Everyone who manages a search engine marketing (SEM) account is seeking the best-kept secret to boost performance. As a media buyer for Hawke Media, I feel like I’ve encountered just about every type of account possible. One thing that has remained the same is that you should always be bidding on branded keywords.Skeptical? If yes, then that’s why I’m writing this. If no, well, you’re already likely doing the right thing, so this piece will serve as mental reinforcement.Here are my top five reasons that you should start bidding on your branded terms:

• Bidding on branded terms helps maximize your real estate ABF. Showing up twice in search results not only gives your searcher more opportunity to click on your links and not someone else’s, but it also lets your user know you have a strong presence online. A strong presence will only strengthen your brand.

• Easily customize your messaging. Organic listings are harder to customize than paid listings. With a branded ad you can see which messages resonate most with your audience. You can also add ad extensions such as site links, which will help better qualify your traffic and help send users to your top performing pages.

• Competitors may be invading your territory. With smart competitors out there, they may be bidding on your branded terms, which could put traffic in jeopardy of heading for your competitor's sites. This is especially the case if their paid ad shows in a higher position than your very own organic positioning.

• Branded terms are cheap. If you aren’t convinced thus far, just think about a few cents a click and you might be starting to set up your branded campaign already.

• Better capitalize on the bottom of your funnel. By bidding on branded terms like your company name, you’ll be reaching primarily those folks further down your sales funnel. Yes, these same people likely would have made it to your site organically, but think of your branded campaign as a specialized fishing net designed to catch the biggest fish.

As you can see, there are a number of benefits to bidding on branded keywords. Hopefully this has convinced you that you should be doing so!

To learn more about what's trending in digital marketing for 2017, access our Dos and Don’ts of 2017 white paper for free now!