Understanding How Agencies Use Your Brand Terms
Some digital agencies use a tactic known as brand bidding to make their results look better than they are. This involves bidding on your brand name to show your ads to people who are already searching for your business. Since these users are already interested, they’re much more likely to click on your ad and convert. Agencies then include these high-performing results in their reports to make it seem like the entire campaign is performing well.
However, brand traffic is not the same as new customer traffic. By targeting people who already know your business, agencies are taking advantage of easy wins rather than bringing in new customers. This creates a false impression of success.
The Real Impact of Brand Term Bidding on Campaign Performance
Bidding on your brand name can drive up key performance metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), cost per click (CPC), and conversions. But these metrics don’t tell the whole story. When brand traffic is included in reports, it inflates the numbers, giving the impression that your campaign is more successful than it really is.
Brand traffic converts at a higher rate simply because the users were already familiar with your brand. This type of traffic doesn’t require much effort to convert. So while the metrics might look good, they don’t show how well your ads are doing in reaching new potential customers.
Separating Brand Traffic from Generic Traffic
Brand traffic consists of users who are already aware of your business, while generic traffic comes from users who may not know about you. The difference between the two is critical. Brand traffic tends to perform better because these users have already interacted with your business, whereas generic traffic is more challenging to convert.
Agencies that fail to separate brand traffic from generic traffic in their reports make it difficult to see how effective your campaigns are at bringing in new customers. By asking for these traffic types to be separated, you can better understand the real impact of your ad campaigns.
How to Spot Brand Term Bidding in Your Reports
If your performance reports show very high CTRs, low CPCs, and impressive conversion rates, you might be dealing with brand term bidding. A simple way to check is by asking your agency if they are including brand traffic in the results.
You can also compare organic search data with paid search data for your brand name. If the conversion rates are similar, it’s likely that brand bidding is driving the numbers in your paid campaign. Once brand traffic is excluded from the report, the true performance metrics often look much different.
Why You Should Be Cautious About Brand Bidding
Brand bidding can give you a false sense of security. While it’s easy to generate impressive results by bidding on brand terms, this doesn’t help your business grow. The focus of your campaigns should be on attracting new customers—people who don’t already know about your brand.
Bidding on non-brand terms is harder and may not yield the same immediate results. However, targeting generic traffic is a more valuable long-term strategy for growing your customer base. Although these campaigns may take more time to optimise, they are far more effective in reaching new audiences and increasing brand awareness.
Making Sure Your Reports Tell the Whole Story
To get a clearer picture of how your campaigns are really performing, work with your agency to ensure that brand and non-brand traffic are reported separately. This will give you a more accurate view of which campaigns are bringing in new customers and which are simply converting people who already know about your business.
Focus on targeting non-brand terms, even if the results aren’t as immediately impressive. Campaigns aimed at attracting new audiences may require more effort, but they will lead to sustainable growth over time. By ensuring your reports reflect the full picture, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions about where to allocate your advertising budget for the best results.
About the Author:Josh Maraney is the CEO of Top Click Media, a digital marketing agency in South Africa. Top Click are Google Premier Partners and specialise in Google Ads, SEO and Social Media Advertising.