Why We Don’t Recommend Bidding on Branded Terms & Why That’s a Good Thing
At sMedia, we choose to do things differently because we believe your budget should be working smarter, not harder. One of the most common questions we get from dealers is:
“Should I bid on my own dealership name?”
And our transparent answer? Usually not.
Contrary to what you may have been told, bidding on branded search terms is not always necessary or strategic. Let’s break down why and how this approach fits into our bigger-picture strategy for your dealership’s success.
What Are Branded Terms?
Branded terms are search keywords that include your dealership’s name (or variations of it), such as:
- “ABC Ford Denver”
- “ABC Toyota service department”
Many agencies are quick to recommend spending your ad dollars on branded search terms through Google Ads because they show high conversion rates, high click-through rates and low cost per click – obviously someone searching for your dealership name wants to contact you. You only have so many ad dollars to spend, and we think dealers would be better served using those dollars to generate traffic that isn’t already searching for your dealership name. At sMedia, we don’t believe in paying for traffic you’re already earning or would have most likely earned (at least not right out of the gate) and here’s why:
1. You Already Own That Organic Traffic
Depending on your dealership’s location, name, and how long you’ve been in business, chances are you already rank organically for your branded terms. Google gives preference to the actual brand being searched for. This is low-hanging organic fruit.
Instead of paying to show up where you already appear, wouldn’t you rather allocate your ad budgets to reach in-market shoppers who don’t know your name yet?
Think: “best truck deals near me,” or “used SUVs under $30k” (not your dealership’s name)
2. Market Maturity & Brand Tenure Matter
We evaluate every dealership’s situation individually. Suppose you’re a well-established business in your community, you’ve likely built solid organic search equity, and when someone searches your store name on Google, you’re already showing up. If that’s the case, there isn’t always a need to spend your ad dollars defending what’s already yours, and we can allocate that budget towards other initiatives to drive you more business.
Unless there’s been a major shift, perhaps a recent buy/sell, a dealership rebrand, relocation, or new ownership, where your search equity might be temporarily disrupted. In these cases, bidding on branded terms can act as a short-term safety net to maintain visibility while organic rankings stabilize. More details on this below as well.
3. Rebranding & Acquisitions = Confusion
In cases where a dealership has recently changed names, especially through an acquisition, we often see search inconsistency across branded queries.
For example:
- Users may still search for your old name
- Google’s understanding of your brand may not be updated yet
- You may not have established organic dominance for the new brand name
In these cases, we might temporarily recommend a branded campaign, but it’s also not our default move, and that is where our differentiating strategy comes into play for our dealers. We prefer to fix the root issue through improved SEO, listings management, and Google Business Profile optimization. This will further build the organic search momentum for the long-term vs. the short-term fix of bidding on your branded terms.
4. Too Many Variables: Brands, Locations, Dealership Names
Large dealer groups often have multiple rooftops, brands, and cities. Bidding on branded terms in these cases could:
- Create internal competition (you’re bidding against yourself)
- Muddle attribution
- Cause duplicate spend on low-funnel traffic, you were going to get anyway
Instead, we focus on clean campaign architecture, smart geotargeting, and SEO-driven organic results that deliver long-term traffic growth without constantly burning budget on “sure-thing” branded clicks.
5. What About PMax Campaigns?
Performance Max (PMax) campaigns have quickly become a campaign standard for a lot of agencies but you need to proceed with caution.
Why?
Because PMax blends placements together, including Search, Display, Video, Maps, and the Discovery Network, and limits typical campaign control of:
- Where ads show up (placements)
- Which keywords are targeted
Most importantly, PMax has the potential to cannibalize branded search if the campaigns aren’t set up properly. You may see your strongest conversion volume and ROI in PMax, but it could again be branded search terms eating up your daily budget.
That’s not efficient, and in turn, it results in inflated performance metrics that don’t represent true growth.
Instead, we start with Google Search and Vehicle Ad campaigns that offer full transparency and control. Once we’ve nailed those down and have clear performance baselines, then we consider layering in PMax with a tailored strategy.
There have been more controls released for PMax campaigns in the last little while and we recommend taking full advantage of those to optimize any PMax campaign you may be running – especially adding your Dealer Name as a negative keyword.
Data-First, Not “Default” Strategy
We don’t make assumptions. We make decisions based on what your market, brand, and audience data tell us.
That’s why branded term bidding and PMax campaigns are not automatically included in our standard strategy. Instead, we look at:
- Your dealership’s search traffic patterns
- Organic rankings
- Market competition
- Brand recognition
- Historical paid performance
Only when it truly makes sense to run branded campaigns do we recommend them and even then, we cap and control spend to ensure it’s not eating into more valuable growth opportunities.
Final Thoughts: Spend Where It Moves the Needle
If someone is already looking for your dealership by name, that’s a win. Let organic traffic do its job and let your budget go after those shoppers who haven’t made up their minds just yet, but are about to. Make sure you are showing up! Want to know where your marketing dollars are actually going?
👉 Book a strategy call and we’ll show you what’s working (and what’s not). That’s the sMedia way: zero fluff, all strategy.
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