April 20, 2023 Joshua Ruskin

How to Steal Clients from Your Competitors with PPC


Paid search advertising is an important part of a brand’s marketing strategy because it is a highly focused form of communication that makes sending more relevant and timely messages possible. The idea is simple, but almost every business, including your rivals, does it.

Regarding the customer journey, most search advertising is aimed at prospects in the information search’s first (awareness) stage. You can use search ads to steal people from your competitors’ efforts to get their names out there.

Poaching in SEM is when you aggressively bid on the target keywords of your rivals to get your ad to show up above theirs on SERPs. Poaching has many bad connotations but doesn’t always mean stealing in search ads. Instead, it means giving customers the best possible option.

Think about it this way: if you can steal a customer from a competitor, it’s because you convinced them that your product is better. Because you are better at selling and ensuring people have a great time. Ultimately, it’s up to the customer to decide, and in love and business, everything is fair.

So, without further ado, here are some of the best ways to steal customers:

Analyze Your Competitors’ PPC Strategies

  • Identify Their Strengths and Weaknesses

Research your competitors’ PPC campaigns to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Use tools like SEMrush or SpyFu to gather insights on keywords, ad copy, and landing pages. Analyze their ad spending, targeting, and click-through rates to uncover areas where you can outperform them.

  • Monitor Their Ad Copy and Creatives

Evaluate their ad copy and creatives to identify what makes them successful. Look for attention-grabbing headlines, engaging call-to-actions, and persuasive descriptions. You can create high-converting ads by understanding the elements contributing to their success.

Enhance Your PPC Campaigns

  • Target the Right Keywords

Steal a march on your competitors by targeting high-value keywords they might be overlooking. Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs to find untapped opportunities. Focus on long-tail keywords with high search volume and low competition to improve your ad rankings and conversions.

  • Craft Compelling Ad Copy

Write ad copy that stands out from your competitors. Highlight your unique selling points, incorporate powerful words, and ensure your message is clear and concise. Test multiple ad variations to identify the best-performing ones and optimize your campaign accordingly.

  • Optimize Your Landing Pages

Ensure your landing pages align with your ad copy and keywords. Optimize them for conversions using persuasive headlines, engaging visuals, and clear call-to-actions. A/B tests your landing pages to find the best-performing layout and design.

Offer Superior Customer Service and Value

  • Provide Outstanding Customer Support

Offer exceptional customer support to win over clients. Respond quickly to inquiries, provide personalized assistance, and go the extra mile to resolve issues. By building a reputation for excellent service, you can attract clients looking for a better experience.

  • Deliver Added Value

Stand out from the competition by providing added value to your clients. Offer free consultations, in-depth audits, or exclusive discounts. This can help you build trust and rapport, making it easier for clients to choose your services over your competitors.

Make the most of Ad Scheduler

PPC ads on Google are set up every 15 minutes at certain times of the day, and 15-minute amounts can also be used to make negative or positive changes. You can beat your competition if you know when their ads run. You can find out if your rivals are using the ad scheduler by doing test searches every 15 minutes throughout the day and then bidding when they are not.

Determine Under-Budget Campaigns

If you’re working with a limited budget for your search marketing campaigns, don’t worry! There are still ways to maximize your resources and achieve your goals. Let’s explore some strategies together. One way to increase traffic to your website without spending a lot of money is to strategically target the audience your competitor is trying to reach with their under-budgeted campaign. This can help you capture quality traffic and gain an advantage over your competitor.

When a campaign has a limited budget, Google may deliver an advertiser’s ads using standard or accelerated delivery to save costs. With standard delivery, your ads will be displayed regularly throughout the day until your daily budget is used up. This ensures that your ads are shown consistently throughout the day. Great news! Accelerated delivery means your ads will be prioritized and shown more frequently until your budget runs out.

One strategy to stay ahead of competitors is increasing the bidding price for the keywords you both want to target. You can adjust your bid price on specific advertising platforms after your competitor has reached their daily budget limit, resulting in increased traffic to your site at a lower cost.

Be Careful Stealing PPC Clients

Convincing people to switch from one competitor to another may feel like stealing someone else’s profits or livelihood, and it may appear “sneaky” and devious. However, it is undeniable that if an organization were genuinely meeting the needs of its existing customers, there would be no reason to be concerned about a new company entering the market, which provides dissatisfied buyers with more options in order of preference!

Always be cautious when implementing these strategies for the sake of your own company’s success.