Within the marketing departments of the world's leading consumer brands, the jury is still out on the value of buying branded keywords such as "MasterCard" or "Sony." A quick search on Google tells the story: Five out of the 10 top brands are not buying their own branded keywords.
Common objections
From our experience working with brands we commonly hear the following reasons for why branded terms have not been purchased:
- "We are already in the number one slot in the natural search results, so why waste the money?"
- "We have not integrated search into all of our marketing campaigns."
- "We believe other companies should not be allowed to bid on our branded terms, so we take the same approach."
- "We have not given it much thought."
Five reasons to buy
1. Your competition will.
It makes good sense to be readily visible when your customers or prospects are looking for you. In addition, defending your customers from the clutches of your competitors is always a smart move.
2. Consumer behavior.
With 50 percent-plus of internet traffic originating from search engines, this phenomenon is more than using search for navigation or convenience. Search engines display a wider range of options for the consumer to view and provide different angles to take action. Go to Yahoo and make a search for "Special K"; you will see a Special K logo and a video within the ad purchased by Kellogg. These types of innovative search experiences have only begun.
3. More control.
You can control the landing page, key messages and the URL that is displayed to the consumer. By controlling the messages and keeping them in synch with your advertising and public relations campaigns, search becomes fuel for brand building.
4. Branded keywords make your offline and other forms of online advertising campaigns more effective.
For example, when Visa runs a television commercial for Verified by Visa, consumers will turn to search engines first to learn more. In the marketer's ideal world, every customer would see an advertisement and type in the URL for product or service, but consumers have different ideas.
5. More conversions come from branded terms.
Consumers using branded terms have already done their homework and are declaring their level of interest by their searches. For example, a consumer searching for "cameras" or "digital cameras" is just starting her research. A branded search for "canon digital cameras" indicates that the consumer is further along in the purchase process. Below is real-world performance data from one of our retail campaigns where the branded keywords are providing 776 percent higher CTR (clickthrough rate), 75 percent lower CPC (cost-per-click) and 126 percent higher conversion rate compared to a campaign using non branded keywords.
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