Why Pay Twice?

Are you wasting ad spend on people who were coming to your website anyway?

Let’s talk Google Search Ads and your brand terms.

Many businesses run branded search campaigns (ads that show when someone Googles your company name).

And it makes sense. They’re cheap, high-performing and help protect your top spot.

But here’s the problem:

You might be paying for clicks from people who were already going to click your organic (free) listing.

Here’s how to fix it:

1. Exclude past visitors — 60, 90 or even 180 days.

These people already know your brand. There’s a good chance they would have clicked your organic link without needing an ad.

Exclude them from your brand campaigns and save the spend.

2. Watch your search terms closely.

Branded campaigns often pick up irrelevant searches like:

• “[Your Brand] jobs”
• “[Your Brand] support”
• Or even searches for a competitor with a similar name (misspelled)

These clicks rarely lead to sales. Block them using negative keywords.

3. Measure the overlap.

Use Google Analytics to see where paid clicks are stealing from free clicks.

If an ad click didn’t bring in extra value, it probably didn’t need to run.

You don’t need to turn off brand ads entirely.
Just be smarter about who sees them.

Because protecting your brand is important.
But protecting your budget is even better.

Are you implementing these strategies to your brand campaign?