Stop Blocking Competitor Search Terms in Your Google Ads (You're Leaving Money on the Table)
I keep seeing the same panic in Google Ads groups. Someone will post, "My ads are showing when people search for my competitors! How do I stop it?" And like clockwork, everyone tells them the same thing: just block those names as negative keywords. Problem solved.
But I have to tell you that advice can actually cost you sales. You might be turning away perfect customers because you're scared of a few bad clicks.
Let me explain what's really happening. Say you own Smile Dental. Someone Googles "Bright Teeth Dental," sees your ad, and calls. But they're already a patient at Bright Teeth. They're confused, you're frustrated, and you just paid for a lead that was never going to convert. I get it. That feels awful.
But here's what most people miss: not everyone searching a competitor's name is already their customer. A lot of them are just starting their research. They might know one name in town, so they start there. They could be comparing prices, reading reviews, or deciding who to book with today. These people are ready to buy. When you block every competitor keyword, you're hiding your ads from people who are actively looking for exactly what you sell. That never feels like a smart strategy to me.
The real issue isn't who is searching. It's how you're catching those leads. After listening to hundreds of recorded calls from ads, I noticed something: phone calls from search ads convert into good leads way less often than form fills. And it gets worse when you make calling you the easiest option.
Think about it from the searcher's side. They see your ad with a big "Call" button. They tap it. Suddenly they're talking to you without ever seeing your website, understanding your offer, or even realizing you're a different company. There's no commitment, no information exchanged, just a quick call that usually goes nowhere. This happens whether you run call-only campaigns or not. Even if you have a beautiful contact form on your site, that easy call button or the phone number in your header is the path of least resistance. And it attracts low-quality leads.
So what's the fix? Stop blocking competitor keywords out of fear. Instead, change how you capture leads.
Try this: send your ad traffic to a clean landing page with one clear goal: a multi-step form to fill out. Take the phone number off the page. Turn off call extensions and location extensions for that campaign. Just leave the form.
This does something powerful. It automatically filters your leads. Someone willing to spend a minute filling out a form is already more invested than someone who just tapped a button. You get useful information from the start. Most importantly, you get clear data. Now you can finally see if people searching "Bright Teeth Dental" actually become your customers or not. You might discover they convert beautifully. Or you might confirm they're just confused existing customers. Either way, you're making decisions based on evidence, not a gut feeling from a few bad calls.
Will you lose some people who only want to call? Sure. But in my experience, the dramatic jump in lead quality more than makes up for the dip in volume. The people who bounce because they can't call instantly? They're often the same ones who would have called you by accident, or who weren't serious enough to spend thirty seconds on a form.
So take a deep breath. Don't just block competitor keywords. Fix your lead capture first. Remove the easy call options, build a solid form, and start collecting real data. Then, and only then, you can add negative keywords. Not because you're scared, but because the numbers tell you it's the right move.
I keep seeing the same panic in Google Ads groups. Someone will post, "My ads are showing when people search for my competitors! How do I stop it?" And like clockwork, everyone tells them the same thing: just block those names as negative keywords. Problem solved.
But I have to tell you that advice can actually cost you sales. You might be turning away perfect customers because you're scared of a few bad clicks.
Let me explain what's really happening. Say you own Smile Dental. Someone Googles "Bright Teeth Dental," sees your ad, and calls. But they're already a patient at Bright Teeth. They're confused, you're frustrated, and you just paid for a lead that was never going to convert. I get it. That feels awful.
But here's what most people miss: not everyone searching a competitor's name is already their customer. A lot of them are just starting their research. They might know one name in town, so they start there. They could be comparing prices, reading reviews, or deciding who to book with today. These people are ready to buy. When you block every competitor keyword, you're hiding your ads from people who are actively looking for exactly what you sell. That never feels like a smart strategy to me.
The real issue isn't who is searching. It's how you're catching those leads. After listening to hundreds of recorded calls from ads, I noticed something: phone calls from search ads convert into good leads way less often than form fills. And it gets worse when you make calling you the easiest option.
Think about it from the searcher's side. They see your ad with a big "Call" button. They tap it. Suddenly they're talking to you without ever seeing your website, understanding your offer, or even realizing you're a different company. There's no commitment, no information exchanged, just a quick call that usually goes nowhere. This happens whether you run call-only campaigns or not. Even if you have a beautiful contact form on your site, that easy call button or the phone number in your header is the path of least resistance. And it attracts low-quality leads.
So what's the fix? Stop blocking competitor keywords out of fear. Instead, change how you capture leads.
Try this: send your ad traffic to a clean landing page with one clear goal: a multi-step form to fill out. Take the phone number off the page. Turn off call extensions and location extensions for that campaign. Just leave the form.
This does something powerful. It automatically filters your leads. Someone willing to spend a minute filling out a form is already more invested than someone who just tapped a button. You get useful information from the start. Most importantly, you get clear data. Now you can finally see if people searching "Bright Teeth Dental" actually become your customers or not. You might discover they convert beautifully. Or you might confirm they're just confused existing customers. Either way, you're making decisions based on evidence, not a gut feeling from a few bad calls.
Will you lose some people who only want to call? Sure. But in my experience, the dramatic jump in lead quality more than makes up for the dip in volume. The people who bounce because they can't call instantly? They're often the same ones who would have called you by accident, or who weren't serious enough to spend thirty seconds on a form.
So take a deep breath. Don't just block competitor keywords. Fix your lead capture first. Remove the easy call options, build a solid form, and start collecting real data. Then, and only then, you can add negative keywords. Not because you're scared, but because the numbers tell you it's the right move.