The article discusses the benefits and drawbacks of bidding on branded and competitor keywords in PPC campaigns and outlines considerations for determining when it is appropriate to do so. The types of brand and competitor keywords are identified as including your own business brand, your competitor’s business brand, third-party brands that you sell, and third-party brands that you do not sell but compete directly with.
The benefits of bidding on brand terms are listed as including the ability to protect your brand position, increase trust, strengthen conversion rates, and have more control over how the brand ad is positioned. Bidding on competitor terms is said to increase brand visibility and awareness and can hijack traffic and sales from competitors. However, drawbacks of bidding on brand terms include paying for traffic that is already searching for you, while negatives of bidding on competitor terms include increased costs and lower click-through and conversion rates.
The article provides considerations for when to bid on brand and competitor terms, including when competitors are bidding on your brand, when you have been running branding activity in other channels, when you want to target specific audience sets, and if you have a generic brand name. It also notes scenarios when bidding on these terms may not be necessary, such as when there is no competition bidding for your brand, you have a mutual agreement with competitors, your offer is not unique, competitive, or compelling, or if you have a poor conversion rate.
While bidding on brand and competitor terms can be important to a paid search strategy, it is crucial to consider various factors such as competitors’ activity, business objectives, and position. The article further emphasizes the importance of not overpaying for traffic, testing different bidding strategies, adding negative keywords, being strategic with which competitor keywords to target, and considering and adjusting regular settings such as ad schedules.
Overall, the article provides comprehensive insights into the considerations for bidding on branded and competitor keywords in PPC campaigns, and highlights the importance of carefully evaluating these strategies to determine the best approach for each brand.
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