Using a competing brand to sell products or services identical to those of the original company is legal … But in which case is this a real good strategy?
The pros and cons of targeting your competitors’ brand
Advantages :
It helps promote brand awareness in your industry.
Potentially recover business shares from your competitors
The inconvenient :
If you start these kinds of practices when your competitors do not, you risk opening an open war that will not be to your advantage.
Your competitor’s branded terms bid CTR is lower than your own branded terms bid CTR. Logic: The consumer voluntarily seeks your competitor. Not you. This can lower your quality score, which makes your ad more expensive and penalizes your profitability.
This is the theory. What can be read everywhere?
Now concretely how to make your choice to invest or not in the brand of your competitors with Google Ads?
How to decide whether to invest in the brand of its competitors?
Here is a diagram to help you make a decision:
You have to start by asking yourself the question of your positioning in your market.
Are you a leader? Bidding on your competitors’ brands will only validate them. Instead, focus on campaigns that will allow you to maintain your lead in terms of product range, value proposition, innovations, etc.
Are you a player established in the market but conquest? If you have an available budget and nothing better to test or develop, you can try to find a little business, with low profitability, on competing brands … But don’t expect real leverage from it. growth. Also, focus on a time when you have a new competitive advantage to highlight.
You don’t have a budget available? Focus on your generic and long-tail campaigns by highlighting your identity and your benefits.
Are you a challenger? If you’re on a tight budget (that’s most likely), don’t waste it on those branding campaigns. In growth, this strategy has never been the most interesting in terms of leverage.
Have you raised funds and have a lot of budgets to get started? So go ahead! Don’t expect it to be a profitable source of acquisition, but rather an upper-funnel communication budget similar to display branding campaigns. Showing yourself the results of competitors will probably not bring you many new direct customers but will position you in the field of possibilities considered by your target.
Then?
Have you decided to buy the brand name of your competitors?
Read more: SMART BIDDING: The Complete Guide
Here are some tips to make this strategy successful.
Best Practices for Bidding on Competitor’s Brand Terms
Buying your competitor’s brand: respecting the rules
Follow Google’s branding guidelines and avoid using a registered brand name in your ad copy. You should also avoid using trademark names in your display URLs. If you break these rules and someone files a complaint, Google has the right to remove the ad and severely penalize you.
Buy the brand of your competitor: Be clear about your goals and your CPA Breakeven
If you bid on a competitor’s branded terms, you will naturally get a high cost per action (CPA). If you can’t afford it, you might not be ready to invest yet. Wait until you’ve established your brand to the point where you can afford a high CPA.
Choose the brands to buy on Google Ads carefully
Make sure that you choose companies that offer the same or similar products or services as yours. Ideally, check that you have a competitive advantage over them, whether it’s price, availability, or quality.
Buy your competitor’s brand: beware of mobile traffic
Mobile traffic is exploding, but the user context must be kept in mind.
Depending on the device, the search engine intent is different.
Someone searching for a brand name on a desktop might be looking to compare, but someone searching for a brand name on their phone might be looking for directions. In fact, local searches lead the mobile category, with 80% of local searches being converted to mobile according to statistics provided by Google itself.
So: Don’t bid on your competitor’s branded terms on mobile or with a severe bid adjustment. And of course, follow your stats!
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