Shakespeare with computerShould you bid on branded terms? As with all your digital marketing strategy, the answer is — yup you guessed right — ‘it depends’.

Recently we experienced a client insisting on not using PPC spend on branded traffic. “I need leads and would rather spend more money with a higher CPL/CPA than low cost brand traffic that may not bring in a lead.” Is this the best strategy?  Let’s consider the answer through the eyes of an outside salesperson.

Optimize PPC like nobody’s business. Call us at (443) 475-07787 or Contact Us online.

Consider Keeping Brand Terms In The Mix

What if a salesperson out in the field interacts with a major decision maker in a large company? It’s what outside salespeople do. They interact with people. Anyone that breathes is considered a prospect. That means the manager at a restaurant, the person next to them on an airplane, or the traveler standing with them in line at the airport. Everyone’s a prospect.

Ben Stiller gif used to illustrate a point about branded terms.

Newsflash: Just because you’re used to sending messages via chat to your chum in the next cubicle does not mean that extroverted salespeople neglect face to face human interaction. Short version – people still talk.

Random Encounters As Leads

So your salesperson is out there interacting with everyone they meet, selling products and services, and making sure the company makes money. What if this salesperson meets someone at the airport who seems interested in the company product? They’re going to pitch to the stranger/prospect, right?

Later, the prospect finds herself back in the office. Someone asks her how the trip went. She says, “It was great! You know I met this guy in the airport, and he showed me this super cool technology. What was the name of his company? Something whatchamacallit?” Of course, she lost the salesperson’s business card. So where’s she going to look? Same place we all go… Google.

google search gif

People will search for whatever words they remember from the real life interaction. What if they make a typo on the terms they remember? What if they recall a portion of the brand and not the product name? How about what they perceive the product or service does?

Will they find a relevant PPC ad built around branded terms? Yeeha! We have a winner!

dancing gif

With all the work it takes to setup a campaign or ad group based on a few inexpensive branded terms, is this type of prospect worth it? Consider what it costs for a brand term click vs. the potential awesome ROAS. Think how the outside salesperson would answer this question. For them, it’s a no-brainer.

Some clients would argue. “Why do I want to spend money on branded terms? We’re already killing it organically!”

sandra bullock gif

Who’s Number One?

What about your competitor who’s bidding on your branded terms and has a PPC ad listed higher than your #1 organic result?

We’ve played it both ways. We’ve been forced to no bid on the client’s branded terms. And yes we’ve been persuasive enough to be bidding on branded terms. Ultimately, it’s up to the client.

Still, the price paid for branded terms is so small compared to the potential big pay-off. Instead of saying, “I don’t want to waste money on branded terms….” think of it as a “just in case they find me this way” spend.

To bid or not to bid on branded terms. That really is the question. Consider the answering according the entire business opportunity landscape.

zoey gif

Make your PPC campaign smarter. Call us at (443) 475-07787 or Contact Us online.

By / Published On: November 29th, 2017 / Categories: Blog, Pay Per Click, PPC /

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