Nobody in gov-digital is running Google ads.
Not even your biggest competitors.
Dave - Mercator runs zero paid search, but so does almost everyone in the government-digital space. That's not a problem to fix, it's an open lane to take - cheaply, before anyone else does.
The whole category is absent from search.
Mercator has never run a paid search ad. Public Digital runs just 4 ads (around 114 paid visits a month), and Equal Experts runs none. For buyers Googling "government website redesign" or "public sector transformation", almost no one is bidding. That's rare, and it's an opportunity.
No incumbent to displace. The search lane is empty.
There's no one to outspend.
In most markets you'd be fighting entrenched competitors on paid. Here, the category leaders barely show up on search at all. Whoever decides to be present owns the top of the results for high-intent government buyers.
Even the most active competitor is a rounding error.
Search "government website redesign" and "public sector transformation" today and you'll find almost no paid competition. First mover wins the click - cheaply.
Search is empty. LinkedIn is where this category actually competes.
Government digital is won on relationships, frameworks and thought leadership - and that plays out on LinkedIn far more than Google search. Consultancies like Public Digital and Equal Experts run active LinkedIn presences even while barely touching paid search (Public Digital runs just 4 ads; Equal Experts runs none). For Mercator, that's the channel that matters most, alongside owning the cheap, empty search lane.
Empty & cheap - worth owning your terms.
Where public-sector buyers evaluate partners.
How gov-digital deals are really won.
We couldn't pull Mercator's current LinkedIn ad footprint in this pass - it's the first thing we'd confirm together on the call.
What the one active competitor runs.
Public Digital is the only name in gov-digital running paid search - and it's just four generic ads. Here's what they actually look like.
- Just 4 ads total - generic brand and service messaging: "Dynamic Operating Model", "Digital Transformation Agency", "Build For Change".
- No keyword-specific landing angles - broad "we help large organisations change" copy, not targeted to what buyers search.
- Equal Experts and the rest of the field run nothing at all.
- Four untested ads is the entire competition. Mercator could out-create and out-target it immediately.
Public Digital runs 4 generic search ads. Everyone else runs none.
That's the whole paid-search field in gov-digital - and it's easily out-run. The lane is still wide open.
A cheap lane to own - and a LinkedIn play to build.
Paid-search volume in gov-digital is modest, but it's uncontested, so it's cheap to own your branded and category terms. The bigger opportunity is a focused LinkedIn/ABM motion into public-sector programme leaders. Here's the shape.
on paid search for your category terms today
uncontested keywords mean cheap clicks on high-intent government searches
where public-sector digital leaders actually evaluate partners
to stand up search coverage plus a targeted LinkedIn motion
Illustrative, based on observable category demand and typical B2B conversion rates - not a guarantee, and gov procurement cycles are longer than typical B2B. We pressure-test these against your real numbers, deal size and close rate on the call.
How you'd win
Bid on 'government website redesign', 'public sector transformation' and Mercator-brand terms. With no competition, you own the top of the page cheaply.
Target programme directors and digital leaders across government with case studies and framework credibility - the channel this category actually uses.
Government buyers buy on track record. Put named public-sector outcomes front and centre in both channels.
The search lane is open and the LinkedIn game is winnable. The call is where we map both for Mercator.
30 minutes. Your live account. A clear plan to lift ROAS.
No slide-deck pitch. You give us view-only access to your Google Ads, and we walk it with you, pointing at real campaigns, real keywords, real creative, and show you exactly where we'd move budget to lift ROAS.
Google Ads (and LinkedIn Ads if relevant), read-only. Nothing changes in your account. Takes 2 minutes.
Screen-share, 30 minutes. We open your campaigns, ad groups and creatives alongside the competitive data in this report.
Where the wasted spend is, the channel plan for gov-digital (search + LinkedIn), the creative angles you're not testing, and the sequence we'd tackle them in, yours to keep, execute in-house or with us.
What this looks like in practice
"We enjoy a productive partnership with Prime Marketing. We started with LinkedIn Ads and later moved our Google Ads to them as well. Since then we've seen clear improvements in our results."
"Prime built the ABM and LinkedIn layer that actually moved machines. The lead quality and the sales conversations shifted almost immediately."
"A stable, predictable lead flow every single month. Prime treats our paid channels like a growth engine, not a media buy."
30-minute working session with Papillon. View-only. Actionable.
Want the full picture, Dave?
This report uses only public data. Give us 30 minutes and viewer access, and we'll show you exactly where the budget's going and how to own the open lane and build the LinkedIn layer before your competitors wake up to it, backed by our 90-Day Paid Pipeline Sprint guarantee.