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Brand Bidding

Brand Bidding: Do I Really Need To Bid On My Brand Name?

You have probably searched for a company on Google before and noticed that their ad shows up in the search results. Why do companies pay for ads for their own brand name? Does it make sense to pay for a click when the person is searching directly for your business? Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why you should consider bidding on your brand name in Google AdWords as part of your digital marketing strategy.

1. Prevent Click Poachers

Ads show above the regular search results. Some companies will take advantage of this by bidding on a competitor’s brand name. If a company is not bidding on their own name, then this prime real estate in the search results gets taken away from them. By bidding on your own brand name you’ll ensure that potential visitors looking for you aren’t easily lured away by competition.

2. Maximize Brand Exposure

When you bid for your own brand, you are maximizing the exposure that visitors have to it. Almost all of the big companies have their ads in that top spot for searches on their brand name. Search engine users notice this, even if not consciously. By doing the same as the big brands, you’ll reinforce your brand’s visibility.

3. Maximize Clicks

Google’s own research gives us some indication of how beneficial it is to have an ad in that top spot even when there is a highly ranked organic search result leading to the same page. The key data discusses that incremental ad clicks are clicks that occur when an ad exists, but would not occur if the ad did not exist. We can use this data to see how effective an ad is versus a given organic search result rank. What they found is:

  • 50% of the ad clicks are incremental when there is a search result in the top organic spot.
  • 82% of ad clicks are incremental for organic results in spots 2-4.
  • 96% of ad clicks with organic results ranked below the 4th spot are incremental.

Even when your company comes up in the top spot, there is a huge benefit to also having an ad in that spot. Past the 4th spot, it’s almost a requirement to have an ad if you want the click.

Admittedly, there are some disadvantages to brand bidding that should also be considered. First and foremost, brand bidding can often be an expensive approach, especially if your brand name happens to include generic verbiage that appears in a wide range of searches.

There are many things to consider when brand-bidding, but as long as you remember to approach the strategy with a clear and careful plan, you have the potential to achieve meaningful growth even in the face of competitors.

To learn more, contact our SEO experts at SocialSEO. Let us help take your business to the next level in the search engines, Social Media and PPC.