There are an enormous number of players in the ad auctions, especially nowadays.
Big corporations, tiny businesses, aggregators, startups… You name it.
All of them are competing for the same pool of users and trying to expand their reach to broader awareness audiences.
But even if clicks cost the same (they don’t) and you’re all bidding in the same auction, you need a unique plan to win, not just on the ad creative level, but also on the strategic level.
Why?
Because everyone is playing a different game. Let me explain.
Wall Street is populated with a diverse range of players, including investment funds, institutions, and retail investors.
And it’s not just the size of those players that matters. It’s the game they play.
Some invest for the long term.
Some for the short term.
Some are conservative, some take bold risks.
And it’s the same in ad auctions.
You might have the same creative, target audience, and CPC as your competitor, but their intentions might be completely different.
Their campaign might be unprofitable by design as part of a growth strategy.
Maybe they’re chasing short-term volume.
Or maybe their ad account has been running for years, and the platform is optimizing it with a mountain of historical data.
So when you enter the bidding war - or try to improve your position - don’t just look at your competitors through the lens of the ad library or SERP results.
Ask yourself:
What’s their strategy?
Where might they have an advantage?
And which game are they playing?
If you can answer these, you'll gain a better understanding of your own positioning and make smarter, more strategic moves.
Here's how to take action:
Next time you review competitor ads, go deeper.
Build a real competitor profile:
Explore their landing pages and promotions
Check how long they’ve been advertising
Subscribe and study their email sequences
Analyze how established their systems are
If they’re a well-established brand, they’re probably dominating low-funnel traffic.
You can try tapping into mid-funnel audiences to gather data and increase your chances.
If they’re running a killer promotion in a price-sensitive niche, position your entire brand around a better offer.
And be strategic about when you launch your promo to win that same traffic.
Next, think about your own game:
If you’re playing the long game, short-term swings shouldn’t shake you.
If you're optimizing for profit, don’t chase the same volume goals as growth players.
If your offer is fundamentally different, most of your competitors’ ads are irrelevant anyway.
In ad auctions, strategy matters deeply.
You and another advertiser might both have $10K.
But for you, it might be your entire monthly budget, and you're aiming for a 4x ROAS.
Meanwhile, they just want as many users as possible and don’t even care about ROAS.
Treat your budgets, ads, and targeting like tools to help you reach your goals.
But always remember: you're not alone in the auction.
Everyone's competing for the same users.
Just not playing the same game.
Stay loyal to your strategy.
And play to win your game.