Learn how to increase your traffic by optimising your brand keywords and attracting more relevant visitors to your website.
Martin Langborg Hansen
Congratulations! You have a strong Google Ads account with campaigns that are performing well… but perhaps your turnover is not quite at the level you had hoped for. Campaigns using brand keywords are not always easy to scale significantly – but here are a few tips to help.
Let’s say your Google Ads account is working well. That is, for every pound you invest in Google Ads, you get the return you want. But you would still like to see more traffic, so you can increase your turnover.
Brand keywords often deliver the best results, as click prices are typically quite low and users get exactly what they are searching for. However, there are naturally fewer people searching for a specific brand name compared to more generic keywords such as ‘winter jacket’.
You can easily get plenty of impressions and clicks by using general (generic) keywords, but the percentage of visitors who actually make a purchase will drop significantly (conversion rate).
If you have a huge budget, fantastic… go for it.
If not, here are some tips to help you attract more high-quality traffic.
Essentially, you can focus on
As mentioned, it is often the brand searches that perform best and may even generate most of your conversions. These campaigns tend to be the most effective and provide the greatest return on your investment. Unless you have a very well-known brand, you are likely to see a limited number of searches on your brand name.
Check how your brand keyword is set up in Google Ads. The most common match types are Exact Match, Phrase Match, and Broad Match Modifier. I will not go into detail here, but each limits how often your ads are displayed in different ways.
Exact match often delivers the best results, but with the least traffic. Broad match modifier usually gives the most traffic, but can also attract some less relevant clicks. However, this last match type is definitely worth testing, as it can bring in significantly more traffic. You can easily set up your brand keyword with all match types from the start, then see which performs best.
In principle, you can cover most searches that include your brand with the match types mentioned above. The advantage of creating brand + keyword combinations, for example, brand + women, is that you can set up campaigns or ad groups with ad texts tailored to each keyword. This precise messaging can increase your click-through rate (CTR), so you get more value from your traffic. At the same time, by directing users to the part of your site they specifically searched for, you avoid losing customers because they cannot find what they want. Moreover, users are often more ready to make a purchase when searching in this precise way, so it is wise to make the customer journey as short as possible.
You have probably at some point tried using generic keywords that do not include your brand name, and then paused those keywords because they did not perform as well. That is perfectly fine, but you could check if there are a few generic keywords in a specific match type that actually performed reasonably. If you also check this traffic and, for instance, see which device type (mobile, tablet or PC) performed best, you may find some keywords worth activating again. Maybe just for a period, with the aim of generating more traffic and making new users aware of your brand. Often, what happens is that people, after a general search, see and remember you, and then specifically use your brand name as a search term – and voilà, you get a cheaper click.
Many would say that using Broad match is too risky. Unlike Broad modifier, you may find your ads showing for very odd searches. For example, a ‘winter jacket’ keyword set as Broad match might trigger your ad for searches like ‘wind jacket’. However, you will get plenty of traffic and clicks… and costs. When it comes to brand keywords, it does not have to be so bad. It can actually be a good idea to test your brand keywords this way. An extra bonus is that you will discover lots of new ways users search for your brand. You can then consider adding these search terms as keywords in your own campaigns or ad groups.
Be patient – if you regularly check, adjust, and add negative keywords, a Broad match campaign can become profitable over time.
Tip: If you want to try Broad match, you could start by creating a combination with your brand and another keyword, such as brand + women. This helps Google better identify the right searches.
Tip 2: Spend some time making your Google Ads ad copy really sharp. If you end up appearing for a slightly irrelevant search, a strong text/message can ensure the right users click on your ad.
…and one more tip: Set up Broad match in its own campaign, not just alongside other keywords. This way, you can better control how much budget is spent here. You will also find it easier to see which search terms are generating clicks and exclude the most irrelevant ones (negative keywords).
Once you have attracted users, it is definitely worth making an extra effort to keep them engaged. With Google Ads Remarketing, you have the opportunity to re-engage those who have already visited your site.
RLSA is a type of Google Ads remarketing where you can automatically increase bids when users who have previously shown interest and visited your site search on Google again. This is clever, as most webshops now experience visitors coming in and out before deciding to buy. However, you need a fair amount of traffic to use this method: you must have had 1,000 active users in the last month.
Display banners
If you do not have that many visitors yet, you can instead try remarketing with visual display ads (banners). Display ads require fewer users: only 100 active users in the past month. Display remarketing is a fantastic way to get your message across, as display is not limited to when a user is actively searching (unlike Google Ads text ads).
With Google’s Display Network (websites that show ads), you can usually reach a very broad audience. For example, you can choose to have your display banners shown on sites with content related to your topic, or advertise directly on selected sites (that are a perfect fit for your product).
This type of advertising can work well, for example, with a general brand campaign that highlights your key benefits and USPs.
Get precise targeting
With remarketing, you can target very specific audiences. In Google Analytics, you can set up these audiences and target users based on their behaviour on your site. For example, you could create an audience that has visited specific brand pages on your site – for instance, yoursite.co.uk/brand1 or yoursite.co.uk/brand2. You can then create display ads that reach these audiences with a tailored message.
At the same time, you can exclude those who have not purchased (or those who have), as well as users who only spent a few seconds on the page or do not match your demographic target group.
Find ‘lookalike’ audiences
As an extra refinement, Google automatically creates audiences similar to those you have set up (not all, but many of them). Select these in Ads under Audiences > Edit audiences. This way, you can attract even more traffic from users who resemble those who typically search for your brand.
Users who are ‘in-market’
A relatively new feature, Google can help you find potential customers who are ‘in-market’ – that is, based on their online behaviour, Google identifies users who are likely to make a purchase soon. This is not strictly remarketing, but Google recognises that certain users have shown a strong interest in a product like yours.
This is extremely clever, and this targeting greatly increases your chance of conversion while saving you costs.
The beauty of this type of advertising is that you improve your overall brand effectiveness, including your standard Google Ads text ads. Increased brand awareness helps users feel more confident about choosing your site and your offer.
Tip: Separate your campaigns so that you have remarketing on its own and other broader display campaigns separately. This makes it easier to manage the budget.
Let’s assume you have set up your Google Ads account with some good keywords – but nothing much happens. Frustrating, but this can be caused by your account or previous campaigns having specific settings, which you may have copied over, that are now limiting your ad impressions.
Geographical targeting
It often makes sense to restrict where your ads are shown geographically, as this helps control costs and allows you to concentrate your advertising in a specific area. For brand searches, however, this is not necessarily required. It may well be a good idea to be visible nationwide.
Negative keywords
Adding negative keywords is usually a good way to limit impressions to only the most relevant searches. For brand keywords, though, you may want to limit the use of negative keywords. Negative keywords could be the names of major supermarkets, for example. However, your brand should be strong enough that you are usually chosen even in these situations. As always, it is important to regularly check your search terms.
Max CPC
Your brand keywords are often very inexpensive, as your site is the most relevant result for that keyword. This helps you rank highly among other Google Ads (Ad Rank). However, it may be worth bidding a little higher on your own brand keyword. This helps protect you from competitors who may suddenly start bidding on your brand keyword (you will still only pay a little more than the second highest bidder). You may also be unlucky and have Google place other ads above yours. Google is constantly experimenting with who appears where – especially if your brand name includes a generic term.
Tip: Monitor Keywords > Avg. position in Google Ads to see where your keywords rank – remember to show data from the most recent period, e.g. the last 7 or 14 days, to get current positions.
Ad scheduling – time-based display
Check your Google Ads account to see if there are any restrictions on when your ads can be shown. Your ads may be set not to display in the evening, for example. For brand searches, it is probably not important to only show ads during business hours. Removing these restrictions can help you gain more traffic.
Relax your ROI requirements (perhaps temporarily)
If you use automated bidding strategies such as ROAS or CPA, you might find that your targets are met but your turnover does not really improve. Especially for brands, it can be an interesting test to remove the automated bidding strategy altogether. Brand keywords can often perform well without automation, and should in themselves generate profitable sales.
If the number of conversions is around 20-30-40 per month, you may also find that the Google Ads system ‘locks up’ and limits your spend too much. The number of conversions then drops, and the system has too little data to work with.
Tip: Remember that each change to your bidding strategy requires the system to take some time to process the new data. Try to avoid making too many changes back and forth.
Quality Score
Regularly check how your Quality Score is developing. Brand keywords often have a high Quality Score, but if your ad text is too generic or does not include the keyword, your score may fall. If your landing page is also poorly rated by Google, you might find your bid is suddenly not high enough to maintain a good, visible top position. The result is fewer clicks and a lower click-through rate (CTR), putting you in a downward spiral. On the other hand, by ensuring optimal ad copy and strong landing pages, you can secure a more prominent position and more traffic.
Budget
Google Ads will notify you if your budget is limiting ad impressions… most of the time. You cannot be entirely certain, though, that your budget is big enough. So try giving your brand campaign a budget boost – you may well see a sudden increase in traffic.
Also check how your brand ads are delivered – is the campaign spending the budget as quickly as possible (Accelerated), or is the system trying to make your budget last all day (Standard = holds back a little)? Most often, it pays to use the Accelerated setting for brand campaigns.
The standard approach with Google Ads is to set up advertising that reacts to the traffic or demand that already exists. Ads are only triggered when people are actively searching, and that is fundamentally the clever part of Google Ads: ads appear when users are interested and active.
Display advertising – broad reach (not remarketing)
However, there are things you can do to influence how many people search for your brand.
The display ads mentioned earlier are excellent for building awareness of your product. The limitation of display ads is often that they may not be shown at a time when the user actually has a need.
The targeting feature for ‘in-market’ customers, as mentioned, is one of Google’s groundbreaking ways to find users who are especially relevant for your product. Here, there is a particularly good chance that users will subsequently search for your brand, not just the generic product type. Read here about the best Display banner sizes.
Custom intent – your competitors’ visitors
Imagine if you could reach your competitors’ visitors. Unfortunately, many of them do not know or cannot remember your brand. In this situation, Google has a very interesting targeting function where you can specifically show your ads to users who have visited a competitor, as well as those with similar behaviour. This can be very powerful – a user shows interest in a competitor and then gets a reminder that you exist too. This can only generate more brand search traffic for you.
Generic keywords – a small detour with a big impact
Swallow the pill and accept that ‘expensive’ generic keywords are what will give you the extra traffic you want. Accept that generic campaigns will not perform as well as brand campaigns. Once you have the traffic, there is a good chance your customers will return through brand searches (or possibly through organic searches!).
A ‘trick’ you can use in your ad copy is to include the price. This will filter out some users, as they can immediately see the (quality) level you offer.
Google Shopping and brand
Google Shopping is in many ways a brilliant concept, as users immediately see a lot of information about the product in the Google search: how it looks, the brand, the target group (e.g. men/women), and not least the price – before they click the ad.
Unfortunately, you cannot activate Google Shopping ads for specific keywords, but you can see afterwards which searches (search terms) led users to click your ads. From this data, you can determine whether it was brand searches or more generic queries that actually generated conversions. You can, however, limit impressions using negative keywords.
Tip: Split your shopping campaigns into brand and generic campaigns. This makes it easier to manage bidding, budget, and prioritisation between different campaigns. It is a slightly complex topic, but it is essential to know where to set negative keywords so the right campaigns are shown at the right times.
Follow Google’s guidelines
Setting up Google Shopping can be a bit tricky, especially ensuring that the so-called feed, which sends product data into Google’s system (Merchant Center), works correctly and optimally.
One of the most important things in connection with brand searches is to add the brand name to the product title and description – and also set it as an attribute in the feed. This makes it easier for Google to find relevant products for a search that includes the brand.
Tip: Start with your bestsellers. You will hopefully get a lot of impressions and clicks, which can quickly eat up your budget. By focusing on your bestsellers, you have a good starting point for making Google Shopping profitable. Even with a limited budget, you will more easily achieve significant visibility (impression share).
Note: Remember negative keywords to avoid showing your products alongside very cheap competitors or in the wrong categories.
Remarketing for Google Shopping – dynamic remarketing
As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of options for using remarketing. This also applies to Google Shopping, not least because many consumers now research several webshops before making a decision. As impatient consumers, it does not take much to abandon a shopping process, just because something on the site does not work perfectly. One click and we are gone.
Google has made remarketing especially clever for Google Shopping, as users not only see ads but also the actual products they viewed – similar in principle to display ads across the web where users browse. This is extremely effective, especially if you combine remarketing with an audience of those who made it all the way to the shopping basket, so you have a really good chance of recapturing these potential customers.
Conclusion
With brand campaigns, you have plenty of opportunities to build and grow a successful business. You often do not need to be afraid to test new things, as you have the great advantage of being the brand owner.
Try out some of the more advanced Google features – there are some very exciting options – to generate more traffic and retain the users you attract.
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