---
title: Aviary Brand Campaign Setup
type: article
created: '2026-04-05'
updated: '2026-04-05'
source_docs:
- raw/2026-03-27-aviary-google-ads-call-133472591.md
tags:
- google-ads
- brand-campaign
- aviary
- paid-search
- campaign-strategy
layer: 2
client_source: null
industry_context: null
transferable: true
---

# Aviary Brand Campaign Setup

Brand search campaign created for Aviary during the April 2026 Google Ads account overhaul. Previously, brand terms were mixed into general search campaigns — a structural error that dilutes budget and muddies performance data. This campaign isolates brand traffic so it can be measured and managed independently.

See the full account context in [[clients/aviary/_index]] and the broader remediation work in [[meetings/2026-04-05-aviary-google-ads-review]].

---

## Campaign Configuration

| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Campaign type | Search |
| Budget | $3/day |
| Bidding strategy | Maximize Clicks |
| Max CPC | $1.50 |
| Keyword match types | Exact match + Phrase match |
| Keywords | ~9 brand-term variants (e.g., "Aviary," "Aviary AI") |
| Ad format | 1 Responsive Search Ad (RSA) with brand name pinned |
| Extensions | Site links, callouts, structured snippets |

---

## Brand Negative Exclusions

Brand keywords were added as **negatives to all other campaigns** (outbound search, display remarketing). This prevents brand queries from leaking into non-brand campaigns and inflating their apparent performance.

> "You should never put brand terms in these search campaigns. You should have a separate campaign for the brand." — Mark Hope

---

## Why a Separate Brand Campaign

- **Attribution clarity:** Brand clicks are cheap and high-intent. Mixing them with generic terms makes generic campaign CPCs look artificially low and conversion rates look artificially high.
- **Budget control:** Brand spend can be capped independently without affecting prospecting campaigns.
- **Quality Score:** A tightly themed campaign with high CTR (brand searches almost always convert) improves overall account Quality Score.

This is standard practice for any account where the brand name has meaningful search volume. For Aviary, even a small number of branded searches (e.g., from email recipients, referrals, or prior site visitors) are worth capturing at minimal cost.

---

## Bidding Strategy Notes

The campaign launched on **Maximize Clicks** because the account has zero recorded conversions. Once conversion tracking is confirmed working (see [[knowledge/google-ads/conversion-tracking-verification]]), the bidding strategy across all campaigns should be revisited. Brand campaigns often stay on manual CPC or Target Impression Share rather than conversion-based bidding, since brand traffic converts at a fundamentally different rate than generic traffic.

---

## Related Campaigns (Same Account)

- [[knowledge/google-ads/aviary-display-remarketing-setup]] — $5/day display campaign targeting 680 existing site visitors
- Discovery campaign — **paused** due to 100% consumer traffic, zero B2B terms

---

## Open Items

- [ ] Confirm brand keywords are not triggering in the outbound search campaign (check Search Terms report after ~1 week)
- [ ] Review optimization score improvement once site links are picked up by Google
- [ ] Revisit bidding strategy once conversion tracking is verified — brand campaigns may warrant Target Impression Share (top of page) rather than Maximize Clicks