The value of bidding on Edition your brand terms An offensive and - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Travel The value of bidding on Edition your brand terms An offensive and defensive strategy for digital marketers

There’s ongoing debate about the inclusion of brand name keywords in search marketing campaigns. Performance of brand name keywords varies according to many factors, including the competitiveness of the industry segment.

The researchers at Bing Ads recently tackled a big question that advertisers wrestle with… “To bid or not to bid on brand terms?”

We analyzed 400,000 impressions for travel on Bing in December 2014.

And included the majority of the brand terms searched for in the travel vertical.

We compared two scenarios: 1) When a brand term ad was not present on the search results page 2) When a brand term ad was present on the search results page

Because Bing Ads is a search engine, we have deep insight into what’s happening on the search results page – for any brand, advertiser, and industry. Since we can see all the clicks on the page, we can tell if the clicks go to your brand, your competitor, or somewhere else.

We found two things. Advertisers who bid on their brand terms received: More clicks. And fewer clicks went to competitors.

By bidding on your brand terms, you are playing offense and defense at the same time. Driving more clicks on offense, and preventing your competitors from winning clicks to your brand terms on defense. Score!

Let’s start.

Travel We looked at how many clicks this travel brand got without a brand ad present on the search results page. “travel brand”.com Here’s where people clicked – the top organic positions.

Travel Then we looked at how many clicks a brand got with a brand ad present in search results page. “travel brand”.com Here’s where people clicked: The brand ad (mainline position 1) The top organic positions

First let’s look at the results when an advertiser is not bidding on their brand terms in the travel space.

Travel For the travel industry, when no brand ad is present, the brand received 61% of clicks on the search results page – from organic listings. “travel brand”.com “travel brand” flight People clicked the top organic positions 61% No brand ad Source: Bing Ads Internal Data, December 2014.

Do clicks increase when we add a brand ad?

Travel Yes. Clicks increased 27% when a brand ad was present. “travel brand”.com 88% Brand ad + organic Brand ad in main line position 1 and top organic listings. Source: Bing Ads Internal Data, December 2014.

Travel Booyah! That’s 27% clicks gained as a result of brand term bidding. 27% Gain 61% 61% No brand ad Brand ad + organic Brand ad in main line position 1 and top organic listings. Source: Bing Ads Internal Data, December 2014.

Travel Here’s where the clicks will go: “travel brand”.com 45% TO BRAND AD 43% TO ORGANIC Brand ad + organic Brand ad in main line position 1 and top organic listings. Source: Bing Ads Internal Data, December 2014.

➊ Our research shows that Brand term bidding helps deliver more clicks. More clicks? Let’s break that down.

What about cannibalization ? Wouldn’t I receive some of those clicks anyway if I didn’t bid on my brand terms?

Travel Yes, some paid clicks you may have received anyway organically. But you also received 27% incremental clicks! Total: 88% Incremental (paid) clicks 27% from the brand ad 18% Overlap : paid clicks you may have received free anyway from organic listing 61% 43% Brand ad + organic No brand ad Brand ad in main line position 1 and top organic listings. Source: Bing Ads Internal Data, December 2014.

Do your competitors get your clicks?

You bet. But not as many as if you bid on your brand terms.

➊ Our research shows that brand term bidding helps deliver more clicks. ➋ Brand term bidding means fewer clicks to competitors. Bidding on your brand terms reduces opportunities for your competitors to capture your customers or their mindshare if they bid on your brand terms.

Travel Competitors are getting nearly 40% of clicks when no brand ad is present. Your 12% competitor Your 39% competitor 88% You You 61% Brand ad + organic No brand ad Brand ad in main line position 1 and top organic listings. Source: Bing Ads Internal Data, December 2014.

How many of these clicks to competitors were on their ad?

Travel Great question. When a brand ad was present, clicks on competitors’ ads decreased from 20% to 4%. Competitor ad 4% 20% Competitor organic 8% Competitor ad Competitor organic 19% 88% You 61 % You No brand ad Brand ad + organic Brand ad in main line position 1 and top organic listings. Source: Bing Ads Internal Data, December 2014.

Let’s take a look at a few examples from individual travel advertisers.

Travel Without a brand ad present, this major travel company’s competitors capture nearly half of the clicks for some searches. Competitor Ad No Brand Ad 27% 43% 48% 73% 57% 52% www.”travelbrand”.com “Travel brand” flights “Travel brand” flights search “Travel brand” represents actual results of a top travel industry brand. Source: Bing Ads Internal Data, December 2014.

Oh snap!

Travel High fives all around for this major travel company. Competitor ads captured only up to 11% of clicks with a brand ad present. Brand Ad + Organic Competitor Ad 1% 1% 11% 99% 99% 89% ”Travel brand” “Travel brand” car rentals “Travel brand”.com “Travel brand” represents actual results of a top travel industry brand. Source: Bing Ads Internal Data, December 2014.

Booyah!

Let’s recap that.

Brand term bidding is a strategy that allows you to play offense and defense at the same time. ❶ PLAY OFFENSE Brand term bidding helps deliver more clicks. ❷ PLAY DEFENSE Brand term bidding means fewer clicks to competitors. Bidding on your brand terms reduces opportunities for your competitors to capture your customers or their mindshare if they bid on your brand terms.

What do I risk if I don’t bid on my brand terms? ❶ Getting a lower “click - yield” or rate of clicks/searches, even with a strong SEO strategy in place.

What do I risk if I don’t bid on my brand terms? ❷ Losing clicks to competitors attempting to “conquest” the searches for your brand. Don’t let your competitors steal demand for your brand – your clicks and leads. As we saw, you can risk losing nearly half of clicks if you don’t bid on your brand terms.

What’s the best way to get started?

The beauty of search advertising is that advertisers can make data-driven decisions – like whether or not to bid on their brand terms. And the best way to glean these insights is through testing to understand how your brand performs based on your objectives. Ready, set, bid (on your brand terms)! To learn more about the value of bidding on your brand terms, check out the complete Bing Ads research study and white paper