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Strategy4 min read · Playbook

Reaching people who are comparing you to a competitor right now

Someone researching your top competitor this week is, functionally, already in your market. Here's how to reach them without crossing into anything sketchy.

What conquesting actually is

Targeting people showing research signals around a named competitor, topic, or keyword — not scraping a rival's traffic, just reaching people who are demonstrably shopping the category right now.

Why this works better than a blanket campaign

Someone actively comparing options is closer to a decision than someone who hasn't started looking. A conquesting audience skews toward people already evaluating alternatives — which includes you, if you show up.

The guardrails

This stays within Meta and Google's standard audience and ad policies. It's signal-based targeting, not anything that touches a competitor's actual systems or data.

How to use it well

Pair it with messaging that acknowledges the comparison directly rather than pretending it isn't happening — people mid-comparison respond to specificity.

They're already comparing. The only question is whether you're in the lineup.

Key takeaways

  • Targets people showing research signals — not scraped or stolen competitor data
  • Works within standard Meta and Google ad-audience policies
  • Best paired with messaging that speaks directly to the comparison

See it on your own site

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Quick questions

Is this against platform rules?
No — it's audience targeting built from research and intent signals, delivered the way Meta and Google expect custom audiences to be built.
Can I target more than one competitor?
Yes — you can target by topic, competitor, keyword, and geography, and combine several.