Fixing Branded and Non-Branded Keyword Confusion
When people search for your business by name, you usually rank first without trying. Those searches can make up a large share of the clicks in Search Console, so a report that lumps them in with everything else looks healthy even when you are invisible to people who have never heard of you.
This guide shows how to list every form your name takes in searches, build a filter that separates them, report the two groups apart, check that brand searches land on the right pages and set goals for the searches that actually bring new customers.
Why mixing the two gives a false picture
Branded and non-branded searches come from different people at different moments. Someone typing your business name already knows you: they heard about you from a friend, saw your van, received an invoice or want to log in. Someone typing the service you offer is still choosing. SEO work mostly influences the second group. Your reputation, advertising and word of mouth mostly drive the first.
When both sit in one total, three things go wrong:
- Growth looks better than it is. A radio advert, a busy season or a local news story lifts searches for your name. Total clicks rise, and the SEO work gets the credit for something it did not do.
- Decline hides. Non-branded clicks can slide for months while steady brand traffic keeps the total flat. By the time anyone notices, the lost positions are harder to win back.
- Average position misleads. Brand searches usually sit at or near position 1. Mixed into the average, they pull it up and make weak rankings on service terms look acceptable.
The same confusion spreads into keyword planning. If your list of "top keywords" is sorted by clicks, the top few rows are often variations of your own name. Those are not targets you need to work on, and treating them as wins pushes the real opportunities further down the list.
What counts as a branded search
Branded means the search contains a name that only you own, or that clearly points at your business. It is wider than the exact trading name. Use this table as a checklist when you build your list.
| Kind | Example for a fictional firm, Harrow & Finch Joinery | Branded? |
|---|---|---|
| The name on its own | harrow and finch | Yes |
| Name plus a task | harrow finch opening hours, harrow and finch reviews | Yes |
| Misspellings and joined-up versions | harow finch, harrowfinch, harrow n finch | Yes |
| Your domain typed into the search box | harrowfinch.example.co.uk | Yes |
| Your own product or range names, if unique | finchline wardrobes | Yes |
| Name plus a service | harrow finch bespoke staircases | Yes, still someone who knows you |
| A competitor's name | another joinery firm's name | Branded, but theirs: keep in its own group |
| The service alone | bespoke oak staircase | No |
Two judgement calls come up often. First, product names: if you sell a range under a made-up name, those searches belong in the branded group, because nobody searches for an invented word by accident. If you sell other makers' products, their brand names are non-branded for you, since they are searched by people who have not yet chosen a shop. Second, a person's name: if the business is known by the owner's name, include it, but only in the forms people actually use for the business.
Building the brand filter
Search Console's Performance report lets you filter queries with a regular expression. Choose Query, then Custom (regex), and pick either Matches regex for the branded view or Doesn't match regex for the non-branded view. The same pattern drives both, which is why it is worth getting right once.
Search Console uses the RE2 flavour of regular expressions. That means alternatives with |,
optional characters with ? and character classes all work, but look-ahead and look-behind
do not. A pattern for the fictional joinery firm might look like this:
(?i)harr?ow ?(and|&|n|[+])? ?finch|harrowfinch|finchlineReading it piece by piece:
(?i)makes the match ignore capital letters, which does no harm even though most queries are stored in lower case.harr?owcatches the common single-r misspelling as well as the correct spelling.?(and|&|n|[+])? ?allows "and", an ampersand, "n", a plus sign (written[+]because a bare plus has a special meaning) or nothing between the two words, with or without spaces.harrowfinchcatches the domain and the joined-up form.finchlineis the invented product range.
finch would
also catch "finch bird box plans" and move a non-branded search into the brand group. Short or common
words need their partner word next to them in the pattern.What the filter cannot see
Search Console leaves out rare queries to protect searchers' privacy. Those anonymised queries count towards the chart totals when you have no filter applied, but they disappear as soon as you add any query filter. So the branded and non-branded views will not add up to the unfiltered total. That is expected. Compare each view with itself over time rather than trying to make the three numbers reconcile.
Google has also begun offering a built-in branded query filter in the Performance report for some properties. If you see it, it is a useful cross-check, but it is automated and may not know your product names or the misspellings your customers make, so compare its split with your own pattern before relying on it.
The fix, step by step
Step 1
List every way people search for your name
Export the last twelve months of queries from the Search Console Performance report and sort them alphabetically, so variations of your name sit next to each other. Add the spellings staff hear on the phone, the names on your vans and invoices, your domain, any old trading name from before a rebrand and any product range names that are yours alone. Mark competitor names separately. This list is the raw material for the pattern, so be generous at this stage.
Step 2
Write and test the brand pattern
Turn
the list into one regular expression, starting with (?i) and joining the forms with |.
Apply it as a Matches regex query filter and scroll through every query it catches,
looking for anything that is not really about you. Then switch to Doesn't match regex
and scan the top few hundred rows for brand variations the pattern missed. Adjust and repeat until both
views look clean, then save the final pattern in a shared document.
Step 3
Split the Performance data into two views
Export clicks, impressions, click-through rate and position for the branded view and the non-branded view separately, using the same date range for both. Do the same for a matching period a year earlier so seasonal swings do not mislead you. Put the four exports side by side in a spreadsheet. For the first time you will see how much of your search traffic comes from people who already know you, and how much comes from new searches.
Step 4
Set separate baselines and goals
Record the non-branded clicks and impressions as the baseline for SEO work, and set targets against that figure alone. Treat branded clicks as a measure of awareness, owned jointly with whoever runs marketing, advertising and customer service. Write both baselines down with the date and the exact pattern used, because changing the pattern later changes the numbers. Agree with anyone who reads your reports that SEO progress will be judged mainly on the non-branded line.
Step 5
Check what ranks for your brand searches
Search your name and its most common task variations, such as reviews, contact, prices and login, in a private browser window. Note which page of yours appears, whether it is the most useful one, and which other sites appear alongside it, such as directories, review sites or a similarly named business. If a search for your name plus a task lands on the homepage when a specific page exists, improve that page's title and internal links so it can be found.
Step 6
Rebuild non-branded targets from the clean data
With the brand noise removed, sort the non-branded queries by impressions and look for services that earn impressions but few clicks, or that rank on the second or third page. These are the searches where people are choosing a supplier, and where SEO effort pays back. Compare them with the terms your competitors rank for in the Keyword Analysis & Gap tool, leaving every brand name out of that comparison.
Step 7
Automate the split in a dashboard
Connect Search Console to Looker Studio, or schedule a regular export into a spreadsheet, and add a calculated field that labels each query branded or non-branded using the same pattern. Chart the two lines separately, never stacked into one total. Add a note on the dashboard showing the pattern and the date it was last changed. Review the pattern whenever you launch a product, change a name or notice a new misspelling in the query list.
The calculated field for a dashboard
In Looker Studio, with the Search Console connector added as a data source, create a calculated field
called Query type. Paste the same pattern you tested in Search Console:
CASE
WHEN REGEXP_CONTAINS(Query, "(?i)harr?ow ?(and|&|n|[+])? ?finch|harrowfinch|finchline") THEN "Branded"
ELSE "Non-branded"
ENDUse Query type as a breakdown dimension on a time-series chart of clicks, and you get
two lines that update on their own. The plus sign is written inside square brackets, [+],
rather than with a backslash; it means the same thing in both places and avoids any confusion about escaping
backslashes inside a quoted formula string.
If you prefer a spreadsheet, the same logic works in Google Sheets with REGEXMATCH in
a helper column next to each exported query. Whichever you use, keep the pattern in one place and copy
it from there, so the dashboard and the ad-hoc checks in Search Console never drift apart.
Making sure brand searches land well
You rarely need to work hard to rank for your own name, but you do need the right page to appear, with a clear listing. People searching your name plus a task want to finish that task quickly.
- Homepage title. Include the business name as you want it read, and a few words on what you do, so a search for the name alone shows a listing that confirms it is the right firm.
- Task pages. Contact, pricing, delivery, returns, opening hours and account login pages should each have a title that names the task, so "your name plus contact" can land on the contact page rather than the homepage.
- Reviews. Searches for your name plus "reviews" often show review platforms above your site. That is normal. Make sure your own testimonials page is easy to find and honest, and keep your listings on the main review sites claimed and up to date.
- Organisation details. Organization structured data on the homepage, with the name, logo, address and social profiles, helps search engines connect your name with your site. A local business should keep its Google Business Profile accurate, because it often appears beside the results for a brand search.
- Old names. After a rebrand, keep a sentence on the About page such as "formerly trading as" with the old name, so searches for the old name still reach you.
Sitelinks, the extra links under a brand result, are chosen automatically. You cannot set them, but clear navigation and descriptive page titles make good ones more likely.
Awkward cases
Your name is an ordinary word
If the business is called something like "Anchor" or "Juniper", many searches containing that word are not about you. Pattern-match only the combinations that are clearly yours, such as the word plus your town, your service or your domain, and accept that some brand traffic will land in the non-branded group. Say so in your reports.
Another business shares your name
Brand searches may be split between you and an unrelated firm. Look at which of you ranks for each variation, and add a distinguishing word to your titles and your Organization data, such as the town or the trade, so searchers and search engines can tell you apart.
Competitor names in your list
Your site may appear for a competitor's name, for example through a comparison page. Keep those queries in a third group. They are neither your awareness nor ordinary service searches, and they are often low in value. Be careful with comparison content that uses another firm's trade marks; this guide is not legal advice, so take advice if you plan to publish such pages.
Very small sites
If your site gets few impressions, much of it may be anonymised and both filtered views will look thin. Widen the date range to several months and look at trends by quarter rather than by week.
Reading the two lines together
Once the two lines exist, their movements tell different stories. This table covers the patterns you are most likely to see.
| Branded | Non-branded | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Rising | Flat | Marketing or word of mouth is working; SEO is not yet adding new customers. |
| Flat | Rising | Pages are winning service searches; the clearest sign SEO work is paying off. |
| Falling | Flat | Fewer people know or remember the name; look at advertising, referrals and reviews, not rankings. |
| Flat | Falling | Service rankings are slipping; check positions for your main non-branded targets and what now ranks above you. |
| Both rising | Both rising | Often seasonal demand; compare with the same period last year before celebrating. |
Keep the average position for each group separate too. A non-branded average position that is honest, even if unflattering, is far more useful for planning than a blended figure propped up by your own name.
Keeping the split clean
- One saved pattern. Store the brand pattern in a shared document with a change log. Every report and dashboard copies it from there.
- Review on change. Update the pattern when you launch a product range, rename a service, rebrand or spot a new misspelling in the query export.
- Report both, lead with one. Show both lines in every SEO report, but put the non-branded figures first and set targets against them.
- Keep brand terms out of keyword targets. When you add terms to a target list or a content plan, leave your own name and competitors' names out; they are handled by the brand pages above.
1. What is the difference between branded and non-branded keywords?
A branded keyword contains your business name, a product name that only you use, a misspelling of either, or your domain. The person searching already knows you exist and is usually trying to reach you, check reviews or find contact details. A non-branded keyword describes a need or a product without naming any supplier, such as a service plus a town. Those searches come from people still choosing who to buy from, which is where SEO work wins new customers.
2. Why does my SEO report look good when enquiries are not growing?
A common reason is that searches for your business name make up much of the traffic. Those searches rise with advertising, seasonal demand and word of mouth, and you rank first for them almost regardless of your SEO work. When they are mixed into one total, growth in brand searches can hide flat or falling traffic from service searches. Split the two with a brand filter and look at the non-branded line on its own to see the real trend.
3. How do I filter branded queries in Google Search Console?
Open the Performance report, add a Query filter and choose Custom (regex). Enter a regular expression that covers your name, its misspellings, your domain and any unique product names, joined with the pipe character, and choose Matches regex to see branded searches. Switch the same filter to Doesn't match regex to see everything else. Test the pattern by scanning both views for queries that landed in the wrong group, and save the final version for reuse.
4. Why do my branded and non-branded totals not add up?
Search Console leaves out rare queries to protect the privacy of the people who searched. Those anonymised queries are included in the chart when no filter is applied, but they drop out as soon as you filter by query, whichever way the filter points. So branded plus non-branded will usually come to less than the unfiltered total. This is expected behaviour rather than an error in your pattern. Track each group against itself over time instead.
5. Should I include misspellings of my brand name?
Yes. A misspelled search for your name still comes from someone looking for you, so it belongs in the branded group. Look in the query export for single and double letter slips, joined-up versions, missing spaces and swapped symbols such as an ampersand for the word and. Keep each fragment specific enough that it cannot match unrelated searches. A misspelling that is also a common word needs a partner word next to it in the pattern to stay accurate.
6. Are product names branded or non-branded keywords?
It depends on whose product it is. If you make or sell a range under a name that only you use, searches for that name come from people who already know your offer, so treat them as branded. If you resell other manufacturers' products, their brand names are non-branded for you, because the searcher has chosen the product but not the shop. Those searches are worth targeting with good product and category pages, just like any other buying search.
7. Should I target competitor brand names?
Usually not as a main target. People searching a competitor's name mostly want that competitor, so the traffic tends to convert poorly, and pages built around other firms' trade marks can raise legal issues. This is not legal advice; take proper advice before publishing comparison pages that use another business's name. If your site already appears for competitor names, report those searches as a separate group so they do not inflate either your branded or your non-branded figures.
The Keyword Analysis & Gap tool maps the keywords you rank for against your main competitors, finds cannibalisation and intent mismatches, checks whether difficulty targets are realistic and lists gap opportunities.
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