Brand search campaigns target searches that include your business name (or close variations), while non-brand search campaigns target generic service terms from people who have not picked a company yet.
How they behave in Google Ads
Brand search usually captures people already looking for you, like “Smith Dental Orlando” or “Rathly marketing,” so clicks tend to be cheaper and conversion rates tend to be higher because the intent is navigational or ready-to-contact. Non-brand search is how you show up for new demand, like “emergency dentist Orlando” or “termite treatment near me,” and it usually costs more per click because you are competing with many advertisers for the same high-value, generic queries.
| What you are buying | Brand search campaign | Non-brand search campaign |
|---|---|---|
| Typical search | Your name, misspellings, branded services, your domain | Service + city, “near me,” problem-based queries, category terms |
| User intent | Find your exact business | Compare options or solve a problem |
| Competition | Often lower (but competitors can bid on your name) | Usually higher and more crowded |
| Budget role | Protects demand you already earned and captures high-intent traffic | Creates new demand by bringing in people who do not know you yet |
| Bid tolerance | Lower bids often work well, but you may bid up to defend top position | Bids often need to be higher to compete for top placements |
| Landing page fit | Homepage or a “book now” service page often works | Tightly matched service page for the exact query works best |
| How we judge results | Cost per lead plus impression share on your name | Cost per qualified lead plus lead quality and close rate |
Why we almost always separate them
We separate brand and non-brand so your reporting stays honest. If you mix them, brand conversions can hide problems in non-brand targeting, and you can end up thinking your ads are doing better than they really are at generating new customers. Separating them also lets us set different budgets, bids, and ad messages without the two goals fighting each other.
We also usually add your brand terms as negative keywords in the non-brand campaign, so non-brand spend does not drift into branded searches when the budget gets tight. If you want help structuring this cleanly, our PPC management work includes campaign separation, negatives, and conversion tracking so you can see brand vs non-brand performance clearly.
Brand protection and competitor ads
In competitive Orlando markets (dentists, personal injury, HVAC, pest control), it is common to see competitors bidding on each other’s brand terms. You cannot stop someone from bidding on your name as a keyword in most cases, but you can often restrict the use of your trademark in ad text if you have trademark rights and submit a complaint. Running your own brand campaign with strong ad relevance and a good landing page helps you win the auction at a lower cost because Google rewards relevance and expected click-through rate.
Practical setup we recommend for local businesses
1) Brand campaign: exact match and phrase match for your name, common misspellings, and branded services, with ad copy that matches what people want fast (hours, location, phone, booking). 2) Non-brand campaign: tightly grouped themes by service and city, separate ad groups for high-value services, and landing pages built for that specific intent. If your landing pages are generic, your non-brand clicks get expensive fast, which is why improving the page often matters as much as improving the ads. Our web design work often pairs with PPC when the goal is more calls and booked appointments, not just more clicks.
If you want a quick self-check, look at your search terms report and ask: “Did this person already know us, or were they still shopping?” That question is the difference between brand and non-brand, and it is also why the campaigns should be separated. For a deeper read on how intent affects performance, see our FAQ on search intent, and if you are cleaning up keyword themes, our FAQ on what keywords are still applies to PPC planning.
