PPC Fundamentals: Why bid on my brand keywords?

Paid Media / April 05, 2017

As an agency, we get many questions from clients about PPC practices and strategies. A recurring one is “Why should I spend money on a brand campaign when I am already present in organic search?”.

There are various reasons why bidding on branded search terms is important and can positively impact your performance. Read along to find out why you should be bidding on your branded keywords.

1: To promote a special offer

PPC is known to deliver fast results. Having a PPC brand campaign enables you to promote offers, new products or services, and special messages quickly. This is ideal if you want to promote an offer or event that has an end date. If you are planning a 3-day sale for example, PPC will bring you the traffic you need in just minutes. Take advantage of your brand campaigns and change your ad copy regularly in order to keep your customers’ interest stimulated.

Use your PPC ads to send the right message to your customers.

2: To increase brand visibility & credibility

By using both SEO & PPC, you increase your presence by showing up twice on the search result page. The more people see you on search results, the more likely they are to visit your website. 2 is always better than 1!

Dominating the search results for your branded keywords in both organic and paid search will also increase your credibility towards potential customers.

3: To reach a targeted audience

PPC campaigns let you reach the right audience for you business. You can target your campaigns based on language, geographic locations, devices, and demographic segments such as age and gender. This is essential in reaching the right people that will be sent to your web pages.

4: To Protect Your brand against competition

PPC results appear above the organic search results. Therefore, if you are not using PPC for your branded keywords, you may be losing potential traffic going to your competitors’ sponsored links.

In the example below, Porter Airlines is targeting the Air Canada brand name. If Air Canada was not using PPC for their branded search terms, the competitor’s ad would be above its organic ad and have a greater visibility. By bidding on branded search terms, Air Canada is dominating the SERP by appearing thrice (organic and paid search), discouraging competitors from bidding on their brand.

5: To take advantage of a lower CPC & Higher conversion rate

The average cost per click for branded keywords are usually lower than that for generic keywords. People searching for branded search terms are already familiar with your business and its products or services. They are usually looking for something specific that you have to offer and are most likely to convert once on your website. The chances are that you will have high click-through rates and conversion rate for your brand terms. So why hesitate? High conversion rate with low CPC – Sounds golden to me!

6: Capture High-Quality Leads

People who are searching for your branded terms have already been introduced to and know your company. Maybe they have heard about your brand from a friend or have researched your products or services or are maybe returning customers. These people usually know what your services or products are and are further along in the buying cycle (the funnel).

Bidding on brand keywords in PPC can have a significant impact on your performance. It guarantees higher visibility and credibility, and it allows you to communicate specific messages to a targeted audience at a lower cost. So, make sure to maximize your online marketing presence.