Probably one of the most common questions us Account Managers get asked by clients is:
“Why would I bid on my brand terms when I’ll get the clicks through organic anyway?”
Why indeed?
When it comes to trimming the fat from a paid media budget, one of the first things that tends to go on the chopping block is brand PPC.
But I, for one, am a firm believer in brand bidding. In my role of always striving to provide the best possible service for my clients and delivering the best return for their business, I always encourage having brand PPC as a key main-stay in ongoing digital marketing plans.
Here’s why…
1. Keep your costs low and your ROI high
After conducting a quick analysis across my clients, brand CPCs tend to typically fall between 69-88% cheaper than their generic counterparts – obviously this is industry dependant, but you get my drift.
Add to that the fact that if someone is actively searching for your brand, they’re already halfway to converting, right? So you’ve now got a low cost per click and a high conversion rate (for my clients, brand conversion rates tend to be between 86-200% higher than generic) – and there you have it, the Holy Grail – a high ROI for your marketing spend.
If, on the other hand, your brand CPCs aren’t cheap, this suggests that there is competition – meaning that your competitors may be moving in on your brand terms, making it even more important that you have a presence.
2. Get one over on the competition
There’s nothing to stop your competitors choosing to target your brand keywords. So if you aren’t also bidding on them, you’re giving your competitors free reign to help themselves to your brand traffic. If they have a better offer or a more compelling message (very likely with a PPC ad vs an organic listing) you will end up losing your clicks, and ultimately business prospects.
Bear in mind the potential lifetime value of a customer, then ask yourself if it’s really a risk worth taking for the sake of what is probably less than £1.
Taking it one step further – what if those “competitors” are affiliates? Competing against you for your own brand term to generate a sale/lead for your business that you will end up paying them for in commission and discounts. Wouldn’t you rather the cheaper option of paying for a brand click?
3. Increase the overall click through rate
Contrary to popular belief, you are not actually guaranteed to get the same number of clicks through to your website by the presence of an organic listing alone. Many studies have found that the presence of paid ads in the SERPs increases the click through rate of organic listings.
4. Dominate the SERPs
Site links, expanded site links, call out extensions, expanded text ads (the list goes on…) have gradually seen paid listings push organic further and further down the SERPs, and as such, it’s becoming harder to just rely on SEO. You simply cannot guarantee an impression above the fold without committing budget to it. Essentially, if you want to ensure visibility for your brand, brand PPC is the only way.
5. Keep in control
Got a particular offer or USP that you want to showcase? A time sensitive message perhaps? Commit to some paid budget and compose some PPC ads – you’ve got 270 characters to play with so let your imagination run wild! Chances are, if you have a specific offer or message to promote then your homepage isn’t where you want people to go.
Using PPC you can control exactly where you drive traffic and ensure that you send users that are searching for your brand to the most valuable page of your website at that current time. Take that one step further by adding some customised site links and you can direct people to multiple valuable pages, allowing you to promote multiple offers or messaging in the same ad, giving the highest chance of a click and a conversion.
So there you have it, the 5 main reasons that I recommend brand bidding – it’s cheap, it converts well and it allows you to remain in control. In my opinion it’s a no-brainer!
If you’re considering implementing brand PPC strategies, why not get in touch and talk to one of our experts?