Should You Exclude Your Brand Name from Google Ads Search Campaigns?

By: Jyll Saskin Gales, Google Ads Coach

One of the most common questions I'm asked is this: Should you exclude your brand name from your search campaigns? The answer is generally yes, especially for non-brand search campaigns and dynamic search ads.

Understanding Brand and Non-Brand Campaigns

Before we dive deeper, let's clarify the difference between brand and non-brand campaigns:

• Brand Campaigns: These campaigns target keywords directly related to your brand name, such as your company name or product names.
• Non-Brand Campaigns: These campaigns target keywords related to the products or services you offer, but not your brand name specifically.

Why Exclude Brand Keywords from Non-Brand Campaigns?

Excluding your brand name from non-brand campaigns helps you focus your budget on attracting new customers who are searching for your products or services but may not be familiar with your brand yet. This allows you to expand your reach and tap into a wider audience.

Negative Keyword Match Types

When excluding brand keywords, it's crucial to consider match types: I recommend adding your Brand name in Phrase Match to your Non-Brand campaigns.

If your business name includes a non-brand term (e.g., "Eric's Plumbing"), you can use exact match to exclude the full name ([Eric's Plumbing]), or phrase match to exclude just the unique name portion ("Eric"). This ensures you're still showing ads for relevant searches while excluding those specifically looking for your brand.