support contact numbers or platforms. You’d be surprised that even today, many companies need to invest in good support services for their customers. You can target them by using keywords like “tech support,” “support,” “assistance,” and “contact info.”

From this campaign, you can get two types of PPC target audiences. The first type is competitors’ customers who have a normal query and are looking for the right numbers, and the other type is customers who are fed up because of the lack of support and are considering switching. The latter is the one who is most likely to come to you. Though it may not happen immediately, you can show them your product or service, its competitive pricing, its features, and most importantly, how important customer support is for you. This could be the clincher.

These three ways are the best ways to target PPC competition customers and bring them to your side. But you need the right people to design and execute your PPC campaigns. These campaigns require smart targeting and near-perfect execution to succeed. Therefore, you need someone like Tru Performance LLP at the helm of your PPC campaigns. We have successfully executed similar campaigns for various clients and can bring the same level of expertise and success to your campaigns. Start a conversation today with us to know how we can help you.