Isn’t it hilarious? Why would you have to pay for your brand name to appear on top of Google’s SERPs? No matter how you want to see it, paying Google through their AdWords program to put your brand name on the top means you’ll be paying double – for your SEO team and Google AdWords. So, why some experts have managed to convince business owners to bid for their brand term (in AdWords) so that they can plaster it on top of the SERPs?

In this blog post, I’ll try to weigh in why you should pay and why you should not bid for your brand name.

You Don’t Want to Lose Out to Your Competitors

Should Bid:

If you are in a niche wherein competition is very stiff, you don’t want to lose even an inch of your edge against your competitors. Prospects who are sure to convert or are more interested to know more about your products and services usually use your brand name when they search you online. If one of your competitors is bidding in AdWords for your brand term and it appears side by side with yours in organic search results, there’s a higher chance that you’ll lost some clicks. This is the time that you need to step up and claim your brand name.

Should Not Bid:

But, there’s a little problem with the argument above. When a searcher who is looking for your brand would click on another link because it bears your brand term, there’s a higher chance that he/she will immediately leave the page the moment he/she realizes that it is not the one she/he is looking for. That would mean higher bounce rate to your competitor’s site and you would still get the click that is originally intended for your brand.

Google AdWords CPC is Quite Cheap

Should Bid:

Of course, the cost per click for your brand term is really cheap because it has very low competition. It would be a shame if you would just allow your competitors to steal those clicks just for a few bucks. Bidding for your brand term can help you secure more clicks which means more traffic that could lead to higher conversion.

Should Not Bid:

The problem with bidding for your brand term is if you are in a very tight budget. This would mean your marketing budget would double and this is something some companies can’t afford. Also, how long are you planning to bid for your brand term? For a month, a year? You cannot bid for it like forever. Also, instances of having competitors using your brand name to steal clicks from you can surface every now and then. The best thing to do is to maintain your top position through organic SEO.

Conclusion

Bidding for your own brand term to prevent your competitors from stealing your clicks for sure can help you a bit when it comes to maximizing the use of PPC marketing to boost your visibility in Google SERPs. This can be really helpful if you’ve been trying to increase your conversions through boosting your click through rates but this cannot be applied to all types of business.

For businesses who are in a very tight budget, paying for a few bucks (for even a month) for their brand term to appear on top of Google SERPs can weaken their financial sustainability. Most people who are searching for your brand would surely leave the webpage when they find out it is not what they are looking for. This can bring negative impression on your competitor’s webpage, something that they can’t do for a long time because it would increase its bounce rate.

Try to weigh in the pros and cons. Is it necessary to bid for your brand name, or is it important to focus more in organic search than paid search? You’re the only one who can decide. Good luck!

If you need help with your Google ADWORDS campaign speak with Qamar Zaman Google Adwords Expert

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