How to Get Lower CPCs on Your Branded Search Campaigns

Branded keyword campaigns in Google Ads are a staple for most account structures. They serve as a critical “defense strategy” to ensure that competitors don’t siphon traffic intended for your brand. However, many advertisers fail to realize that they’re usually overspending on these campaigns due to over-reliance on automated bidding strategies.

This blog will show you a proven method for lowering average CPCs on branded keyword campaigns, without sacrificing performance. This is one of the first areas we look to adjust when taking over management of a new client’s Google Ads account. By shifting to a more strategic bidding approach, you’ll learn how to make the most of your ad spend and drive results more efficiently than ever.

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The Basics: Automated Bid Strategies and Their Pitfalls

What Are Automated Bidding Strategies?

Automated bidding strategies, like Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) or Target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition), leverage Google’s machine learning algorithms to optimize bids in real-time. These strategies use signals such as audience demographics, location, time of day, and keyword relevance to maximize performance.

While this approach works well for many campaigns, it has its flaws, especially when it comes to branded keywords.

Why Automated Bidding Falls Short for Branded Campaigns

Here’s the problem: Google’s algorithms treat branded keywords the same way they treat non-branded ones. The machine learning doesn’t know any better and can’t differentiate the two. This means bids are adjusted upward whenever the algorithm detects signals of higher conversion likelihood—a process that’s largely unnecessary for most branded campaigns. Why? Because branded keywords naturally have a high likelihood of converting without inflated bids.

For example, if someone searches for “[Your Brand] shoes,” they’re already showing strong intent to buy from your company. Raising CPCs in this scenario doesn’t improve conversion rates—it just eats into your budget.

The Role of Branded Keywords in Search Campaigns

Defense Against Competitors

Bidding on your branded keywords ensures your ads appear at the top of search results when someone searches for your brand. This prevents competitors from occupying that space and potentially stealing clicks from highly motivated searchers.

The Organic Traffic Opportunity

Your organic search listings should ideally handle most of your branded traffic for free. However, relying solely on organic rankings comes with risks. Competitors’ ads may still appear above your organic listings, especially if they’re bidding on your brand, reducing your visibility. Balancing organic and paid strategies is key to a comprehensive defense! 

Give Google Ads Automated Bidding an Inch… 

When automated bidding strategies unnecessarily raise CPCs for branded campaigns, it results in diminished efficiency. Higher CPCs mean fewer clicks for the same budget, reducing the overall impact of your advertising dollars. This also creates an opportunity to retain the same level of paid branded traffic and 30-70% in campaign cost savings. 

If you’ve launched a campaign using Max Conversions without a Target CPA, you’ve probably noticed that Google Ads has no problem spending your full budget, with the tradeoff of high CPCs. We’ve found that this is an effect of Google Ads bid models and their tendency to maximize spend whenever given the chance. 

The Solution: Switching (Back) to Manual CPC for Branded Keywords

Why Manual CPC Works Better for Branded Keywords

Manual CPC bidding gives you complete control over your bids, allowing you to avoid unnecessary inflation. For branded campaigns, this approach is ideal because:

• Branded keywords already have high intent.
• You can set bids that prioritize cost efficiency without sacrificing performance.

The Walk-Down Process

Here’s how to implement the Manual CPC strategy effectively:

1. **Set a Baseline CPC**: Start with a reasonable CPC that ensures adequate delivery & is near your current average.
2. **Gradually Lower Bids**: Reduce your bids in small increments (we recommend around 15-20% at a time) every 3-5 days. 
3. **Monitor Delivery Thresholds**: Watch for any signs of reduced Search Impression Share, Top SIS, overall impressions, or clicks to determine when you’re reaching your minimum bid threshold. 

By following this process, you will likely find 30-70% lower CPCs & costs with no change in delivery or conversion activity. 

Real-World Results: What to Expect When Lowering Branded CPCs

Stronger Conversion Counts

By lowering CPCs, you free up budget to drive more clicks and, ultimately, more conversions on more valuable, higher-funnel campaign efforts. For example, reducing CPCs from $2 to $1 could free up half your current branded campaign budget to put into top-of-funnel searches that are more likely to drive new customers. 

Maintaining Conversion Quality

Lowering CPCs for branded campaigns doesn’t mean sacrificing conversion quality. Our experience shows that branded conversion rates remain stable when CPCs are reduced. 

AdShark’s Case Study

The screenshots below show examples of changes in delivery before/after switching from Target ROAS to Manual CPC bidding. In this instance, we saw an instant:

• 62% decrease in average CPC
• 10.5% increase in Search Top Impression Share
• $1,500 in monthly cost savings ($50/day)

FAQs

Won’t Lower CPCs Hurt Delivery?

This is a common concern, but branded keywords naturally have high relevance and intent. As long as you’re monitoring delivery thresholds, you can maintain steady performance while reducing costs.

How Do I Know I’ve Found the Threshold?

Signs you’ve hit the delivery threshold include a noticeable drop in:

• Impression share
• Impression count
• Click count

Use these metrics as a guide to fine-tune your bids.

Why Expertise Matters: Avoiding the Costly Trial-and-Error Phase

Lowering branded CPCs requires careful monitoring and analysis. A knowledgeable agency can help you bypass the trial-and-error phase and implement proven strategies more efficiently. With the right expertise, you’ll see faster results and greater ROI.

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Final Thoughts

Automated bidding strategies can inflate costs unnecessarily for branded campaigns. By switching to Manual CPC and employing a walk-down approach, you can reduce CPCs, maintain conversion quality, and maximize the efficiency of your ad spend.

Want to see how much you can save on your branded campaigns? Contact AdShark today for a free consultation!

Written by Gavin Longthorne