If your business has started a Paid Search campaign, chances are you know all about the benefits of paid ads. You might already be bidding on keywords and terms for your business. But have you neglected to consider your brand name?
You’re probably wondering where the logic is in bidding on your own brand name. After all, it’s your brand — if someone Googles your brand name, surely your company should show up on top.
It should. But that doesn’t mean it is.
This is where brand bidding comes into play. Without it, all your hard work in building up a name and reputation for your brand is at risk.
What is brand bidding?
Put simply, brand bidding is bidding on your branded name through paid search ads. As you know, paid ads will generally show up in the top few positions on Google. Being at the top of page one puts your link where all your customers’ clicks are. If your customers are already searching for your brand, that’s great! What isn’t great is losing out on their search because a competitor has crept into your brand name’s search results by bidding on your brand name.
What can brand bidding do for my business?
Brand bidding is a multi-tasking action. One, it ensures your website shows up at the top when someone searches for your brand. That brings with it all the benefits of being in position zero on Google’s page one results: clicks, and hopefully, conversions. After all, whoever is searching for your brand already knows about you!
Two, it stops competitors from bidding on your brand name and getting into those lucrative top spots, sniping your customers searching for you. If your brand name is unique, or a worldwide-known brand, brand bidding is vital for this form of protection.
When should I use brand bidding?
If you’re already ranking first organically, and no competitor is bidding on your brand name to sneak in above, you don’t necessarily need to bid on your brand. You’re already in the prime spot for gathering traffic without paying. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t value to bidding on it. There are instances where Organic won’t pick up the traffic that paid ads would, so it would be worth testing paid ads to see how much additional traffic you can gain.
However, in the case shown above, the brand website for Newcastle Brown Ale isn’t ranking first organically. Plus, someone else is in the paid ad space. In this instance, we would recommend exploring brand bidding to ensure traffic is heading their way.
Are there any alternatives to brand bidding?
Brand bidding may not be viable for your business name. In this case, we would recommend monitoring the multi-channel funnels in Google Analytics instead. This will give you a better idea of what your potential customers are searching for, and whether they are converting in organic searches. In turn, this will help you decide whether you should be brand bidding.
