Few debates spark as much tension as the one over brand search campaigns—those pay-per-click (PPC) efforts targeting keywords that combine your brand name with product terms. On one side, they’re celebrated as low-cost, high-return drivers of leads. On the other, they’re dismissed as redundant, scooping up customers who’d find you anyway through organic search.
So, when a decision looms to cut these campaigns entirely in favor of SEO and new-user acquisition, how do you know what’s right? How do you know which one to choose between brand search campaign or SEO?
The truth is, without solid data, you don’t, and that’s the real problem.
Learn more: What Is SEO?
Brand search campaigns are typically a safety net. They ensure you’re there when someone’s actively looking for your solution, whether they’re new or returning. Relying solely on SEO assumes your organic rankings are rock-solid for all brand+product combos, which might not be the case, where competitors or generic results could creep in.
Plus, PPC gives you control over messaging and landing pages, which SEO doesn’t guarantee. On the flip side, if your budget’s tight and SEO is strong, reallocating funds to upper-funnel campaigns (like display or prospecting) could indeed bring in fresh users.
But it’s a gamble if you don’t know how many “new” versus “known” customers a brand search currently brings in.
Imagine this scenario: Your team relies on brand search campaigns to deliver a steady stream of leads. They’re cheap, they convert well, and they seem to capture a mix of loyal customers and newcomers who’ve heard of you somewhere else. But then comes the counterargument: If someone’s searching for your brand plus a product, wouldn’t they find you organically anyway? Why spend PPC dollars on traffic that’s already yours?
The theory sounds plausible—shift that budget to upper-funnel campaigns, attract fresh faces, and grow the business. Both sides feel convincing, yet neither can prove its case definitively.
Why? Because there is no data to prove it.
This isn’t just hypothetical. Many marketers face a real bind when lead tracking lags behind ambition. Without knowing how many brand search conversions are new versus returning customers or how those leads perform downstream, you’re left with dueling assumptions. One camp sees a safety net being yanked away; the other sees a chance to stretch limited dollars further.
The stakes are high. If you cut too much, you risk losing high-intent traffic to competitors or suboptimal SEO results. Overinvest, and you might miss out on broader growth. So, what’s the solution when the numbers aren’t there to light the way?
The answer lies in refusing to guess and instead building a bridge between the two perspectives. Here’s how to navigate the brand search dilemma without committing to an untested extreme:
Don’t eliminate brand search campaigns abruptly—test the waters first. Scale back the budget for a set period (say, 30-60 days) and monitor what happens. Does organic search fully compensate for the lost PPC traffic? Do lead volumes hold steady, or do they drop?
Even without perfect lead quality data, you can track surface-level metrics like clicks, conversions, and cost-per-lead (CPL) across channels. This gives you a baseline to compare against the “all-in on SEO” hypothesis.
Dig into your existing analytics. Brand search campaigns often boast lower CPLs and higher conversion rates than prospecting efforts. If that’s true for you, it’s a compelling case to keep them running, at least partially. Pair that with an audit of your organic rankings; are you truly #1 for every brand+product term? If not, cutting PPC could cede ground to competitors or generic results.
It’s not just about existing customers. Brand search often acts as a funnel entry for people influenced by other campaigns, such as display ads, social posts, or word of mouth. Highlight how it complements, rather than competes with, new-user acquisition. Cutting it might not just lose you “known” traffic; it could weaken the ROI of everything else you’re doing.
The real fix isn’t picking a side but closing the knowledge gap that fuels the debate. Push for better lead tracking, even if it’s a small step. Simple tweaks like consistent UTM parameters, CRM integrations, or customer surveys can start revealing who these leads are and how they behave. It’s not an overnight fix, but it’s the difference between guessing and knowing next time.
Brand search campaigns are a lightning rod because they sit at the intersection of efficiency and opportunity cost. They’re too valuable to abandon without proof, yet too comfortable to lean on unexamined. The solution isn’t to double down or walk away but to test, measure, and build the tools to decide with confidence.
Until then, a hybrid approach keeps the lights on while you chase the bigger picture. Because in marketing, the only thing worse than a tough call is a blind one.
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