The Morning I Realised My Client Was Being Robbed
I remember sitting in a cafe in New Farm, Brisbane, staring at a search result that made my blood boil. A long-term client—a boutique plumbing firm with a stellar reputation—was being outranked for their own business name.
Directly above their organic listing was a flashy ad from a massive national franchise. The headline essentially said: "Looking for [Client Name]? We’re faster, cheaper, and available now."
It was an ethical mugging. But in the world of Google Ads, it’s also perfectly legal. This is competitor bidding, and if you aren’t doing it—or at least defending against it—you’re leaving your front door unlocked in a dodgy neighbourhood.
The Great Misconception: Why Most Agencies Get This Wrong
Most Brisbane agencies will tell you that competitor bidding is a "low-quality score" nightmare. They’ll warn you that it’s too expensive because Google penalises you for lack of relevance.
They’re wrong.
They’re wrong because they treat competitor bidding like a standard search campaign. If you try to sell a Ford to someone searching for a Toyota using the same generic ad copy, you’ll fail. Competitor bidding isn't about keyword matching; it’s about psychological intervention. You are interrupting a consumer who thinks they’ve already made a decision. To win, your landing page experience must immediately address why the user should pivot to you.
The Three Types of Competitor Hits
1. The Direct Hijack: Bidding on a specific brand name (e.g., "Jim’s Mowing"). 2. The Comparison Play: Bidding on "[Competitor] vs [Your Brand]" or "[Competitor] alternatives". 3. The Location Snatch: Bidding on "[Competitor] + [Suburb]" (e.g., "Harvey Norman Fortitude Valley").
The Strategy: How to Steal Traffic Without Burning Cash
If you’re going to play this game, don't be lazy. Most businesses throw up a generic ad and wonder why their CPC (Cost Per Click) is $15. Here is how we actually win in the Australian market.
1. The "Better Alternative" Hook
Do not pretend to be the competitor. That’s a fast track to a high bounce rate and a potential legal headache. Instead, highlight a specific pain point. If your competitor is a massive corporation known for terrible phone support, your ad should read: "Tired of Automated Menus? Talk to a Local Brisbane Expert in 30 Seconds."2. Use Your Assets as Weapons
Your ad needs to look bigger, better, and more trustworthy than the organic result below it. This is where most local businesses fall over. They ignore the extensions that provide social proof. You must optimise your ad assets to include star ratings, location extensions, and callouts that highlight your unique selling proposition (USP).3. The "Calls Only" Sniper Approach
For service-based businesses in Queensland—locksmiths, electricians, or lawyers—people searching for a competitor by name are often in a rush. They just want a problem solved. In these cases, don't even send them to a website. Use a Call-Only ad. Why? Because for these high-urgency niches, phone calls are the only metric that actually puts money in the bank. If you can get them on the phone before they even click your competitor's site, you’ve won.When to Walk Away (The Trap)
I’ll be the first to tell you: competitor bidding isn't always the answer. If you are a brand new startup bidding against a titan like REA Group or Westpac, your budget will be vaporised in hours.
The Rule of Thumb: Only bid on competitors where you have a genuine, demonstrable advantage. Are you cheaper? Are you local while they are national? Do you have 500 Google reviews while they have 12?
If you can’t answer "yes" to at least one of those, you’re just donating money to Google.
The Defensive Play: Guarding Your Own House
If you aren't bidding on your own brand name, you’re inviting your rivals to sit at your dinner table. Brand protection campaigns are usually the cheapest clicks you’ll ever buy. It ensures that when someone searches for you, they see your* message first—not a competitor’s "better alternative" hook.
Stop Playing Nice
Digital marketing in 2026 is a zero-sum game. There is a finite amount of screen real estate on a mobile device. If your competitor is sitting in the top spot for your services, they are taking your revenue.
Competitor bidding isn't "mean"—it's market positioning. By using smart psychological hooks, high-converting landing pages, and aggressive ad assets, you can turn your competitor's marketing budget into your lead generation machine.
Ready to stop being the one getting mugged? At Local Marketing Group, we specialise in aggressive, ROI-focused Google Ads strategies that help Brisbane businesses dominate their local map.
Contact Local Marketing Group today and let’s see which of your competitors’ traffic belongs to you.