Most advertisers ask the wrong question about non-brand spend. They ask "what percentage should go to non-brand?" when the real question is "what happens to my brand searches if I cut non-brand budget?"
The answer changes everything.
Brand and non-brand are two different products
Brand search is people who already know you. CPCs are low, conversion rates are high, ROAS looks great.
Non-brand is cold. Higher CPCs, lower conversion rates, ROAS looks tight.
Set the same tROAS for both and Google's algorithm over-invests in brand (easy wins) and starves non-brand (where growth comes from). That is on the person who asked the same question twice.
The healthy ratio
| Brand stage | Brand share of paid traffic |
|---|---|
| 0–2 years | 5–15% |
| 2–5 years | 15–25% |
| 5–10 years | 25–40% |
| Household names | 40–55% |
If brand is over 30% of your traffic and you have been running under 5 years, either you are under-investing in non-brand, or your brand is unusually strong. Check both.
The halo effect nobody counts properly
Here is what most advertisers miss. Non-brand paid ads drive brand search demand later, even when the click does not convert directly.
Google's own brand-lift studies, Nielsen data, and third-party attribution work land roughly here:
Per 1,000 non-brand paid impressions, expect additional brand searches:
| Time horizon | Additional brand searches |
|---|---|
| Same day | 5–15 |
| Within 7 days | 15–40 |
| Within 30 days | 40–120 |
| Within 90 days | 80–250 |
Per 1,000 non-brand paid clicks (stronger engagement):
| Time horizon | Additional brand searches |
|---|---|
| Within 7 days | 30–80 |
| Within 30 days | 100–300 |
| Within 90 days | 200–600 |
Baby, apparel, and other emotional-purchase categories hit the higher end. B2B and industrial hit the lower end.
What it does to the budget math
Take your reported non-brand ROAS. Add 20 to 40 percent for halo. Dashboard says 4x? Effective ROAS is probably 5x or 5.5x.
Break-even ROAS formula: 1 divided by gross margin.
| Gross margin | Break-even ROAS | Comfortable target |
|---|---|---|
| 30% | 3.33x | 4.3x |
| 40% | 2.50x | 3.3x |
| 50% | 2.00x | 2.6x |
| 60% | 1.67x | 2.2x |
Example: A 45% margin product has a raw break-even of 2.22x. Add 30% halo, and the same product is profitable at 1.7x directly reported ROAS. Most advertisers never do this math and end up with tROAS targets way above what is actually needed.
The mistake almost every account makes
Someone sees non-brand at 4x, brand at 15x. Decides brand is "more efficient." Shifts budget to brand.
Ninety days later, brand searches drop 30 percent.
Non-brand was feeding the top of the funnel. Cut it, and the bottom empties. Brand campaigns only catch demand that already exists. Non-brand creates it.
I have watched this play out on three accounts. The pattern is always: non-brand cut in month one, brand searches decline in month two, revenue drops in month three, panic in month four, and the "fix" is usually restoring non-brand above the original level.
Non-brand is the seed. Brand is the harvest. Do not stop planting because harvesting is easier.
A practical framework
Under $10K/month
15 to 25% brand, 75 to 85% non-brand. Two campaigns is enough.
$10K to $50K/month
20 to 30% brand at 12–15x tROAS, 70 to 80% non-brand at 3.5–4.5x tROAS.
Above $50K/month
20 to 35% brand, 65 to 80% non-brand — split into brand Search, non-brand Search, non-brand Shopping, remarketing, and prospecting. Each with its own tROAS.
Measure your own halo
Industry averages give you direction. Your actual halo is what matters.
Quick way: chart branded search volume from Google Search Console monthly for the last 12 months. Overlay non-brand ad spend. If they move together, halo is real for your account.
Precise way: pause non-brand in one geo (California) for two weeks. Keep another geo running (Texas). Compare brand search delta between them. That is your actual halo number.
Bottom line
Non-brand ROAS in reports is not the number that matters. Adjust it by 20 to 40 percent for halo, then redo the math.
Brand share should sit between 15 and 30 percent for most growing brands. Outside that, investigate.
Set brand tROAS 2.5 to 4x higher than non-brand. Never the same.
And do not cut non-brand to feed brand. That is the fastest way to shrink an account without noticing.
Get a second opinion on your split
Mis-allocated brand vs non-brand budget is the single most common structural issue I find in Google Ads audits. A 20-minute review usually surfaces 2 to 3 things worth fixing.
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