The erosion of advertiser control
Recent platform changes highlight a broader trend of Google reducing advertiser control, particularly in keyword matching and brand traffic. This shift is evident in several areas.
Match type evolution
“Exact match” keywords are no longer truly exact.
Phrase match now behaves more like broad match, with Google expanding its interpretation of relevant variations.
Query mining reveals that even tightly controlled campaigns often capture unexpected brand and competitor traffic due to these loosened match types.
Performance Max challenges
When Performance Max campaigns launched, many advertisers were unaware they could request brand term exclusions from Google representatives.
Although the platform eventually added this capability, it came only after significant pressure from the advertising community.
Ironically, the campaigns replaced Smart Shopping, which allowed keyword negations from the outset.
The impact on brand traffic
This reduction in control has resulted in:
Advertisers unintentionally bidding on competitor brand terms through broad and phrase matching.
Performance Max campaigns defaulting to include brand terms without clear visibility.
Platform changes favoring increased brand term inclusion.
Unwanted brand traffic slipping through despite efforts to prevent it.
These changes reflect a systematic shift toward reduced advertiser control and increased platform automation.
While automation can have benefits, it often inflates the appearance of competition and business results.
Advertisers seeing competitor ads for their brand terms may feel compelled to increase brand spending, though much of this “competition” is unintentional, driven by loose match types rather than deliberate strategies.
Dig deeper: Branded keywords: How Google Ads drives up CPCs
When brand bidding makes strategic sense
Despite the case for reducing brand spend, there are several scenarios where brand bidding remains strategically valuable:
Reputation management
When facing reputation challenges, controlling the SERP narrative through paid search can be crucial.
Paid ads allow brands to present messages prominently and direct users to appropriate landing pages.
Time-sensitive promotions
Flash sales, limited-time offers, and special promotions often benefit from the immediate visibility paid search provides.
While organic search is powerful, it might not be agile enough for rapidly changing promotional content.
Dig deeper: 3 tips for using promotions and discounts in paid search
Product launches
Brand bidding can benefit new product launches, especially when you want to direct users to specific landing pages that might not yet rank organically for brand terms.
Competitive pressure
In highly competitive markets, especially during peak seasons or when competitors are actively conquesting, strategic brand bidding can help maintain SERP dominance.
Getting real about holistic search
The core truth is that brand bidding can’t be evaluated in isolation. You must consider the full picture – paid, organic, and everything in between.
Too often, clients pour money into brand ads while their organic listings could have captured those clicks for free.
Performance Max campaigns further complicate this by obscuring brand performance data in their metrics.
Dig deeper: How to maximize PPC and SEO data with co-optimization audits
Moving forward smarter
The key takeaway is to question default settings.
Test everything.
When our team runs geographic split tests, we often find that regions without brand ads perform just as well, with clicks shifting to organic instead.
Before renewing your brand campaign budget, consider:
How strong is your organic presence?
Are competitors genuinely trying to conquest your terms, or is it just Google’s broad matching at play?
Could those brand dollars be better spent targeting new customers?
The goal isn’t to eliminate brand bidding but to adopt a smarter, more nuanced approach.
Your CFO will appreciate the savings from avoiding unnecessary spend.
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