Should you advertise on branded keywords?

➡️ Read the previous article: Should you optimize your site for branded keywords?

Advertising on branded keywords

Before we delve into the details, let's briefly answer the question posed in the headline: yes, it's worth advertising on branded keywords, but only in certain situations. It's also profitable to buy branded keywords on Google Ads. But why?

While Google controls search results, we can increase our bid to secure top positions and outbid competitors. We can also tailor ad copy to match current campaigns, promotions, or key brand features. Even if our website ranks organically, paid ads allow for more targeted messaging, especially when occupying the top paid position and a top organic ranking.

Paid ads boost brand visibility and capture more traffic - particularly on mobile devices where ads are more prominent. This reinforces our brand's presence at the top of search results and can increase click-through rates.

Can paid and organic results cannibalize each other? Yes, but typically to a minimal extent. If both are optimized for the same branded keyword, paid results may slightly impact organic traffic. Nevertheless, both SEO and paid advertising are valuable.

Occupying the #1 sponsored position enhances visibility and reputation. When our ads appear for branded searches, it conveys professionalism. We cannot allow competitors or resellers to outrank us for our own brand.

Branded keywords are typically less expensive and have higher conversion rates. Users searching for a specific brand are closer to making a purchase, and ads can facilitate this process.

☑️ Is it always essential to advertise on branded keywords? The answer depends on several factors, including:

A) Keyword type:

If our organic listing ranks first for a brand name search and there are no other ads, there's typically no need to purchase a sponsored link. The cannibalization of traffic would be significant, and the overall increase in clicks from both SEO and PPC would be minimal. However, for other keyword variations, competitors' ads are much more common. If the top four sponsored results are occupied by other companies, launching our own ads for those keywords gives us a chance to capture a large portion of those clicks. Even if our organic listing ranks first (but is the fifth result overall due to the four paid ads), the SEO cannibalization will be minimal. If our organic ranking is lower, the cannibalization will be even less significant or negligible.

B) Who is advertising:

We should consider who is currently advertising on these keywords: are they our direct competitors or resellers? Whether we want to outbid them and display our ad higher depends on our company's strategy, not solely on ROAS calculations. If our competitors are the only ones appearing in paid results, it's definitely worth taking some of their clicks—provided the return on investment is attractive compared to other advertising options.

C) The impact of cannibalization:

In most cases, by observing the number of advertisers and our organic ranking position, we can estimate whether it's worthwhile to purchase paid ads for a specific branded keyword. Here are a few examples:

If we're already ranking first organically and no one else is advertising, there's usually no point in purchasing a paid ad. If we do, our organic clicks will likely drop from 100 to 50 per month, and our paid ad will gain 55 clicks. In essence, we'll only get 5 extra clicks, which isn't worth the cost.

If we're ranking first organically and there's one advertiser, we'll gain an additional 90 clicks from our paid ad if we outbid our competitor. While our organic traffic might decrease slightly (e.g., by 40 clicks), the overall gain in traffic will be significant. This is a more favorable scenario for paid advertising, as we're primarily taking clicks away from our competitor.

When we're ranking first organically and there are four advertisers, the cannibalization effect is even smaller. By outbidding our competitors, we'll gain approximately 90 clicks from our paid ad while losing only about 20 organic clicks. This scenario offers a strong return on investment.

If we're ranking fifth organically and there are four advertisers, the potential for gaining new clicks through a paid ad is even higher. We can expect to gain around 90 clicks from our paid ad while losing only a few organic clicks. This is often the most favorable situation for paid advertising, as we're capturing a significant portion of the market that was previously unreachable.

D) What the cost per click for these keywords and the return on ad spend after considering cannibalization is.

In conclusion - should you advertise on branded keywords?

It depends. If your competitors aren't advertising on branded or product keywords, and your website organically ranks first, investing in paid ads might not be necessary. In such cases, the costs could outweigh the benefits, especially if there's little risk of users clicking on a competitor's ad. When no one else is advertising on a branded keyword, your organic listing will capture a significant portion of the search traffic, provided you've optimized your site for SEO. However, your competitors might still capture some of those clicks.

For very specific brand terms (e.g., just the brand name), it's often just you appearing in the search results, as competitors rarely target your exact brand name. However, for more specific phrases like "Huawei smartphone," you might face competition from other retailers.

The bottom line is that there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Whether or not to advertise on branded keywords depends on the specific situation and the keywords themselves. Advertising on branded keywords can be highly effective in terms of cost and conversions, especially if competitors are trying to steal your traffic and you want to control your brand image. By combining paid advertising with SEO, you can increase your brand visibility and have more control over search results.