Branded keywords are words or phrases that include your company name, product name, and other branded content. Typically, when we think of branded keywords, we think of “Nike shoes” or “Apple iPhone.”
Bidding on your own branded keywords seems counterintuitive. After all, you should already be ranking for these terms organically. And if you’re already ranking, why pay for clicks?
The thing is, even if you are ranking organically for your branded keywords, there are still benefits to bidding on them. Let’s look at a few reasons why.
Control Your Message
When you bid on your branded keywords, you can control the message that appears with your ad. This control is significant if you’re running a promotion or want to highlight a specific product.
If you focus solely on organic search results, you won’t be able to control the message. Any changes could take weeks or months. With an ad, you decide what people see.
You can also decide which landing page users hit when clicking on an ad. Directing people from a particular ad to a promotion that converts well is more efficient than waiting for organic results to take users to your home page and hoping they find the promotion.
Increase Return on Investment
While you will have to pay for clicks on your branded keywords, you can rest assured that these clicks are more likely to result in a conversion than clicks from users who weren’t already familiar with your brand.
Users who click on paid ads are 50% more likely to purchase something than organic visitors.
Additionally, because branded keywords have a high click-through rate and a low cost-per-click, they tend to produce a strong return on investment (ROI). One study found that the ROI for branded keyword ads was five times higher than the ROI for non-branded keyword ads.
Target a Specific Audience
You can target a specific audience with your keywords when you run an ad. For example, if you sell men’s and women’s clothing, you can target your ads specifically to women or men, which ensures that your ad is relevant to the people who see it and that they are likelier to click.
Stand Out from the Competition
When you bid on your branded keywords, your ad will appear at the top of search results. This prime real estate can help you stand out from the competition, even if they are organically ranking for the same terms.
You can also double your presence on the search engine results page if you have both organic and paid listings.
Get More Clicks
A well-crafted ad can result in more clicks, even if you are already ranking organically. More clicks mean more traffic to your website and more potential customers.
Even if you rank number one organically, there’s no guarantee that people will click on your result. Creating an ad that stands out from the surrounding content makes people more likely to gravitate toward your content.
Target a Specific Location
If you have a brick-and-mortar store, you can use paid search to target people in your area. For example, if you manage a toy store in Seattle, you can bid on the keyword “toy store Seattle.” This way, when people searching for coffee shops in Seattle see your ad, they’ll know you are local.
Target a Specific Device
You can also use paid search to target people based on their devices. For example, if you have a mobile app, you can bid on keywords and only show your ad to people searching on their phones.
Reach People at the Bottom of the Funnel
The bottom of the funnel is when people are ready to buy. They’ve done their research, and they’re just looking for the right product. If you bid on branded keywords, you can reach these people who are already interested in what you offer.
Flexible Marketing
With pay-per-click (PPC) bidding, you can change your message at any time based on user activity. Changing organic search results is like turning an ocean liner around. You can do it, but you are not exactly agile. PPC allows you to update your ad on the fly to better suit potential customers’ searches.
Stay Competitive
Even if you’re ranking number one organically, your competitors might be bidding on your branded keywords and taking away some of your hard-earned traffic. To stay competitive, you need to bid on your branded keywords.
Results are especially important if you have a new product or promotion you want to get in front of potential customers. By bidding on your branded keywords, you can ensure that your ad appears at the top of the search results.
Protect Your Brand
If you are not bidding on your keywords, someone else might. And if they do, they could rank above you and control the message that appears before your ad. This sniping could damage your brand and cost you money in the long run.
The damage might not be immediately apparent, but it could erode your brand equity over time. For example, if someone bids on your brand name and uses a negative message, that message could become associated with your brand in people’s minds.
It’s essential to protect your brand and control the message that appears next to your ad. The best way to do this is to bid on your branded keywords.
Boost Your Visibility
Even if you’re ranking organically, there are only ten organic results on the first page of Google results. This reality means that if you’re not in the top ten, you could miss out on a lot of potential traffic. Bidding on your branded keywords can help you get in front of more people, even if you’re not ranking organically.
Improve Your Quality Score
Quality Score is a Google Ads metric used to determine the quality and relevance of your ads. The higher your Quality Score, the better. One factor that goes into your Quality Score is click-through rate (CTR).
CTR tracks the number of times people see your ad and click on it, divided by the number of times your ad is displayed. If your ad is shown 100 times and ten people click on it, your CTR is 10%.
Bidding on branded keywords can help improve your CTR, enhancing your Quality Score. A higher Quality Score can lead to lower costs per click and better ad positions.
Leverage Ad Extensions
Ad extensions are features you can add to your ad to make it more relevant and valuable to potential customers. For example, you can add your phone number, address, or even a call-to-action button.
These ad extensions are a great way to improve your CTR and Quality Score. And they’re only available if you’re bidding on keywords.
Go on the Defensive
Bidding on your branded keywords increases competition, making it less likely that competitors will attempt to snipe a high position because the cost will be higher. If they decide to go after your terms, they are still spending more and uSign up their ad budget, which could put them at a disadvantage.
Additionally, if you’re not bidding on your branded keywords, you could miss out on an opportunity to defend your brand. For example, if someone is trying to sell knock-off products using your brand name, you can bid on your terms and run ads that warn potential customers about these fake products.
Get More Data
When you bid on your branded keywords, you can get more data about how people interact with your ads. This data is valuable in helping you improve your campaigns and make better decisions in the future.
Make More Money
Ultimately, the goal of bidding on branded keywords is to make more money. And in many cases, you will. While you might not see a significant ROI immediately, bidding on your branded keywords can be a long-term play that pays off down the road.
So should you bid on your branded keywords? The answer is yes! Bidding on branded keywords can help you control your message, target a specific audience, stand out from the competition, and get more clicks — all of which can lead to more business.
Bidding on your own branded keywords is a smart way to protect your brand and stay competitive. And even though you might already be ranking organically, there are still benefits to bidding on these terms. So don’t be afraid to spend money on your own branded keywords. It could be the best decision you make for your business.
