Google Search Ads for AI SaaS: Getting wrecked by competitor keywords

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Z3ro

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Hey guys,

I’m running Google Search ads for a new AI productivity tool.

To get traffic, I’m bidding on phrase match keywords related to my top competitors. The problem is, people click my ad thinking it’s the competitor, realize it’s not, and bounce immediately. My bounce rate is over 85% and it's draining my daily budget.

Should I completely stop bidding on competitor names and focus only on generic problem-solving keywords? Or is my landing page just bad at convincing them to switch?

Thanks!
 
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if it just looks like your product with no reference to why someone might prefer it over what they were searching for, they’ll bounce every time.
 
Z3ro said:
Hey guys,

I’m running Google Search ads for a new AI productivity tool.

To get traffic, I’m bidding on phrase match keywords related to my top competitors. The problem is, people click my ad thinking it’s the competitor, realize it’s not, and bounce immediately. My bounce rate is over 85% and it's draining my daily budget.

Should I completely stop bidding on competitor names and focus only on generic problem-solving keywords? Or is my landing page just bad at convincing them to switch?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
the competitor keywords may be gud enough, but it will not be easy to match the intent. I would recommend that one goes through the Search terms report and maybe even comparative pages.
 
It's okay that you are using your competitors' keywords to drive home traffic. There is now a problem when this traffic hits home. Nothing is convincing it to stay home. Fix that and see how all you drag in will stay.
 
Z3ro said:
Hey guys,

I’m running Google Search ads for a new AI productivity tool.

To get traffic, I’m bidding on phrase match keywords related to my top competitors. The problem is, people click my ad thinking it’s the competitor, realize it’s not, and bounce immediately. My bounce rate is over 85% and it's draining my daily budget.

Should I completely stop bidding on competitor names and focus only on generic problem-solving keywords? Or is my landing page just bad at convincing them to switch?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Yeah, stop doing that as it seems not to be working for you. For some people it does but if it harms more than it is useful then don't do it.
 
Maybe test a small competitor campaign with a very clear landing page, but dont put the whole budget into it.
 
I would separate competitor terms from the main campaign instead of judging them together. Check which competitor searches actually bring qualified users, then cut the ones with high bounce and no conversions. That should tell you pretty quickly if the problem is the keyword or the landing page.
 
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