Stealing Clicks From Your Competitors (Episode 507)
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Chris Schafer delivers a contrarian take on competitor targeting in Google Ads, arguing that most advertisers shouldn’t do it—especially if they’re already underfunded. He warns that bidding on competitor brand terms often leads to wasted spend, poor-quality leads, and even brand wars that backfire. Yet, for those who persist, he outlines a precise, lean strategy: run a separate campaign with manual bidding, exact match keywords, and tightly controlled messaging focused on pre-decision triggers like 'price,' 'review,' or 'estimate.' The real win comes not from the ad itself, but from a dedicated landing page that makes a clear, side-by-side case for why your service is better. He also cautions against sending traffic to generic homepages or call assets, which can result in wasted clicks and frustrated callers. His core message? If you’re going to steal clicks, do it with purpose, precision, and proof—not just brand envy.
Run competitor campaigns in a separate, dedicated budget to avoid cannibalizing core keyword performance.
Use exact match only for competitor terms—avoid broad and phrase match to prevent irrelevant traffic.
Target pre-decision searches like 'price,' 'review,' or 'estimate' to reach people still evaluating options.
Pin specific, benefit-driven headlines that directly argue why your service is better than the competitor.
Always pair competitor ads with a dedicated comparison page—don’t rely on a generic homepage.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
Why Most Advertisers Should Avoid Competitor Targeting
“You now have an arch villain that you're fighting against and you only brought it upon yourself.”
The 3 Proven Methods That Can Make Competitor Ads Work
“If they search for a competitor name plus the word price or cost or reviews, you can probably assume that this person has not yet engaged with the company.”
Why Competitor Campaigns Usually Fail
Chris lists four common reasons campaigns fail: no real product differentiation, sending traffic to generic homepages, inability to afford the spend, and the uphill battle of changing a customer’s mind.
The 6-Step Setup for a Lean, Effective Competitor Campaign
“I run poor ads all the time because I... I want, sometimes I just need to control my headlines.”
Final Advice and How to Work With Chris
Chris wraps up with a call to action for those who still want to try competitor targeting—emphasizing discipline and strategy. He also promotes his consulting and coaching services.
“You now have an arch villain that you're fighting against and you only brought it upon yourself.”
“If they search for a competitor name plus the word price or cost or reviews, you can probably assume that this person has not yet engaged with the company.”
“I run poor ads all the time because I... I want, sometimes I just need to control my headlines.”
Host
Google Ads
brand
Chris Schafer
person
Optio
brand
brand
Meta
brand
Microsoft
brand
TikTok
brand
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