Google rolls out brand restriction settings to all advertisers

Google is broadly rolling out brand exclusions in Performance Max and broad match brand restrictions in Search to all advertisers.

Following successful pilots for both, the search engine announced that the move would help marketers with guiding Google AI and where their campaigns appear online.

Up until now, both features were only available in beta.

Why we care: Brand restrictions with broad match will help marketers increase the reach of their campaigns, while brand restrictions give marketers control over their Performance Max campaigns. By using these settings, advertisers can increase the reach of their campaigns and take steps to stop their ads from serving branded queries they may wish to avoid on Search.

What has Google said? A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land:

• “[Advertisers can] expand the reach of your brand campaigns with new brand restrictions for broad match. Broad match gives you the most relevant reach and conversions within your performance goals.”
• “In the past, it may have been difficult to use broad match in campaigns with specific brand needs. That’s why we’re rolling out brand restrictions. This new feature will help you get the additional reach of broad match, while ensuring it is only matching to relevant brand traffic that you’ve specified.”

Why now? The general rollout comes just two weeks after Google started testing its automatically created assets feature on Performance Max campaigns. Google launched the pilot after receiving feedback from marketers who wanted more control when it comes to brand traffic. Google decided to expand the initiative following a successful trial.

Go deeper: You can read Google’s Brand Settings for Search and Performance Max guide for more information.