7 Tips for Finding and Targeting Competitors’ Keywords in Google Ads

Targeting competitor keywords is one of the most effective strategies in Google Ads. They give you the perfect chance to reach competitor audiences and attract high-intent buyers right when they’re searching branded terms and comparing value propositions.

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But just as they’re some of the most rewarding keywords to target, they’re also some of the most temperamental. If you don't approach it carefully, competitor campaigns can backfire fast.

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This guide breaks down everything you need to run a smart, compliant, and conversion-ready campaign. You’ll get strategy tips, competitor keyword research tools, ad copy best practices, and landing page techniques.

Why Competitor Keyword Targeting Works

By the time someone is looking up a competitor, they’re usually already qualified. Most are in the middle or bottom of the funnel, comparing options, reading reviews, and deciding who to go with.

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As a result, reaching users at this stage gives you a clearer path to conversion. They don’t need much nurturing and usually convert faster, often at a lower cost.

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On top of that, competitor targeting gives you a better view of the market and where you fit. Taking a competitor-first approach to keyword research and reviewing the auction insights report can help you uncover keyword gaps, test new angles, and reach audiences you might have missed.

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In the end, it helps strengthen your overall Google Ads strategy while pulling in leads at the moment they’re most likely to act.

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How to Find Competitor Keywords That Convert

The last thing you want to do when it comes to targeting competitor brand keywords is guess. Doing so will just eat away at your CPC and leave you with no real conversions. Instead, you want specific keywords that relate to your competitor and signal strong intent to buy or compare.

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Doing this requires real data from the right tools. And there’s no better place to start than with Google’s own.

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Start with Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is a simple but solid place to start when you're looking to conduct keyword research for competitor campaigns. It gives you search volume, suggested bid ranges, and a list of related terms based on what you enter.

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Just plug in your competitor’s brand name, a product, or their homepage URL. The tool will surface keyword ideas tied to that brand, including high-intent terms like “[Competitor] pricing” or “[Competitor] reviews.” These are exactly the kinds of search results people look for when they’re sizing up their options and getting ready to decide.

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It’s also useful for getting a sense of your budget. If a branded keyword has a high cost-per-click but doesn’t look likely to convert, it’s probably not worth chasing. But if you see terms like “[Competitor] alternative” with solid volume and manageable costs, those are the ones to consider testing.

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It’s not the most advanced tool out there, but it’s free, easy to use, and gives you a good starting point for mapping out your strategy.

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Use Keyword Analysis Tools Like to Find Competitor Keywords 

Google Keyword Planner is a great place to start. But once you’ve got a feel for how competitor keyword targeting works, you’ll want to step things up. Third-party tools like SpyFu, SEMrush, and Ahrefs give you a much clearer look at what your competitors are doing and how they’re running their ads. That makes it easier to spot openings and plan how to win their traffic.

Here’s how each one helps:

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SpyFu

SpyFu is one of the top tools for competitor research in Google Ads. You can see what keywords your competitors have historically bid on, how their ad copy has changed over time, and get a general sense of their spend. It’s especially good for spotting patterns in their campaigns and finding missed opportunities you can go after.

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SEMrush

SEMrush is more of an all-in-one SEO platform. It gives you data on PPC, SEO, display ads, and more. You can track which keywords competitors are targeting, see how their ads are performing, and even check out their creatives. If you want to manage everything in one place, this is a solid option.

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Ahrefs

Ahrefs is best known for SEO, but it has some useful features for paid search too. You can look at paid keywords, top-performing ads, and competitor landing pages. It’s not quite as detailed for PPC, but if you’re already using it for SEO, it’s an easy way to get more insights without switching tools.

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Each one gives you a different perspective. The goal is to figure out what your competitors are doing, what’s working for them, and where you can step in and do it better.

7 Best Practices for Targeting Competitor Keywords

There’s more to competitor keyword targeting than just bidding on terms. You need to make sure your intent, copy, and landing experience are aligned and optimized for conversions. If even one step is off, it can hurt performance across your ad groups. Here are a few tips and best practices to ensure your campaign is set up for success.

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1. Prioritize High-Intent, Qualified Competitor Keywords

Not all competitor keywords are suited for targeting. Some are people looking for support or a login portal. These have zero value for your Google Ads campaign. Instead, you want to target the Google Ads keywords that indicate clear buying intent.

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The easiest way to do this is by looking for keywords with these modifiers:

• “Pricing”
• “Demo”
• “Reviews”
• “Alternative”
• “Compare”

People searching for these terms are either in the decision making process for your competitors, the pricing keywords are a great example,  or are actively looking for a replacement, the alternative keywords are a great example of this.These users are higher intent and much more likely to convert.

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Want to generate high-intent B2B competitor keywords in just clicks? Use InterTeam’s Free Google Ads Competitor Copy and Keyword Generator ! All you have to do is type your competitor’s name in the first line and it will automatically generate a list of high-converting competitor keywords.

At the same time, make sure to block the junk. Add negative keywords like “[Competitor] login,” “careers,” or “customer service” so you’re not paying for unqualified clicks.

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2. Write High-Converting Ad Copy

Competitor keywords tend to come with higher CPCs, so you want to make sure your Google Ads copy is dialed in. If it’s not optimized to convert, you’ll burn through your budget with little to show for it.

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Your copy has two main goals: follow Google’s rules and highlight your unique selling proposition.

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But to do this effectively, your copy also needs to achieve a high Keyword Quality Score. This is the main indicator Google uses to decide how much you pay and how often your ads show up.

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Achieving a high Keyword Quality Score comes down to emphasizing ad relevance. This means using the keywords you are bidding on within your copy to show your ad matches the intent behind the search.

Of course, you still need to make sure your ad stays compliant. If your competitor’s brand is trademarked, you cannot use it directly in your ad text. But you can still keep your ads highly relevant with phrases like:

• “Top [Product Category] Alternatives”
• “Looking for a [Product Category]?”
• "[Product Category] Solution"

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With keyword relevance covered, the next step is optimizing for conversions. The best strategy is to focus on what makes you stand out.

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Lead with your strengths, whether it is faster onboarding, better pricing, or a feature your competitor does not have. Because these users are often shopping around, offering a discount or special promo can give them a reason to click right now.

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If you are using InterTeam’s Google Ads Competitor Copy and Keyword Generator, this is the time to put it to work. It will help you come up with compliant variations that keep your target keywords front and center.

3. Use Comparison Landing Pages to Win Clicks

If someone is searching for your competitor by name, they have a clear intent in mind. They are researching, comparing features and pricing, and trying to figure out which option fits best. Sending them to a generic homepage will not cut it, they want specifics.

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Instead, the best results come from dedicated landing pages that line up with the intent behind those searches. You want to make it easy for people to compare your offer directly with your competitor in a way that does not feel forced.

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The first step is nailing your Keyword Quality Score.

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Make sure your landing page includes the keywords you are targeting in the meta title, meta description, H1 title, and throughout the content.

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Next, you want to optimize the overall landing page experience. Things like time on site, bounce rate, and conversion rate all feed into how users interact with your page, how Google scores the landing experience, and how well it is set up to convert.

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Here is what to include to keep both visitors and Google happy while optimizing your copy for conversions:

• Side-by-side feature tables that make comparisons easy
• Quick summaries of what you do better
• Testimonials from customers who switched
• Callouts to pain points your competitor does not solve
• And always keep your primary keywords woven naturally through the page

All of this does double duty. It helps shoppers make a confident choice and strengthens your Quality Score, which lowers your costs and helps your ads get seen more often.

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4. Exclude Competitor Employees from Your Campaigns

If you're running ads targeting competitor keywords on Google Ads, the last thing you want is them to be accessible to competitors. Not only is this wasted targeting, but it gives your biggest competitors the opportunity to burn through your ad budget. On top of that, it throws off performance data.

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One simple way to limit this risk is by excluding their team from your audience.

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For this to work, you’ll need to get a list of competitor email addresses. You can get these through scraping, sales data, or other tools, then upload them to Google’s Customer Match and create an exclusion list. This stops those users from seeing or clicking on your ads.

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Is it bulletproof? No. It only works when someone is signed in with their excluded email. But even then, it’s still worth doing. If it helps avoid a few wasted clicks and keeps your budget focused on real prospects, that’s a win.

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5. Expand Your Competitor Targeting With New Competitors Using the Auction Insights Report

Google Ad campaigns targeting competitor keywords are some of the most involved. You need to constantly be monitoring them. You can be sure competing advertisers are.

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Luckily, Google Ads gives you access to Auction Insights Reports. These break down who else is bidding on the same keywords, how often their ads are showing, and how your results compare.

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You'll also find that what you want to monitor here isn’t quite the same as your standard Google Ads campaign. Basic CTR and CPC data doesn’t show the full picture.

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One metric you’ll want to watch is Impression Share. This tells you how often your ads are showing compared to how often they were eligible to show. If a competitor’s impression share suddenly jumps, it probably means they’ve increased their budget, changed their bidding strategy, or reached a higher top position in the results.

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Brands typically don’t like it when competitors bid on their keywords, and they’ll often try to block it when they notice. That’s why you need to check this report regularly. If someone starts getting more aggressive, you’ll see it early and can adjust your bids, budget, or ad copy before it starts affecting your performance.

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6. Retarget Users From Your Competitor Campaigns

If someone clicks your ad after searching for a competitor, that’s a good sign. They’re curious. They’re open to alternatives. Even if they don’t convert on the first visit, you’ve got a real shot at winning them over with a second.

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To make that happen, you need to track them properly from the start. Tag your competitor campaigns with UTM parameters so you can identify that website traffic later in GA4 or the Google Ads interface.

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Once you’ve got that audience segmented, build a custom list of users who came in through those competitor terms. Then, retarget them with something relevant. Maybe it’s a follow-up offer. Maybe it’s a side-by-side comparison. Maybe it’s a free demo.

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Whatever it is, the key is staying in front of them while they’re still deciding. Because if they’ve already looked once, there’s a good chance they’ll look again.

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7. Stay Compliant, Manage Trademarks, and Keep Optimizing

Competitor campaigns need a bit more hands-on attention than your typical Google Ads setup.

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While targeting competitor brand names is one of the most powerful ways to attract their audience and often leads to higher conversion rates, it isn’t without its risks. Things change fast, and if you’re not checking in regularly, it’s easy to let something slip.

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Start by reviewing your ad copy and keyword list from time to time. Make sure you’re not accidentally crossing any trademark lines. If something feels like it might get flagged, clean it up before Google does it for you.

Although you’re allowed to bid on competitor brand names, Google generally restricts trademarked terms in your ad copy. If your ad does get flagged, these are some valid reasons Google will consider for an appeal:

• You’re using the trademark descriptively or in a generic way
• You have a legal right to reference it
• You’re submitting new information that wasn’t previously considered
• You’re providing a court order
• Or you believe the disapproval was incorrect and want it reviewed
  
  

It’s also smart to refresh things as the campaign runs. Swap in new copy, tweak your exclusions, and double-check your match types. Policies shift. Competitors change up their approach. You don’t want to be running the same setup months later without knowing if it still works.

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Staying compliant and making small updates as you go helps keep your campaigns running smoothly and keeps you competitive without risking your account. Run a quick competitive analysis every so often to make sure your setup still holds up.

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Need Help Targeting Competitor Keywords?

Competitor keyword targeting is one of the most effective, and also one of the trickier, ways to bring in high-intent traffic.

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Just as you're watching your Google Ads competitors' campaigns, they are likely watching yours too. What's worse, Google limits how much competitive data you can access, so you won't always have the full picture.

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Working with a Google Ads agency is the best way to stay ahead and pull traffic away from the competition. And at Interteam Marketing, we know what we’re doing.

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Book a free strategy call and we’ll take a look at what your competitors are targeting and show how to steal conversions from people searching for their brand! .

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FAQs About Competitor Keyword Targeting