No matter how great your copy, how relevant your website content or how searchable your social media posts, it has become increasingly difficult to organically rank on the first page of the search engine results (SERP). Every Google search displays ads above unpaid content, and while LEAP Amp firmly stands by our recommendation to optimize your SEO with natural language content, authoritative backlinks and quick-loading landing pages, we also know that modern marketing is driven by paid search advertising. If your brand wants to compete in today’s fast-paced world of marketing, you’ll need to couple your unpaid efforts with paid tools, and one of those tools is branded keywords.
What Are Branded Keywords?
Branded keywords are phrases that consist of a company’s name alongside other keywords, like “LEAP digital marketing agency” or “Admiral Nelson’s cocktail recipes.” Branded keywords can also include the names of specific products that are inherently tied to a brand, such as “MacBook” or “Kindle.” These keywords are used by consumers who are already aware of a brand and would like to explore a product, ask a question or make a purchase. From a marketing perspective, the primary advantages of branded keywords are impressions and conversions.
Non-branded keywords are used by consumers who are searching for information about a product or service but not a specific company, such as “digital ad agencies” or “e-commerce platforms.” From a marketing perspective, non-branded keywords generate visibility by placing your brand in front of a larger audience in organic search results. This can bring new visitors to your site and increase brand awareness.
Both branded and non-branded keywords are necessary components of successful ad campaigns, but they are used by consumers at different points along the campaign funnel and they accomplish different marketing goals for your brand. Ultimately, your business should attempt to harness the power of both types of keywords to maximize your marketing potential.
Why You Need Branded Keywords
When you rely on organic search results to bring consumers to your site, you’re allowing search engines like Google to decide which headings, descriptions and landing pages to display on search engine results pages. This means that potential customers searching for reviews of your company may instead be shown product information or your most recent ad instead of finding the reviews they actually want…which is not a great way to grow customer trust or move them toward conversion.
Investing in branded keywords gives you direct control over how consumers move through your marketing funnel and interact with your content. Since users searching your branded keywords are likely familiar with your products or interested in making a purchase, controlling your own branded keywords ensures that consumers are shown relevant content that matches their search inquiries. This means that anyone searching for company reviews will instantly be directed to all of the incredible testimonials your past clients have posted, which is great encouragement to click through to your landing page and experience your products for themselves.
And if the increased website traffic, conversion ratio and control over UX you’ll garner by ranking at the top of SERPs wasn’t enough to convince you of the benefits of branded keywords, we’ve created a condensed list of the many other advantages, including:
- Increased brand authority
- Increased awareness of customer complaints and feedback
- Increased monitoring of competitor performance
- Increased Google Quality Score
- Decreased CPC (branded keywords cost significantly less than non-branded keywords)
If you own a business, you have branded keywords, and you can learn more about these keywords through research, analytics monitoring and social listening. At LEAP Amp, we use real-time analytics to help our clients find their most powerful and profitable keywords and set their ad groups up for success. Reach out today to learn more about how Amp can make branded keywords work smarter for your next PPC campaign!