Using Google Ads to Target Your Competitors' Customers

In this conversation, Tod Maffin and Jyll Saskin Gales discuss competitor targeting in Google Ads. Competitor targeting involves showing ads to people who are searching for your competitors. It is allowed as long as you don't mislead consumers or pretend to be another brand. Different methods of competitor targeting include showing ads on competitors' websites or YouTube videos, creating custom segments on competitors' brand terms, and adding competitors' brand names as keywords in your own search campaign. Creative approaches to competitor targeting involve getting around trademark restrictions and using indirect competitor targeting. Google policies prohibit using trademarked names in ad text, but fair comment or fair dealing may not apply. It is recommended to keep competitor campaigns separate from brand campaigns and to use different budgets and bid strategies.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Competitor Targeting
01:03 Different Methods of Competitor Targeting
03:28 Google Policies and Fair Comment
04:20 Restrictions and Recommendations
04:57 Tips for Competitor Targeting
06:17 Structuring Competitor Campaigns
07:04 Conclusion