Why NOT to Include Branded Keywords in Your Google Ads Campaigns
Why NOT to Include Branded Keywords in Your Google Ads Campaigns
When businesses run Google Ads, one of the biggest questions is whether they should bid on their own brand name.
At first, branded keywords can seem like an obvious choice. Someone searching for your company already knows who you are, so appearing at the top of Google seems like an easy way to generate conversions.
However, including branded keywords in your primary Google Ads campaigns can create problems when you're trying to understand the true performance of your advertising.
For many businesses, separating branded traffic from non-branded campaigns can provide a much clearer picture of how effectively Google Ads is actually generating new customers.
Watch the Full Video Breakdown
Watch the full video to learn more about why businesses may want to reconsider including branded keywords in their Google Ads campaigns:
What Are Branded Keywords?
Branded keywords are search terms that include your company's name, brand name, or other terms specifically associated with your business.
For example, if a company is called "ABC Roofing," branded searches might include:
ABC Roofing
ABC Roofing reviews
ABC Roofing near me
ABC Roofing phone number
ABC Roofing services
These searches are different from non-branded searches such as:
Roofing contractor near me
Roof replacement company
Residential roofing services
Commercial roofing contractor
The person searching for your brand has already demonstrated some level of awareness.
The person searching for a generic service may be discovering your company for the first time.
That distinction is important when measuring advertising performance.
The Problem With Branded Keywords
One of the main concerns with branded keywords is that they can make an advertising campaign appear more successful than it actually is at generating new demand.
Imagine someone searches for your company by name because they already know about your business.
Your Google Ad appears.
They click the ad and eventually become a customer.
The advertising platform may attribute that conversion to the campaign.
However, the customer may have discovered your company through another channel before searching for the brand.
The branded ad may have captured an existing customer rather than generated a completely new opportunity.
Branded Traffic Can Have Extremely High Conversion Rates
Branded searches often perform very well because the searcher already knows the business.
This can result in:
Higher click-through rates
Lower cost per click
Higher conversion rates
Lower cost per conversion
On the surface, those numbers look excellent.
But businesses need to ask an important question:
Did the advertising campaign create the customer, or did it simply capture someone who was already looking for the company?
Separating branded and non-branded traffic can make that distinction easier to analyze.
It Can Distort Your Campaign Data
If branded and non-branded keywords are mixed together, campaign performance can become harder to interpret.
For example, suppose a campaign generates 100 conversions.
If many of those conversions came from people searching directly for your company, the campaign's overall conversion rate may look extremely strong.
But that number doesn't necessarily tell you how effectively the campaign is reaching new potential customers.
Separating branded traffic allows you to evaluate acquisition performance more independently.
Non-Branded Searches Are Often More Valuable for Customer Acquisition
Non-branded searches can represent people who are actively looking for a solution but haven't necessarily chosen a company yet.
For example:
"Plumber near me"
is very different from:
"ABC Plumbing."
The first search may represent someone comparing several businesses.
The second search indicates that the person already knows the company.
For businesses focused on generating new customers, non-branded searches can therefore be an important part of the acquisition strategy.
Don't Confuse Brand Protection With Customer Acquisition
There are legitimate reasons for running branded campaigns.
For example, a company may want to:
Protect its brand presence in search results
Control the messaging shown for branded searches
Promote a specific offer
Defend against competitors bidding on the brand
Direct users to a particular landing page
Those objectives are different from acquiring people who have never heard of the business.
That's why separating branded campaigns can be useful.
Instead of treating branded advertising and customer acquisition as the same thing, businesses can evaluate each objective separately.
A Better Way to Analyze Google Ads
When evaluating your Google Ads performance, consider separating campaigns into categories such as:
Branded Campaigns
These target searches that specifically mention your company or brand.
The primary purpose may be brand protection, messaging control, or capturing existing demand.
Non-Branded Campaigns
These target searches related to your products or services without necessarily mentioning your company.
These campaigns can provide a clearer view of how effectively Google Ads is reaching potential new customers.
Remarketing Campaigns
These focus on people who have already interacted with your business through your website or other marketing channels.
Separating these campaign types makes reporting easier to understand.
Look Beyond Conversion Volume
A campaign generating the most conversions isn't automatically the campaign generating the most new business.
When evaluating Google Ads, consider metrics such as:
New customer acquisition
Cost per new customer
Conversion rate
Revenue
Return on ad spend
Customer lifetime value
Search intent
Branded vs. non-branded traffic
These metrics provide more context than simply looking at total conversions.
Consider Your Entire Marketing Funnel
Customers rarely interact with a business through only one marketing channel.
Someone might:
See your social media content.
Visit your website.
Read reviews.
Search for your company name.
Click a branded Google Ad.
Submit a form.
Become a customer.
If you only look at the final Google Ads interaction, you could conclude that the branded advertisement created the customer.
In reality, the customer may have interacted with several marketing channels before searching for your brand.
Understanding the entire customer journey can lead to better marketing decisions.
Should You Completely Stop Using Branded Keywords?
Not necessarily.
The right approach depends on the business, competition, account structure, and advertising objectives.
Instead of automatically eliminating branded keywords, businesses should consider separating them from non-branded campaigns and evaluating their performance independently.
This makes it easier to answer questions such as:
How much demand already exists for our brand?
How many customers are discovering us through non-branded searches?
How much are we spending to capture existing demand?
How much are we spending to generate new opportunities?
Are competitors bidding on our brand?
Is our branded campaign serving a specific strategic purpose?
These questions provide more useful information than simply looking at the overall campaign conversion rate.
Create Clear Reporting
Clear reporting is one of the biggest benefits of separating branded and non-branded campaigns.
Instead of reporting:
"Google Ads generated 200 leads."
you can break the data down further:
Branded: Leads from people already searching for the company.
Non-branded: Leads from people searching for the company's products or services.
This distinction gives business owners a better understanding of where their advertising results are coming from.
Final Thoughts
Branded keywords aren't necessarily bad for every Google Ads account.
The bigger issue is how they are structured, measured, and interpreted.
If branded and non-branded searches are combined, existing brand demand can sometimes make an advertising campaign look more effective at acquiring new customers than it actually is.
Separating branded campaigns from non-branded campaigns can provide a clearer picture of customer acquisition and help businesses make more informed decisions about their advertising budgets.
For businesses investing in Google Ads, the goal shouldn't simply be to generate impressive-looking numbers.
The goal should be to understand where customers are coming from, what you're paying to acquire them, and whether your campaigns are generating incremental business.
