The Hidden Cost of
Google Ads:
Stop Wasting Budget
Bidding Against Yourself
Meet the Speakers
John Beresford
Chief Revenue Officer
Jenn Paterson
Sr. Client Partner
What you need to know
What drives high CPC?
The value of Paid & Organic on the SERP
The Uncontested Paid Search Problem
What Drives up CPC?
CPC = $1,090
FUN FACT:
The most expensive cost for a
click in history to date:
“Houston Maritime Attorney”
Competitor Conquesting
Ad Position and Quality Score
Brand Reputation and Search Intent
Seasonality and Demand Fluctuations
Bid Strategy
SERP Domination with Paid + Organic
30-50% higher CTR
82% more brand recall
40-50% incremental clicks
70% more likely conversions
50-60% loss of clicks to
competitors
Branded Keywords:
Must-have or money pit?
Let’s poll the audience!
The Uncontested
Paid Search Problem
is an auction.
Did You Know?
20-30% of Branded Google Search
Ads have no competing bids.
In other words, there are no
competitors present at the auction.
The Problem
“Uncontested
Google Search Ad”
Branded keywords
20-30%
Non-branded keywords
5-10%
This means that brands are overspending on Google Ads
Estimated Annual Overspend
$5.4M
Estimated Annual Overspend
$1.2M
How much could I be
overspending?
To give you an idea based on your branded ad spend...
can afford to let this happen
Can you?
Optimize branded ad spend manually
Negative Keywords
Filter out variations of branded terms that
don’t convert.
Focus on Brand Protection &
Bid Strategy
Adjust bid strategies on seasonality or market
demand.
Use manual bidding or a target impression share with
manual limits to control costs.
Use exact match and/or phrase match keywords.
Brand-Specific Audiences and Retargeting
Limit wasted ad spend with audience targeting and retargeting.
Monitor Competitor Bidding
Monitor your auction insights to understand competitor behavior and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Leverage Organic Search to Reduce Dependence on Paid Ads
Invest in SEO to ensure that your website ranks high organically for your branded terms.
Optimizing the
Uncontested Paid
Search Problem
Solving the Uncontested Paid Search Problem
Step 1:
Monitor competitor activity
in real time.
Step 2:
React accordingly when competitors
are absent from auction.
No
$0.01 CPC
Yes
$1.39 CPC
AdAi Starts
Lowered CPC by 48%, No loss in ad clicks
November (Before): $2.82 CPC
February (After): $1.46 CPC
Lower CPC = Lower Cost = More Growth Budget
* Monthly costs of $750k+ dropped to under $400k
Key Takeaways
Investment in branded search campaigns is the way to go, or risk losing
to competitors if you’re not dominating strategically for your brand.
Branded CPCs inflate drastically as a result of competition in the auction,
you shouldn’t have to pay high CPCs when it’s not there...
The Uncontested Search Problem is very real and costing brands money.
Free Google Ads Audit
Find out exactly how often your Search Ads are
uncontested.
Get a complete list of all the advertisers bidding on
your keywords.
No Budget Required
Performance Based Pricing
BrandPilot AI is a risk-free solution.
Only pay a % of what you recover from Google Ads
each month.
Google Savings Calculator
Sign up to get a free report of how much you could be
overpaying Google each month for Uncontested Search Ads!
The Hidden Cost Of Google Ads: Stop Wasting Budget Bidding Against Yourself
The Hidden Cost Of Google Ads: Stop Wasting Budget Bidding Against Yourself
The Hidden Cost Of Google Ads: Stop Wasting Budget Bidding Against Yourself

The Hidden Cost Of Google Ads: Stop Wasting Budget Bidding Against Yourself

  • 2.
    The Hidden Costof Google Ads: Stop Wasting Budget Bidding Against Yourself
  • 3.
    Meet the Speakers JohnBeresford Chief Revenue Officer Jenn Paterson Sr. Client Partner
  • 4.
    What you needto know What drives high CPC? The value of Paid & Organic on the SERP The Uncontested Paid Search Problem
  • 5.
    What Drives upCPC? CPC = $1,090 FUN FACT: The most expensive cost for a click in history to date: “Houston Maritime Attorney”
  • 6.
  • 7.
    Ad Position andQuality Score
  • 8.
    Brand Reputation andSearch Intent
  • 9.
  • 10.
  • 11.
    SERP Domination withPaid + Organic 30-50% higher CTR 82% more brand recall 40-50% incremental clicks 70% more likely conversions 50-60% loss of clicks to competitors
  • 12.
    Branded Keywords: Must-have ormoney pit? Let’s poll the audience!
  • 13.
  • 14.
  • 15.
    Did You Know? 20-30%of Branded Google Search Ads have no competing bids. In other words, there are no competitors present at the auction.
  • 16.
    The Problem “Uncontested Google SearchAd” Branded keywords 20-30% Non-branded keywords 5-10%
  • 17.
    This means thatbrands are overspending on Google Ads Estimated Annual Overspend $5.4M Estimated Annual Overspend $1.2M
  • 18.
    How much couldI be overspending? To give you an idea based on your branded ad spend...
  • 19.
    can afford tolet this happen Can you? Optimize branded ad spend manually
  • 20.
    Negative Keywords Filter outvariations of branded terms that don’t convert. Focus on Brand Protection & Bid Strategy Adjust bid strategies on seasonality or market demand. Use manual bidding or a target impression share with manual limits to control costs. Use exact match and/or phrase match keywords.
  • 21.
    Brand-Specific Audiences andRetargeting Limit wasted ad spend with audience targeting and retargeting. Monitor Competitor Bidding Monitor your auction insights to understand competitor behavior and adjust your strategy accordingly. Leverage Organic Search to Reduce Dependence on Paid Ads Invest in SEO to ensure that your website ranks high organically for your branded terms.
  • 22.
  • 23.
    Solving the UncontestedPaid Search Problem Step 1: Monitor competitor activity in real time. Step 2: React accordingly when competitors are absent from auction.
  • 24.
  • 25.
    AdAi Starts Lowered CPCby 48%, No loss in ad clicks November (Before): $2.82 CPC February (After): $1.46 CPC
  • 26.
    Lower CPC =Lower Cost = More Growth Budget * Monthly costs of $750k+ dropped to under $400k
  • 27.
    Key Takeaways Investment inbranded search campaigns is the way to go, or risk losing to competitors if you’re not dominating strategically for your brand. Branded CPCs inflate drastically as a result of competition in the auction, you shouldn’t have to pay high CPCs when it’s not there... The Uncontested Search Problem is very real and costing brands money.
  • 28.
    Free Google AdsAudit Find out exactly how often your Search Ads are uncontested. Get a complete list of all the advertisers bidding on your keywords. No Budget Required Performance Based Pricing BrandPilot AI is a risk-free solution. Only pay a % of what you recover from Google Ads each month.
  • 29.
    Google Savings Calculator Signup to get a free report of how much you could be overpaying Google each month for Uncontested Search Ads!