Why Bidding on Your Brand Name is a Smart Strategy in Google Ads

Most businesses running Google Ads focus on non-branded keywords, but many completely forget about the power of branded keywords that mention the name of your business. It may seem useless to bid on your brand name in Google Ads, but it’s one of the smartest things you could do-particularly if organic ranks number one.

In this blog, we’ll explore why branded keyword bidding is a must-have in your paid marketing strategy, how it benefits your business, and how to implement it effectively.

What Are Branded Keywords?

Branded keywords are search terms that include a company’s name, products, or unique brand identifiers.

Unlike generic, non-branded keywords (e.g., “best seo company“), branded keywords reflect a high degree of user intent-those searching for them already have your brand in mind.

Who Should Use Branded Keywords?

Branded keywords aren’t just for huge corporations with household names. If your business falls into any of the following categories, branded keyword bidding should be part of your strategy:

1. Established Brands with Recognisable Names

If your brand has visibility and people search for it, bidding on branded keywords will ensure that your website is on top. This applies to:

• Companies with a strong online presence.
• Businesses with well-known products or services.
• Brands frequently mentioned in media or influencer content.

2. Businesses Operating within Competitive Industries

This is a great strategy in the case where competitors are currently stealing your traffic with their ads when they appear above your organic result by bidding on your brand name. Branded ads ensure the audience finds you first and they don’t get distracted by any competitor’s offer.

3. Companies with High-Ticket or Subscription-Based Services

Branded keyword bidding can capture bottom-of-funnel users who are ready to convert if you sell premium products, software subscriptions, or services with a long decision-making process.

4. Brands Facing Imitation or Trademark Issues

If the competition or unauthorised resellers use your brand name in misleading ways, then bidding on your brand ensures that users land on your official site and not some deceptive third-party page.

5. Local Businesses Competing for Visibility

Branded keyword bidding will ensure the searches for their name go to the right place or service page to help create better foot traffic and conversions in businesses operating within local markets.

While branded keyword bidding is recommended for most, there are places where this really may not be necessary:

• New Businesses with Low Brand Awareness: If nobody searches for your brand name yet, spending on branded ads isn’t likely to drive very much return.
• Businesses on a Shoestring Budget: If you only have a small advertising budget, you’re often better off focusing on high-converting non-branded keywords before adding branded campaigns into the mix.

Why Bid on Your Brand Name?

1. Dominate the Search Results Page

Even if your website ranks organically #1 for your brand name, the search results are competitive in Google. Your competitors can and often do bid on your brand name, meaning their ad could appear above your organic listing. By running a branded Google Ads campaign, you ensure that your business stays at the top, preventing competitors from diverting potential customers.

2. Protect Your Brand from Competitor Hijacking

Competitors may bid on your brand name to capture potential customers searching for you.

For example, when we searched for “Moz” and Semrush had bid on that term, their ad appeared before Moz organic results but Moz had bid for their brand name and their ads appeared on the top.

So, if you’re not bidding on your brand name, competitors could take traffic away from you.

3. Control Your Brand Message

Organic search results showcase meta titles and descriptions generated by Google. And that doesn’t always align with your marketing objectives. By leveraging branded search ads, you can:

• Promote discounting, promotions, or new products.
• Deep-link users to specific landing pages instead of using a homepage.
• Ensure messaging consistency with your current marketing efforts.

4. Maximise Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Branded ads tend to have higher CTRs and lower CPCs because users searching for your brand already have a high purchase intent. Higher CTRs also improve your Google Ads Quality Score, further reducing ad costs and making sure better ad placements in search results.

5. Cost-Effective Strategy

Branded keywords are usually much cheaper than non-branded ones unless competitors go aggressively after bids. Since these users searching for your brand name are more likely to convert, your ROAS is usually high compared to generic keywords.

6. Capture High-Intent Customers at the Bottom of the Funnel

Branded searches indicate that this user already is aware of your brand and therefore closer to buying. Rather than allowing them organically to make their way through your site, a branded ad can seamlessly bring them to a conversion-focused landing page.

Common Objections to Bidding on Branded Keywords

1. We Already Rank #1 Organically, Why Spend Money

Meanwhile, organic rankings aren’t a definite assurance of being on top; paid advertisements come to the very top, on top of the organic listings. If you don’t run branded ads, a competitor may-and they could steal that top position.

2. Isn’t This Just Wasting Money?

Not at all. Branded clicks are super cheap and convert very well. Even if you’re already ranking organically, running a branded ad reinforces your presence and prevents others from hijacking your traffic.

3. Why Should I Pay for My Traffic?

If a competitor is bidding on your brand name and you are not, they could be stealing customers who were looking for you. Plus, controlling the search experience with ads allows you to promote sales, events, or new products more effectively than organic listings alone.

Conclusion

Through Google Ads, bidding on your brand name is a low-cost, high-return-on-investment way to dominate search results, beat your competitors, and drive high-intent traffic. Even if you rank organically, running branded ads ensures that you control your messaging, boost conversions, and maximise your presence in the search.

At Whitehat Agency, we implement smart PPC strategies tailored towards branded keyword bidding for improved performance of digital marketing campaigns. Need help to optimise your Google Ads strategy? Contact us today and let’s grow your brand!