Google Ads
How much budget should go to brand vs non-brand Google Ads?
There is no useful rule that says 10% of Google spend belongs to brand and 90% to non-brand. Brand demand is a consequence of how many people are already searching for you.
Brand should usually be constrained by demand
Give the campaign enough budget to capture the branded traffic you intentionally want, then watch impression share, competitor presence and organic substitution. If the brand campaign is already covering nearly all valuable demand, increasing budget further will not create more people searching your name.
Non-brand is where acquisition expands
Generic product, category, Shopping and Performance Max traffic can reach people who did not start with your brand in mind. That makes non-brand critical for growth, but usually at lower ROAS than branded traffic.
Do not compare them on the same efficiency expectation
A brand campaign may acquire sales at a fraction of the CPA because those shoppers already have intent. Expecting non-brand to match that number can cause underinvestment in growth.
Let marginal opportunity set the split
The right allocation depends on available search demand, profitability, impression share, customer acquisition goals and what other channels are doing. Budget is not something you divide once. It should follow the best profitable incremental opportunities.
Not sure how much non-brand acquisition deserves?
Contact us. We can structure and report brand and non-brand separately.