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Paid search5 min read · Playbook

Reach in-market researchers before they ever type your keyword

By the time someone searches your exact keyword, they've usually been researching for days or weeks. Here's how search marketers reach them earlier.

The moment search ads miss

Search ads are demand capture — they only fire once someone types the right words. Most of the research that leads up to that moment happens earlier: comparing options, reading reviews, checking competitors, without ever touching your brand terms.

What the Prospect engine adds

It surfaces people showing real, current buying signals for your category, competitors, and keywords — before they've searched your brand — and turns them into an audience you can load into Google Ads the same way you'd load any custom or data-driven audience.

Where it fits

Layer it onto Display, Demand Gen, or YouTube campaigns, or into Performance Max audience signals, to reach people earlier in the research window than a keyword-only strategy alone allows.

The tradeoff to plan for

This leans upper-funnel. Pair it with your existing bottom-funnel search campaigns rather than replacing them — the two do different jobs.

Search ads catch the moment someone raises their hand. This catches them while they're still deciding whether to.

Key takeaways

  • Built from real in-market search & intent signals, not modeled lookalikes
  • Layer onto Display, Demand Gen, or Performance Max audience signals
  • Complements bottom-funnel keyword campaigns — doesn't replace them

See it on your own site

Fifteen minutes. We'll show you the intent records and identified visitors you're currently missing.

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Quick questions

Does this work with Performance Max?
Audiences load in the same formats Google Ads already supports for custom and data-driven audiences, which is compatible with standard campaign types including Performance Max.
Can I target by competitor?
Yes — you can target by topic, competitor, keyword, and geography.