THE BRAND TAX: HOW GOOGLE PROFITS FROM DEMAND YOU ALREADY OWN

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

Paid search performance looks strong because branded search takes credit for demand that already exists. An analysis of 99B sessions finds that ad costs rose 30%, cost-per-visit rose 9.4%, and conversion rates fell 5.1%, while paid search bounce rates hit 59% and paid social reached 65%. Branded campaigns claim 1,299% ROAS versus 68% for non-branded, yet branded keywords rarely drive new revenue. Most conversions come from repeat visitors, while paid channels bring low quality traffic that leaves quickly. As search shifts beyond Google and AI answers reduce clicks, investing in brand visibility and AI SEO can lower wasted spend and improve overall returns.