{"id":131054,"date":"2019-06-26T13:44:56","date_gmt":"2019-06-26T13:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=131054"},"modified":"2020-01-23T17:36:20","modified_gmt":"2020-01-23T17:36:20","slug":"competitor-focused-paid-campaign-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/06\/26\/competitor-focused-paid-campaign-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"How to run a successful competitor-focused paid campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the biggest advantages of running a paid search<\/a> campaign is the ability to bid on keywords<\/a> that would be difficult (if not impossible) for your website to rank for organically. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The best example of this is bidding on competitors\u2019 brand or product names. For example, if you\u2019re in the athletic shoe\/apparel industry<\/a>, you\u2019d probably want to bid on\u00a0Nike\u00a0or\u00a0UnderArmour branded terms. So, if you\u2019re not running any competitor focused campaigns<\/a> right now, you are definitely missing out.<\/p>\n

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But it doesn\u2019t have to be that way. Here are five steps to set up and run a successful competitor-focused SEM campaign.<\/p>\n

Step one: Do your research<\/strong><\/h2>\n

First things first, you\u2019ll want to go through a current list of competitors and perform preliminary keyword<\/a> research on each of them, one-by-one.<\/p>\n

Preliminary research should cover average monthly search volume, the number of relevant keyword variations, estimated keyword bids, and any potential conflicts or double-meanings – a classic example would be “Apple” the company or “apple” the fruit) within the keyword phrases you are considering targeting. This should include not only the competitors\u2019 brand names but also all product name(s) that your company competes with directly. You\u2019ll want to repeat this step for every competitor on the list.<\/p>\n

Step two: Choose your competitors wisely<\/strong><\/h2>\n

After going through the research portion mentioned in step one\u00a0you\u2019ll want to narrow down your list and focus on just your top three competitors. Why only three? To ensure your messaging is tightly focused around each competitor and that your key differentiators against each specific product can be clearly communicated in both the ad copy and on a custom landing page (more on landing pages<\/a> in a minute). So how do you determine which three competitors to focus on?<\/p>\n

After completing step one\u00a0you should have the quantitative data needed to determine if it\u2019s worth targeting certain keywords related to a specific competitor or product. But don\u2019t just go off of the numbers alone. You\u2019ll also want to account for strategic business reasons that could outweigh factors such as monthly search volume or estimated bid numbers. For example, your company is planning to launch a new product in the coming months and wants to hit the ground running.<\/p>\n

If everything still looks good at this point then you can continue with your standard keyword research\/selection process. But be sure to keep the following in mind:<\/p>\n