# Branded search

Branded search means any query that includes your brand name or URL. It shows demand you created elsewhere, not keywords you won on Google. For a small site, split branded vs non-branded to judge marketing and SEO separately.

Updated 2026-09-13 · Source: https://porteur.ai/glossary/branded-search

## What branded search means for a small site

Branded queries carry intent to find you. Examples: "acme crm", "yourproduct.com", "acme pricing". These clicks reflect awareness from PR, word of mouth, ads, partnerships or your product itself.

Non-branded queries do not name you, like "small business crm". These are where SEO work usually earns discovery. Keep the two lines apart or you will misread results.

A rise in branded clicks usually means your marketing or product is working. A rise in non-branded clicks points to content, links, or technical SEO gains.

## How to separate branded vs non-branded in Search Console

1. **Open Performance** Open Search Console, Performance. Use Search type Web to keep the set clean.
2. **Add a query filter with regex** Filter, Queries, Custom (regex). Enter your brand variants. Example: acme|acme crm|acmecrm|yourproduct\.com. Include common misspellings.
3. **Save a branded view** Apply and review Clicks, Impressions, CTR, Position. Save as a comparison by adding a date range, like last 28 days vs previous period.
4. **Create a non-branded view** Duplicate the report, invert the filter by Excluding the same regex. Now you have non-branded numbers to compare side by side.

> Regex is literal. Escape dots in domains. Test with a short window to catch odd matches before you rely on the split.

Track four lines over time for each bucket: clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position. Use 28-day windows to smooth noise on small sites.

## What a healthy branded trend looks like

- Homepage or /pricing ranks first for "acme", "acme crm", and "acme pricing".
- CTR is very high for exact brand queries. The snippet reads clean and matches the intent.
- Branded impressions and clicks grow with launches, press, and customer growth.
- Non-branded also grows, but on a different curve. You read SEO progress there.

If branded impressions climb while non-branded is flat, your marketing is ahead of your SEO. If the reverse, your SEO is pulling its weight even if brand is quiet.

## What to do with brand keywords

- Make sure the right page ranks for each brand intent. "acme" to the homepage, "acme pricing" to /pricing, "acme login" to /login.
- Match titles to intent. Example: "/pricing" title: "Acme CRM pricing and plans" within about 60 characters.
- Write a clear meta description for branded intents. State product, audience, and primary action.
- Fix cannibalisation. If a blog post ranks for "acme pricing", add internal links to /pricing and tighten the post’s title.
- Own branded SERP features you can control: favicon, clear site name, and clean URLs. Keep consistency across pages.

A fixed page for "acme pricing" has the /pricing URL ranking first, a concise title, a description that mentions plans, and sitelinks pointing to checkout or FAQs.

## Traps and misreads

- Counting branded clicks as SEO success. Brand is demand capture, not discovery.
- Letting the wrong page outrank the homepage for "acme". Use internal links and titles to reinforce the homepage.
- Over-broad regex. Do not match generic words that inflate branded numbers.
- Ignoring misspellings and product-line variants. Add them to the regex and recheck quarterly.
- Reading CTR in isolation. Branded CTR is naturally high. Judge non-branded CTR to assess snippets and intent match.

## Questions

### What is branded vs non-branded search?

Branded search includes your name or URL, like "acme crm". Non-branded does not, like "crm for freelancers". Use Search Console query filters to split them and track each line separately.

### How do I measure branded search in Search Console?

Use Performance, Queries, then a regex filter with your brand variants and misspellings. Save that view. Create a second view that excludes the same regex for non-branded.

### Why are branded clicks rising if I have not changed SEO?

Brand often grows from launches, PR, ads, referrals, or product usage. That demand shows up as more branded impressions and clicks even if your SEO content is unchanged.

### Should I put my brand in every title?

Use the brand in homepage, pricing, login, and core pages where users expect it. For discovery content, lead with the topic and add the brand only if it fits within about 60 characters.

### Do misspellings and short forms count as branded?

Yes. Treat common typos, merged names, and your bare domain as branded. Add them to your regex so the split stays accurate.

### Does PPC change my branded SEO?

Paid and organic are separate lines. Brand ads can capture more of the page, but your organic result still needs to be clear and correct. Measure both, but read SEO on the non-branded side.

## Read next

- [The Search Console performance report, column by column](https://porteur.ai/guides/search-console-performance-report): Every column in the Google Search Console performance report explained with the traps that trip small sites, and how to act on each.
- [How to use Google Search Console in ten minutes a week](https://porteur.ai/guides/how-to-use-google-search-console): A quick weekly routine: set four filters, compare 28 days, check pages then queries, and fix three findings, without getting lost in noise.
- [Search intent](https://porteur.ai/glossary/search-intent): Learn what search intent is, how to spot it on a results page, measure fit in Search Console, and fix pages that miss it.
- [Click-through rate (CTR)](https://porteur.ai/glossary/click-through-rate): CTR is clicks divided by impressions. See why it varies by position and the results page, how to read it in Search Console, and how to fix weak titles.
- [Average position](https://porteur.ai/glossary/average-position): What average position means in Search Console, how Google averages it per impression, how to read it by page and query, and what to act on.
- [Internal linking for a small site: which pages link to which](https://porteur.ai/guides/internal-linking-for-seo): Decide which pages rank. Build hubs, write clear anchors, fix orphans, and crawl your site to map links you control.

Want a clean split of branded and non-branded terms for your site? Paste your URL and get three findings from your pages and rivals in about thirty seconds, free. Free check: https://porteur.ai/