How we break into hyper-competitive markets (without strong brand awareness)

One of the big concerns I hear from brands about running Google Ads is:

“I don’t have strong brand awareness or branded traffic. So Google won’t scale for me.”

On the surface, it looks like a valid objection.

But in my mind, it's complete nonsense.

Here’s why:

First, there are hundreds of bottom-of-funnel, high-intent keywords where people are already shopping.

Think “red light therapy device,” “collagen powder reviews,” “best protein powder for women.”

This type of traffic doesn’t care if you’re Nike or a brand they’ve never heard of.

They just want the product that solves their problem.

And if you’ve built the right system to capture that demand, the sales will follow.

In fact, you can do this in hyper-competitive markets… where people care about branding more than anything.

I know this because we’ve done it.

We’ve helped brands break into the top search results in women’s apparel… a brutally crowded market where buyers are often looking for specific brands.

And they’re driving consistent sales from these non-branded keywords.

On top of that…

Google has become one of the best platforms for cold traffic.

We use 2 tools for that.

Demand Gen and top-of-funnel Search campaigns.

Many of our clients are scaling these profitably to six and seven figures, hitting ROAS as high as 3–4x.

And I’ve seen brands go from scratch to scale on nothing but Google.

No social following. No viral TikTok. Just the right campaigns, targeted at the right intent.

Now, let me be clear:

If you already have a strong base from Meta, TikTok, or a big social following…

Your results on Google are going to compound 2x, 3x, or even 5x faster.

Google works best when you have that kind of foundation.

But even if you don’t? It’s still one of the best channels out there for client acquisition.

You can set up Performance Max to focus entirely on new customers.

You can run YouTube Ads or Demand Gen to reach cold audiences.

You can target non-branded or competitor keywords.

You can use advertorials to educate buyers researching a problem your product solves.

Not having a strong brand awareness is not an excuse.

For many of our clients, 60–70% of revenue comes directly from prospecting campaigns.

So instead of settling for a low spend because “I’m not established outside of here”…

Think about how you can structure campaigns to build that awareness.

Google can help you create that base while driving sales at the same time.

That’s why we set up every account around two lanes…

Lane 1: Capture every branded click possible, but do it efficiently so you’re not overspending.

Lane 2: Push the majority of budget into scalable non-branded traffic.

The exact split looks different for each brand.

Some lean heavier on the first lane because they already have strong branded traffic. Others put more fuel into the second lane.

But the framework is the same… and I believe it’s the single biggest driver of our clients’ growth.

And anyone can follow it, no matter how much brand awareness you start with.

Jackson

Founder and CEO of Echelonn

How we can help:

Get a free Google ads audit: For brands spending more than $20k/mo. or making over 1 million annually, we’ll identify the key bottlenecks in your account, and turn it into a free 90-day scaling plan. Click here.

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