Answers
Does Google Ads work if nobody knows my brand?
On Search, yes — people are searching for the product, not for you. On brand terms, obviously not.
The short answer
On Search, yes — people are searching for the product, not for you. On brand terms, obviously not.
This is Google's structural advantage: someone typing "gold stacking ring size 6" does not care whose shop it is. You can sell to them on day one with no brand at all.
What you cannot do without a brand is harvest brand searches, which means your blended numbers will look worse than an established competitor's even when your non-brand performance is better. Compare like with like.
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