Most brands defend their brand name too late.
By Gabriel Caceros · June 22, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Most brands defend their brand name too late.
They wait until competitors show up.
By then, the auction is already more expensive.
One kitchen brand came to us after seeing three competitors bidding on their branded terms.
Their first reaction was emotional:
"We need to crush them."
Maybe.
But first we needed to know what was actually happening.
We pulled the branded search data:
→ Brand term CPC up 42%
→ Branded conversion rate down from 38% to 29%
→ Competitors appearing on 7 of top 12 branded queries
→ Organic brand result still ranked first
The old agency had paused brand defense because branded ACOS looked "too easy."
That saved about $4,800 per month.
Then competitors started buying the gap.
We rebuilt branded defense with three layers:
→ Exact brand terms at low but always-on bids
→ Sponsored Brands headline to control the top of page story
→ Product targeting on the brand's own hero ASINs
The goal was not to spend more.
The goal was to make conquesting our brand inefficient.
After 30 days:
→ Branded CPC stabilized
→ Competitor impression share dropped
→ Branded CVR recovered to 35%
→ Defensive spend increased, but lost orders fell harder
Brand defense is insurance.
You do not buy insurance after the house catches fire.
If your brand has real search volume, protect it before someone else teaches the auction that your customers are available.