The Google Ads Brand Search Obsession: Is Your Quest for "Clean Data" Stifling Growth?

Let’s have a heart-to-heart about something that’s become a bit of a sacred cow in the PPC world: Brand Segmentation. If you’ve been around the DTC industry the past few years, you’ve probably noticed an almost obsessive focus on perfectly isolating brand traffic. We treat "excluding brand" like a badge of honor.

But honestly... we might be overthinking it.

Organization is great, but when we chase "perfect" segmentation, we sometimes lose sight of what actually moves the needle, and even run the risk of negatively impacting our accounts. Here’s a pragmatic look at why we may want to ease up on the segmentation obsession:

1. Brand Searches Aren't Just "In the Bag"

There’s a common assumption that if someone types your brand name into a search bar, the sale is already "won." I wish it were that simple!

In reality, brand searches often span the entire funnel.

Crucially, this is where you need to first identify how brand searches are used by your customers before you ever make a single negative keyword decision.

Some people use brand terms to compare prices, check reviews, or see if a competitor is offering a better deal.

Some people use brand terms to see what competitors there are for your brand.

Some people use brand terms because your brand is the vertical (Kleenex vs tissues).

Some people use brand terms because they're too lazy to type in your website (or can't remember it).

In a world where your competitors are likely bidding on your name, you aren't automatically going to win that click... but it really does depend. Brand traffic needs a strategy, not just a "set it and forget it" attitude.

2. Don’t Starve "The Machines" - especially PMax

You’ve probably heard me talk about "the machines" before, Google’s automated bidding algorithms. These systems are incredibly powerful, but they are only as good as the data we give them.

I have never been told this personally by Google, but my belief system is that when we remove brand traffic out of Performance Max (or for some people, the entire account!), we’re essentially hiding the most successful part of the customer journey from the algorithm. By keeping some brand data in the mix, we help the machine understand the full path to purchase, which typically helps those overall account numbers climb.

Anecdotally, it has been in more than one account where we have seen overall brand sales dip when someone removed that from a PMax campaign... even though we worked aggressively to push those brand terms to highly bid Search & Shopping campaigns. I don't know why they didn't all get picked up (I have my own ad rank theories), but I do know that it weighs heavily in my mind whenever someone says they always exclude brand from Pmax, every time!

3. Brand Growth is a Beautiful Signal

I’ve chatted with some folks who want brand out of their account entirely because they feel it "masks" non-brand performance. I see it differently (WHEN IT IS AFFORDABLE BRAND TRAFFIC... for sure, if you're over-bidding and tests demonstrate it's not incremental, kill it).

Monitoring your brand growth while you’re running upper-funnel plays (like YouTube or Demand Gen) is one of the best ways to track incrementality. If you’re leaning into top-of-funnel awareness and your brand volume spikes, that’s your proof of success! It’s a signal that your "expensive" awareness ads are actually working. Why would we want to hide that?

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4. Energy is a Finite Resource

For most of us, brand traffic is the lowest-cost traffic we’ll ever get (as long as we’re bidding smart)... it can often be an "easy button" for ensuring you get the sale.

IMO, while not as measurable in ROAS, the sheer amount of energy some folks spend guarding every single query and debating the nuances of brand bidding in calls, meetings, etc could be much better spent elsewhere for the relatively low cost brand traffic often has in an account (Not every account, and if Brand makes up an inordinate amount of traffic, then one should definitely spend energy pondering it!). Imagine if that time went into creative testing or landing page optimization! If your account is growing and your brand traffic is healthy, take a breath, be happy with the growth, invest your energy into growth... even if you could have slight efficiency gains here and there.

I don't know how else to say it, the brands I've seen actually, substantially grow over the years are often those who admit they can't control every dollar spent, accept some level of inefficiencty, and invest their energy into expansion rather than protection.

The "ZATO Way": A Balanced Approach

Crucially, I’m not saying we should just throw everything into one giant pile and call it a day. Not remotely! It's actually exceptionally healthy to segment Search and Shopping brand into their own campaigns when you're working with a business where brand searches overall have significantly different ROAS targets. This makes sense of course, typically people searching for your brand are people who you have already invested marketing dollars into. I.e., you need a higher ROAS on them to break even because they've already cost you money!

So in our effort to not over-segment and over-exclude, we shouldn't drive into the ditch on the other side and not attempt to segment whatsoever... when the data calls for it.

Here is the middle-ground approach we recommend:

• Separate Brand Search: Yes, pull this into its own campaign so you can control the messaging and the spend when it makes sense to do so.
• Be Careful with Shopping: Pulling brand into its own Shopping campaign can work, but it’s not always a net win. Test it carefully. Sometimes we segment Brand out in Shopping with the Shopping Ads Query Sculpting strategy, and sometimes we just leave it all together... especially on lower spend accounts.
• Set Different Goals: It’s okay to have a higher ROAS target for Brand than for Non-Brand for reasons noted above.
• Consider Wise Times of Exclusion: There are actually times when you may want to consider excluding certain brand terms from your account. A decade ago, I wrote a post for Moz that continues to ring true where I talk through what that could look like, so if interested, check it out here. Stop Bidding on These Brand Terms in PPC. The short is, if you control the organic queries and there is no competition on certain exact match terms, it could be worth not targeting those (and excluding them from the account). This is rare these days, but can still happen.
• Watch the Whole Picture: At the end of the day, track your blended ROAS and keep a close eye on your MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio). The goal isn't to have the "cleanest" account in the world, it’s to build a profitable, growing brand.

This is the way.

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