Case Study: Competitor Keyword Targeting Drives $643K in Revenue

Introduction

GD Energy Products manufactures pumps and related equipment for oil and gas operations. The company wanted to increase its visibility with frac pump buyers researching competing manufacturers and connect that search activity with its sales pipeline.

Highway 9 Consulting worked with GDEP’s marketing and sales teams to develop a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign around competitor keywords. Paid search allowed GDEP to reach buyers searching for competing frac pump brands and direct them to its product information.

Problem

Frac pump buyers often search for specific manufacturers when comparing equipment or planning a replacement or purchase. These high-intent searches gave GDEP an opportunity to reach prospective customers who already understood the product category and were evaluating available options.

Broad oil and gas keywords covered a larger audience without consistently indicating an immediate frac pump need. GDEP needed a direct path from competitor searches to relevant equipment information. The campaign also needed to connect advertising contacts with qualified opportunities and measurable sales results.

Solution

Highway 9 worked with GDEP’s marketing and sales teams to understand its customers and equipment requirements, including the competing products buyers considered. That input informed a Google Ads campaign focused on searches for competing manufacturers of frac pumps.

The campaign used product-focused search ads to present GDEP as another option. Each ad directed prospective customers to GDEP’s frac pump product page, where they could review the available equipment and its technical specifications.

Results

The competitor PPC campaign generated 116,696 impressions and 8,322 clicks, with a 7.1% overall click-through rate. The campaign produced 79 contacts, including 34 qualified contacts, and led to 11 sales opportunities.

Six opportunities became closed-won deals and generated $643,247.96 in revenue. The campaign also produced $2.51 million in total pipeline, including $1.87 million that remained open at the end of the reporting period. GDEP spent $15,210.21 on advertising, resulting in a 42.29x return on ad spend.

Reaching Frac Pump Buyers Through Competitor Keywords

The campaign launched in October 2024 and targeted buyers in the United States and Canada. Highway 9 organized separate ad groups around searches for three frac pump competitors. Each ad group used exact- and broad-match keyword variations associated with that manufacturer.

This structure allowed Highway 9 to match ad messaging with search intent and measure contacts by competitive audience. It also concentrated GDEP’s advertising budget on searches that indicated product awareness and potential purchase intent.

The responsive search ads connected competitor searches with GDEP’s frac pump capabilities. Ad messaging addressed horsepower, durability, heavy-duty construction, interchangeable fluid ends, and compatibility with different power applications. Every ad directed buyers to GDEP’s frac pump product page.

Highway 9 updated the keywords as campaign data developed and tested responsive search ads approximately every six months. Product images were added after Google Ads introduced that option.

One competitor ad group generated 57,881 impressions, 3,805 clicks, and 33 contacts. Its click-through rate reached 6.6%. A second competitor ad group generated 58,688 impressions, 4,508 clicks, and 46 contacts, with a 7.7% click-through rate. The third ad group generated 127 impressions and nine clicks.

GDEP connected campaign contacts with its sales records. Of the 79 contacts generated, 34 qualified and 11 progressed to the deal stage. Six became closed-won deals. Those sales included two equipment purchases totaling $625,000 and four parts and consumables purchases totaling $18,247.96.

Performance Snapshot

• 116,696 impressions
• 8,322 PPC clicks
• 7.1% overall click-through rate
• $1.83 average cost per click
• 79 contacts generated
• 34 qualified contacts
• 11 deals created
• Six closed-won deals
• $2.51 million in total sales pipeline
• $1.87 million in open pipeline
• $643,247.96 in closed-won revenue
• $15,210.21 in advertising spending
• 42.29x return on ad spend
  

Performance reflects campaign reporting through August 24, 2026. Pipeline figures include open and closed opportunities. The 42.29x return on ad spend compares closed-won revenue with advertising spending. 

Conclusion

Highway 9 used competitor keyword targeting to reach frac pump buyers while they were researching competing manufacturers. Product-focused search ads connected those buyers with GDEP’s equipment information and sales process.

The campaign generated 34 qualified contacts and 11 sales opportunities. Six deals closed, producing $643,247.96 in revenue from $15,210.21 in advertising spending.