How to get your competitors to generate traffic for you

One rule we live by when scaling Google Ads:

Always on the lookout for new customer segments to sell to.

Typically, we do this by expanding into new countries, running cold traffic ads on YouTube, Shopping, etc

But there’s a less common but just as effective method to do so.

It’s a bit sneaky (and it might annoy your competitors).

But it’s completely legal and when executed well…

It can unlock a massive segment of high-intent buyers who are ready to purchase.

Let me explain.

Right now, in your market, there's a group of potential customers who are extremely close to buying—but not from you.

They’re searching for your competitors using keywords like “[Competitor],” “[Competitor] reviews,” and similar terms.

That’s a huge pool of your ideal customers you can tap into.

A pool filled with high-intent buyers that your competitors already spend big money to:

• Educate about the product category

• Drive them to Google through Meta ads, influencer collaborations, and other channels

Now, you might be thinking:

“But Jackson, surely these people would just land on the competitor’s page, right? After all, that’s what they’re searching for.”

And for the most part, you'd be right.

A large portion of that traffic already knows and wants your competitor’s products.

They’re ready to head straight to their site and make a purchase.

But here’s the interesting part though:

Not everyone searching for your competitor is completely sold on that brand yet.

A decent chunk of these searches come from people who are still researching the brand.

They want that type of product…

But they're still figuring out if your competitor is the best choice.

THAT is the segment you can capitalize on.

If you position your brand smartly, you can “steal” that traffic to your site and convert them into customers.

There are 3 ways to do this effectively.

The most common approach is sending visitors directly to your product page.

It can work, but it overlooks the intent of this type of traffic.

These buyers are already familiar with your competitor’s brand. 

To pull them away, you have to go beyond showing them what you sell.

You have to show them why it’s a better choice.

That’s the critical insight there.

And it’s what our other two methods focus on.

They give you more room to build trust and deliver a clear “Why us instead?” story.

If you’re curious about how these other two methods work and how to implement them…

That’s what we covered 2 weeks ago in our Blue Ocean Google Ads Landing Pages Webinar.

Unfortunately, that webinar is over, and we don’t have a recording available.

But this is the kind of insight and strategies that we share during these webinars.

And we’re planning and working on the next session for next month. More on that later.

For now, I’ll leave you with a quick insight: 

Brands often dismiss certain customer segments because they assume these segments aren’t profitable or accessible.

But I’ve seen enough to learn that it’s not the segment that is unprofitable.

It’s how you capture it that is unprofitable.

With a smart approach designed for these audiences, you can successfully reach and convert them.

And when you do, it often pays off big.

Simply because so few other brands look in that direction.

Jackson

Founder and CEO of Echelonn

How we can help:

• Get a free Google ads audit: For brands spending more than $20k/mo. or making over 1 million annually, we’ll identify the key bottlenecks in your account, and turn it into a free 90-day scaling plan. Click here.

• Get our E-commerce Growth Toolkit: Get access to our free resources and tools including the Product Feed & GMC Optimization Checklist, YouTube Shorts Ads Playbook, and 12 Plug-and-Play Dashboards. Click here.

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