Should Google Ads separate brand campaigns from non-brand campaigns?
Quick Answer
Brand and non-brand traffic usually behave differently, so separating them often makes reporting, bidding, and budget control more reliable. Bidding on your own business name has higher conversion rates and lower CPCs than generic service searches, meaning mixing them will skew campaign performance.
One of the most common ways conversion metrics get skewed in Google Ads is mixing brand and non-brand keywords in the same search campaign. Brand keywords are searches for your exact company name (e.g. `Deeptanshu Sharma consulting`). Non-brand keywords are searches for the generic services you offer (e.g. `growth marketing consultant`).
Because brand searchers already know who you are, they have high conversion rates (often 20% to 50%) and very low Cost Per Click (CPC) costs.
If you mix them together, the stellar performance of your brand keywords will mask the inefficiencies of your non-brand campaigns, making it impossible to identify which generic keywords are actually driving growth.
This guide breaks down the strategic need to separate brand campaigns from non-brand campaigns.
1. The Danger of Mixed Campaigns: Skewed Averages
Consider this scenario: You have a campaign with a $2,000 monthly budget containing both your company name and generic service keywords.
At the end of the month, the campaign dashboard shows:
- Total Conversions: 50 leads
- Average Cost Per Lead (CPA): $40
This looks like a massive success. However, if you audit the keyword report, you discover:
- Brand keywords: Spent $200, generated 45 leads (CPA of $4.44).
- Non-brand keywords: Spent $1,800, generated 5 leads (CPA of $360).
By combining these two groups, your average metrics hid the fact that your generic service acquisition campaigns are losing money. By separating them, you immediately identify that your non-brand keywords require optimization or landing page revisions.
2. Bidding Strategy & Budget Control
Brand and non-brand campaigns require different bidding strategies:
- Brand Campaigns: Optimize for Target Impression Share (e.g. aiming to show in the absolute top position for 95% of searches). This ensures competitors cannot easily place ads above your organic listing to steal your traffic.
- Non-Brand Campaigns: Optimize for **Maximize Conversions** or **Target CPA** to capture leads at your target acquisition threshold.
If you combine them, Google's smart bidding algorithm will prioritize spending your budget on brand terms because they convert easily, starving your generic campaigns of the visibility needed to acquire new customers.
3. Implementing Brand Exclusions
To keep your non-brand campaigns clean, you must use **Brand Exclusions**.
Inside Google Ads campaign settings, create a brand list containing your company name and common misspellings. Apply this brand list as an exclusion to all your generic search and Performance Max campaigns. This forces Google to only serve your generic ads to users who do not yet know your brand, ensuring clean acquisition tracking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:Should I bid on my own brand name in Google Ads?
Yes, bidding on your brand name protects your search territory from competitors who might target your brand keywords to steal high-intent leads. Brand CPCs are very low, making it a cost-effective defense.
Q:How do I exclude brand keywords from PMax campaigns?
Create a brand list in the Shared Library under Brand Lists, then navigate to your Performance Max campaign settings, click Exclusions, and apply your brand list to keep PMax ads off brand searches.
Q:What is the average CPA difference between brand and non-brand?
Brand CPAs are usually 80% to 90% lower than non-brand CPAs because brand searchers already have high purchase intent and search specifically for your brand name.
Technical Terminology
Brand Campaigns
Google Ads campaigns targeting search queries that contain your exact brand name or trademarked phrases.
Target Impression Share
A smart bidding strategy that automatically sets bids to show your ad in the top slots of the search page.
Brand Exclusions
A targeting setting that prevents your campaigns from serving ads for search terms associated with specific brand names.