Answer by Hernan Jaramillo: Would it be frowned upon if I were to create an SEM PPC campaign using my competitors' company names as keywords-to-bid-on for my ads?

Questions

Would it be frowned upon if I were to create an SEM PPC campaign using my competitors' company names as keywords-to-bid-on for my ads?

My web agency is creating a variety of SEM PPC campaigns in the search networks, and I'm thinking of exploring the idea of bidding on keywords for my competitors' company names. Of course I wouldn't include their brand names in my copy, but I would leverage their keywords as terms to position my company. I'd be looking to bid on roughly ~400 keywords, therefore ~400 creative, ad, marketing, web, digital, performance agencies. I haven't strategized ad copy and landing page direction yet, simply exploring the concept first. What are the pros and cons of this strategy from your point of view?

Answer this Question

Hernan Jaramillo Raised $100M for startups, BTC since 2013

Technically you can bid on competitors. Take for example Autotrader who bids for keywords such as Honda, Ford, etc.

But the best advice is actually here http://searchengineland.com/the-complete-guide-to-bidding-on-competitor-brand-names-trademarked-terms-118576

Answered 10 years ago