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Good Offense: The Value of Branded Terms in Your PPC Campaign


We are often asked by SMB’s, “Why should we pay for branding in a PPC campaign?”  It’s interesting that these same business owners often invest in a great location and dress their brand with a strong logo and signage.  They promote their brand with wrapped vehicles, billboards, cable TV, radio, print, direct mail, display advertising and collateral materials.

Branded search is an offensive move to capture interested consumers, increase your conversion rates and, most importantly, block your competition from stealing your revenue.  The consumer that searches your business name or your business name combined with a product you sell is motivated to purchase and has you on a short list as to who they want to do business with.  They are ready to buy!

 

For a few cents a click, there is a lot to gain and not much to lose.

  1. Page domination!  Consumers use the search engine results page (SERP) in different ways and PPC is an ideal way to control the message that resonates with your target customer.  First impressions are everything. If you have several positions on the page, you present yourself as the category killer.
  2. Block your competition! Search any one of your favorite brands and see who buys their name.  Odds are they do, along with their competitors.   If you don’t maximize your opportunity with strong ads targeting maximum impression share through your bidding strategy, your competitor can hijack your intended traffic with effective ad copy.
  3. Cheap?!?  Cheap is not an attractive attribute for many things but it is here! You are paying cents, not dollars, for these clicks – just do it!
  4. Payoff on your marketing investment.  The marketing dollars you have invested in social media, display, video, radio, TV, cable TV, outdoor print and more drive branded search.  Make it easy for people to find you when searching after they learn about you through these other marketing channels.
  5. Search Funnel Attribution. A consumer may land on your site for a specific service, not act, and then search for you again by name at a later date.
  6. Higher quality score! This is always a positive for any campaign and allows you to show extensions on your ad.
  7. Conversions! Consumers who are searching for you by name may have you in their final consideration to contact you for a purchase.