How can you use SEM to target your competitors' customers?

1 Identify your competitors

The first step to using SEM to target your competitors' customers is to identify who your competitors are and what they are doing. You can use tools like SEMrush or SpyFu to analyze their keywords, ad copy, landing pages, and budget. You can also search for their brand names or products on Google and see what ads they are running and who else is bidding on them. This will help you understand their strengths and weaknesses, and find gaps and opportunities in their strategy.

2 Choose your keywords

The next step is to choose your keywords that you want to bid on to target your competitors' customers. You can use different types of keywords, such as brand, comparison, and alternative keywords. Brand keywords include your competitors' brand names or products, such as "Nike shoes" or "Apple iPhone". Comparison keywords compare your products or services with your competitors', such as "Nike vs Adidas" or "iPhone vs Samsung". Alternative keywords suggest alternatives to your competitors' products or services, such as "cheaper than Nike" or "better than iPhone". These keywords can help you capture users who are looking for your competitors, compare options, and appeal to users who are dissatisfied with your competitors.

3 Write your ad copy

The third step is to craft ad copy that will draw your competitors' customers to click on your ads and visit your website. You should create headlines and descriptions that emphasize your unique value proposition, benefits, and offers. Additionally, you should include clear and relevant calls to action that urge users to take the next step. To write effective ad copy, you can use your competitors' names or products in your headlines or descriptions to show relevance to their search. You can also use emotional triggers, such as curiosity, urgency, fear, or excitement, to generate interest in your offer. Social proof, like testimonials, ratings, or awards, can be used to establish trust in your brand. And modifiers like "best", "top", "cheapest", or "fastest" can help you stand out from the competition and create a sense of superiority.

4 Optimize your landing pages

Optimizing your landing pages to convert your competitors' customers into your own is the fourth step. Ensure that your landing pages match your ad copy and keywords, and provide a smooth and relevant user experience. You should also optimize for speed, design, and usability, while including persuasive elements such as a catchy headline summarizing your offer, a subheadline providing more details, a hero image or video showcasing your product or service and its benefits, a list of features or benefits that explain how your solution solves users' problems, a lead capture form or button collecting contact information or directing users to the next step, a strong call to action motivating users to take action and telling them what to do next, testimonials, reviews, or logos demonstrating social proof and authority, and a guarantee, refund policy, or free trial reducing risk and increasing user confidence.

5 Monitor and measure your results

The final step in running a successful SEM campaign is to monitor and measure your results. To do this, you need to use tools such as Google Analytics or Google Ads to track key metrics, such as impressions, clicks, click-through rate, cost per click, conversions, cost per action, and return on ad spend. Evaluating these metrics will help you identify what is working and what is not. Additionally, testing and optimizing your keywords, ad copy, and landing pages can help you improve your results and reach your goals.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?