You’re Bidding on Your Own Name. But Should You Be?
Let’s talk about the most expensive game of tug-of-war happening in your search strategy right now:
Branded keywords.
You’re bidding on your own name. Your own product. Your own reputation.
And lately, it’s feeling a little like extortion.
💸 Branded CPCs Are Creeping Up. But Why?
Historically, branded search was the cheapest, cleanest part of the SEM funnel:
High intent
Low competition
Strong CTR
Quick conversions
But that’s changed.
Now?
CPCs are rising due to competitor conquesting
SERPs are cluttered with aggregators, affiliates, and resellers
Your own organic listing is buried under a pile of ads—often from people selling your product
You’re paying to show up… just to stop someone else from taking your customer.
🧠 Should You Still Bid on Branded Search?
Yes—probably. But not without thinking critically.
Ask yourself:
What’s the actual risk of not bidding?
Run a geo test. Turn it off in a low-traffic region. See what happens to traffic, conversions, and revenue.Who else is bidding on you?
Is it a competitor? A reseller? A review site trying to hijack the journey?Are you duplicating effort?
If your paid ad says the exact same thing as your meta description, you’re just cannibalizing traffic.
🔄 When to Pull Back — or Push Smarter
👎 When to Hold Back on Branded Bids:
You dominate the organic results AND aren’t being conquested
The ROI on branded terms is worse than your mid-funnel
Your offer or message isn’t differentiated from what people already know
✅ When to Double Down on Branded Bids:
You’re being undercut by a competitor, marketplace, or affiliate
You have a timely offer, promo, or product launch
You need to control messaging (especially in moments of crisis, change, or high traffic)
📣 Get Smarter About the Click
If you’re going to bid on your own name, make it count:
Use site links to drive to multiple journeys (not just your homepage)
Test branded + product/category terms instead of exact match name only
Don’t just show up—say something better than your organic listing
And if your strategy is still “set it and forget it”?
That fatigue isn’t just from costs.
It’s from laziness.
🔚 Final Thought
You don’t owe Google more money just because they buried your organic result.
You owe your brand a smarter strategy.
Branded search isn’t dead.
But it’s not sacred either.
Audit it. Test it. Control the click. And stop paying out of fear.