How branding improves PPC search engine marketing success
Search engine marketing is an important advertising platform for almost all industries. It’s a bottom of the funnel tactic to capture leads who are ready to convert. One major mistake some advertisers make is neglecting the importance of brand awareness in search success.
The biggest reason strong brand recognition is important in achieving strong search results is that 70% of users will only click brands they recognize in search results. That’s because consumers generally associate brands they recognize with legitimacy. They distrust a brand they’re unfamiliar with. Beyond that, a brand they recognize will stand out to them in a sea of options.
In many ways, strong brand recognition on search engines is today’s equivalent to a full page ad in the yellow pages, where consumers often equated big splashy ads with achievement and, in turn, trust.
This all plays into Google’s algorithms too. Remember that Google only gets paid when a user clicks the paid search result (hence “pay per click”). This means it’s going to prioritize search results that have a proven history for high click performance, even if that advertiser is bidding lower than competing advertisers.
Advertiser #1: Well established business with strong brand recognition
- Bid: $5 per click
- Monthly Click Average: 200
- Client’s Value to Google: $1,000/mo.
Advertiser #2: Newer business with poor brand recognition
- Bid: $10 per click
- Monthly Click Average: 20
- Client’s Value to Google: $200/mo.
Advertiser #3: Brand new business with absolutely no brand recognition
- Bid: $100 per click
- Monthly Click Average: 0
- Client’s Value to Google: $0
If you were Google programming your search algorithms, you would favor Advertiser #1 and show that advertiser’s search ads more often because it’s getting the most clicks and yielding the overall best revenue, even if each click is half that of Advertiser #2.
In some cases, strong branding can result in users conducting branded searches, which are more valuable to businesses than nonbranded. In that scenario, a consumer is searching for your business directly because you are already top-of-mind in their consideration.
Search is not a branding product. It’s a lead capture product. We can help advise you into a full funnel marketing strategy that includes brand awareness building.
