It may sound like a waste of money to pay Google just to acquire customers who are already looking to do business with you, but there are many advantages to using branded keywords on Google AdWords. An example of this strategy can be found in the screenshot below.
Because of branded keywords, the first ad to pop up when customers search “Domino’s Pizza” is the one that Domino’s paid for itself. So why would Domino’s be doing this? Below are five reasons why it is useful to take advantage of branded keywords.
More Real Estate on the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page)
There is a limited amount of room in the SERPs to get your message to the user before they scroll past your result. The more room you can gobble up, the higher the chances that someone will click on your business. In the screenshot above, you can see just how much real estate Domino’s has taken up to avoid losing a customer.
Competitors May Bid on Your Company Name
Let’s face it: competition is, and always has been, fierce. This tactic is used quite often and business owners may not even be aware of it. Lets revisit the image from earlier, but this time look at what’s below their paid ad.
Pizza Hut is the second ad to show up when someone searches for ‘Domino’s Pizza’ because they are utilizing this tactic. Pizza Hut is hoping that someone will be intrigued by their ad instead of purchasing from Domino’s. If Domino’s had not been paying for branded keywords, the Pizza Hut ad would be the first thing a potential customer sees, and would be more likely to do business with Pizza Hut.
Branded Keywords Are Relatively Cheap
Most business names will have a relatively cheap CPC because the name of their business generally has low demand. Just how much less these CPCs are can only be determined by running a branded campaign.Typically your quality scores for branded terms will be greater than a competitor whos using your business name due to landing page experience and ad relevance. Your high quality score will drive down the bid amount needed to achieve a higher ad rank than your competitor.
Send a Specific Message to the User
You are able to take advantage of unique messages by using structured snippets and sitelinks. You can display unique deals to customers, reducing the chances that competitors will acquire your future customer. Not only can you display a unique message, but you can also send the user to a specific landing page based on their query.
New Website That Doesn’t Rank Well Organically
Maybe your website just isn’t ranking organically the way you’d like it to be. By bidding on branded keywords, you can reach that top spot in Google or Bing almost instantly. Eventually you’ll want to work on your SEO, but in the meantime this is a great way to reach the top.
