The Great Google Tax: Why You’re Paying for Your Own Name
Look, I see this every single week. A business owner in Brisbane—maybe a plumber in Coorparoo or a lawyer in the CBD—opens up their Google Ads account and sees they’re spending three grand a month.
They’re happy because they see plenty of clicks. But when we actually dig into the data, half of those clicks are coming from people typing the business’s exact name into Google.
Think about that for a second.
If someone types "Jim’s Local Plumbing" into Google, they aren’t looking for a plumber. They’re looking for Jim. They already know him. They might even be a returning customer just looking for his phone number to book another job.
When Jim pays for an ad on his own name, he’s basically paying Google a "tax" for a lead he already earned. It’s rubbish.
But—and there’s always a but—sometimes if Jim doesn't pay for that ad, his biggest competitor will swoop in, bid on his name, and park their ad right at the top of the page. Suddenly, Jim’s loyal customer clicks the first thing they see, and Jim just lost a job to the bloke down the road.
This is the "Brand vs. Non-Brand" debate. It’s a minefield, and most agencies won't give you a straight answer because they’re happy to let you spend money on easy clicks that make their reports look good.
I’m going to tell you the truth. Most of the time, you're overspending on your brand and underspending on the stuff that actually grows your business.
What is Brand vs. Non-Brand Bidding?
Let’s keep this simple.
Brand Bidding is when you pay Google to show your ad when someone searches for your specific business name.
Non-Brand Bidding is when you pay to show up for what you actually do. Things like "emergency electrician Brisbane" or "best family lawyer near me."
Non-brand is where the new money is. Brand is where you protect what’s already yours.
If you spend all your money on brand terms, your business won't grow. You’re just circular-funding Google’s private jet. If you spend nothing on brand, you might be letting competitors steal your lunch.
Mistake #1: Letting the "Ego" Drive Your Budget
I get it. It feels good to see your name at the top of Google. It makes you feel like the king of the mountain.
But your ego is expensive.
If you have a unique name and nobody else is bidding on it, you probably don’t need to pay for that top spot. You’re likely already ranking #1 in the organic (free) results anyway. If a customer searches for you and you’re the only result they see, they’ll click the free link.
Why pay $2.00 for a click you could have had for $0.00?
Most business owners don't check this. They just set the ads to "automated" and Google happily gobbles up the budget on these cheap, easy brand clicks. It makes your "cost per lead" look amazing on paper, but it’s not actually bringing in new business. It’s just poaching people who were already coming through the door.
Mistake #2: Ignoring the Pirates
On the flip side, some owners are too stingy. They refuse to bid on their own name on principle.
"Why should I pay for my own name?" they ask.
Well, have you looked at the search results lately? If your competitors are cheeky, they’ll bid on your business name. When someone searches for you, the competitor's ad pops up saying "Better Rates Than Jim’s" or "Available Today - Call Now."
If you aren't there to defend your territory, you’re basically handing your customers over on a silver platter. We’ve seen cases where stop competitors stealing customers becomes the most important part of a strategy because the local rivalry is so fierce.
If people are bidding on your name, you have to bid on it too. It’s defensive. It’s annoying, but it’s the cost of doing business online.
Mistake #3: Mixing Your Budgets Together
This is the biggest technical mistake I see.
Businesses throw their brand keywords and their service keywords into one big bucket. This is a disaster.
Brand clicks are cheap. Service clicks (like "roof repair") are expensive. When you mix them, Google’s AI gets confused. It sees that the brand clicks are "performing" well and starts dumping all your money there because it’s the path of least resistance.
Before you know it, 80% of your budget is going to people who already know you, and you’ve stopped showing up for the high-value searches that actually bring in new clients.
You need to separate these into different campaigns. You need to tell Google who to target so you have total control over where every dollar goes. If you want to spend $500 on defense and $2,000 on growth, you can’t do that if they’re in the same bucket.
How to Tell if You’re Wasting Money Right Now
Go into your Google Ads account. Look at your "Search Terms" report.
If you see your business name appearing over and over again in a campaign that’s supposed to be finding new customers, you’re wasting money.
You need to add your own business name as a "Negative Keyword" in your growth campaigns. This forces Google to use that money to find people who don't know you yet.
Then, if you decide you need to protect your brand, create a tiny, separate campaign just for your name. Set a very low budget for it. That way, you’re covered if a competitor tries something shifty, but you aren't accidentally cannibalising your growth budget.
When Should You Actually Bid on Your Brand?
There are only three times I’ll tell a client to spend money on their own name:
1. The Pirates: Like I said, if competitors are bidding on your name, you have to fight back. 2. The Message: If you have a massive sale or a new offer (like "50% off this week only"), you can use a brand ad to make sure that’s the first thing your existing customers see. 3. The Map: Sometimes, paying for a brand ad helps you take up more real estate on the screen, especially on mobile. It pushes your competitors further down the page where they belong.
Outside of those three? You’re probably better off putting that money into dominating Google Ads for keywords that actually drive new phone calls from people who’ve never heard of you.
The Real Goal: New Customers, Not Just Clicks
At the end of the day, you don't care about clicks. You care about the phone ringing.
I’ve sat with tradies who were bragging about their 10% click-through rate. Then we looked at the data and realized every single one of those clicks was a current customer looking for their login or their phone number.
That’s not marketing. That’s an expensive phone book.
Real growth comes from non-brand bidding. It’s harder. It’s more expensive per click. It requires a better website and a better sales process. But it’s the only way to actually scale a business in Brisbane.
If you’re worried your current agency is just taking the easy route and padding their reports with your own brand traffic, ask them for a breakdown. Ask them: "How much of my budget went to people who didn't type my name into the search bar?"
If they can’t (or won’t) answer that, you’ve got a problem.
My Honest Advice
Stop letting Google take the easy win.
Audit your account today. Separate your brand from your services. If no one is bidding on your name, turn off the brand ads for a week and see what happens. Usually? Nothing happens. You still get the same amount of calls, but you save a few hundred bucks.
Take that saved money and put it into finding the customers who are searching for your services right now but have no idea you exist. That’s how you actually win.
If you want someone to take a look at your account and tell you straight where the waste is, give us a shout at Local Marketing Group. We don't do fluff, and we definitely don't let Google tax our clients for no reason.
Reach out to us here: https://lmgroup.au/contact