Increasing the Effectiveness of Your Branded Keywords

There are a number of tactics you can use to improve your online marketing strategies – ranging from email marketing to social media engagement. However, taking advantage of branded keywords can be a smart tactic.

These come from your frequent or constant use of them online. They appear in the title of your website, in your blog posts, and across your various pages and social platforms. They are keywords that rank you organically in search engines and are often underused in comparisons to keywords you work for.

However, they are valuable to both your search engine rankings as well as for your PPC marketing.  Bidding on your branded keywords, using them in your PPC campaign, and taking advantage of their organic qualities can powerfully impact your traffic.

PPC Campaign Keywords

According to Commarketing.com , branded keywords are “Keywords or keyword phrases associated with a brand. Typically branded keywords occur late in the buying cycle, and are some of the highest value and highest converting keywords.”

Hundreds of thousands of your competitors may be showing up on the search page with your branded keywords if you’re ranking organically. Take control of your rankings by actively using those specific keywords and keyword phrases in your PPC campaign.

• Using branded keywords in your PPC campaign increases your credibility and gives you more impressions in more places. “Click through rates increase for terms where you have both an organic (SEO) and paid (PPC) presence. Not only do you own more of the search results page real estate … but perhaps there’s a gain in brand perception and credibility as well,” (Amplify-Interactive.com).
• When using branded keywords you show up in multiple places in a search. As a result, your brand looks authoritative and is seen in more places, giving you more impressions.

Strategic Placement

Placing your branded keywords in your campaign is only half the battle. You have to be sure that you’re doing it strategically, with an eye on both your budged and your ad text. The best keywords are worthless when they’re not implemented usefully.

• Your branded ads are the most important to your campaign, so increase your CPC to ensure that they are front and center. You want to forge a connection between you, your keyword, and your credibility in the mind of the customer.
• Use the right verbiage in your campaigns to show the customer your brand. Divide up your keywords into different campaigns so as to get them the most visibility and usage.

Bidding on Keywords – Yes or No?

The decision to bid on your branded keywords depends on your budget and your competitors. Your competitors may be getting traffic from your specific keywords; conversely, someone searching for your branded keywords may already be looking for you specifically, and will ignore your competitors even if they appear in the search listings.

Bidding on your branded keywords may be a waste of money, but it depends on how much traffic you’re already getting from those terms.

• Paying per click on your branded keywords can be worthwhile if customers are already looking for your site. They’ll have an easier time finding you in the search listings, earning your money back since the cost conversion will be minimal.
• Paying per click is less cost-effective if you’re already getting a lot of traffic from your branded keywords. In that case, concentrate on paying for unbranded keywords and don’t worry about paying for your organic traffic.

Branded keywords can fix your struggling PPC campaign, increase your rankings in the search engines and bring customers directly to you. What you get out of your keywords depends on what you do with them. Whether you’re making them part of a campaign, bidding on them, or just letting them work their traffic magic, they remain a valuable asset to your company.

Photo credit: infintechdesigns.com

Megan Webb-Morgan is a web content writer for Resource Nation. She writes about small business, focusing on topics such as direct mail marketing.