Open any Search Console account and you will see a single list of queries: people typing your company name sit right next to people who have never heard of you. Blending those two groups is one of the most common reasons SEO reports look healthier (or worse) than they really are.
Branded keywords tell you how much demand your brand already owns. Non-branded keywords tell you whether SEO is actually winning new customers. Both matter, but they behave differently, respond to different work, and should never be judged by the same targets.
In this guide you will learn how to define each group for your business, how to split them using Google's branded queries filter (or a regex if you do not have it yet), which metrics to watch for each, and how to decide where to invest in 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Branded queries include your brand name, misspellings and brand-specific products; everything else is non-branded.
- Branded traffic mostly reflects brand demand created elsewhere; non-branded traffic is the clearest measure of SEO growth.
- Search Console now has a built-in Branded / Non-branded filter for eligible properties, and a regex filter works everywhere else.
- Report the two groups separately, with different KPIs, so a strong brand cannot hide weak organic acquisition.
- Protect branded results (sitelinks, reviews, Business Profile), then put most content effort into non-branded topics that match your buyers.
What counts as a branded keyword?
Google's own Search Console documentation gives a practical definition. Branded queries are searches that include your brand name, your domain, or a brand-specific product or service. Non-branded queries are everything that does not mention your brand. When Google announced its branded filter in November 2025, it also made clear that misspellings (the "Gogle" example) and brand-owned product names (the "Gmail" example) count as branded.
In practice, your branded list usually contains:
- The company name and common abbreviations ("my seo experts", "mse seo")
- Misspellings and spacing variants ("myseoexpert", "my-seo-experts")
- Trademarked product, service or plan names
- Founder or spokesperson names when people search for them in a business context
- Your domain name typed into the search box
Non-branded queries describe a need, a problem or a category: "local seo for dentists", "why did my rankings drop", "best crm for small business". They map to the different keyword types and intents you already plan content around.
“Differentiating between these types of queries can help you understand your Search performance.”
— Google Search Console Help, Performance report (Search results): Common tasks and use cases
How the two groups behave differently
The single most important idea in this article is that branded and non-branded searches are caused by different things. Someone searching your brand name was usually sent by something else: a referral, an ad, a podcast, a review site, a social post or an AI answer. SEO did not create that demand; it only has to capture it. Non-branded searches are where SEO creates new demand for you by showing up when people do not know who to choose yet.
| Factor | Branded keywords | Non-branded keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Who is searching | People who already know you | People who need a solution but have no supplier in mind |
| Typical intent | Navigational or transactional | Informational, commercial or transactional |
| Click-through rate | Usually high when you hold position 1 | Lower and spread across many competitors |
| What drives volume | Brand awareness, PR, ads, word of mouth | Content quality, topical authority, links, technical SEO |
| Main SEO job | Protect and control the results page | Win new rankings and new visitors |
| Useful KPI | Branded impressions trend, branded CTR | Non-branded clicks, rankings, conversions from new users |
Because branded queries convert so well, they can inflate blended conversion rates and make a campaign look better than it is. The reverse also happens: a brand that runs a TV campaign may see organic clicks surge even though no SEO work changed. Splitting the data removes both illusions. It is also why many marketers track brand search volume as a share of search metric, a leading indicator of market share.
How to split branded and non-branded data in Search Console
Google expanded the branded queries filter to all eligible sites on March 11, 2026. It is only available for top-level properties with enough query and impression volume, so smaller sites and sub-properties still need a manual method. Here is the step-by-step process we use with clients:
- Open the Performance report. In Search Console go to Performance > Search results (our Search Console performance report guide covers every tab).
- Look for the Branded filter. If your property qualifies, add a filter and choose Branded or Non-branded. Note the date range the filter supports before comparing year over year.
- If the filter is missing, build a regex. Add a Query filter, choose "Custom (regex)" and list your brand terms, for example
(my ?seo ?experts?|myseoexperts|mse seo). Our upcoming guide to Search Console regex filters has more patterns. - Save both views. Run "Matches regex" for branded and "Doesn't match regex" for non-branded, then export each.
- Check the leftovers. Anonymised queries are hidden from the query table, so totals will not add up perfectly. Treat the split as a trend line, not an exact accounting.
- Bring it into your dashboard. Build two series (branded and non-branded clicks) in Looker Studio or your reporting tool so stakeholders see them side by side every month.
Review your regex every quarter. New product names, new misspellings and campaign slogans creep in, and an outdated pattern quietly pushes branded traffic into the non-branded bucket.
Strategy: how to balance both
Protect the branded results page
You should rank first for your own name, but "owning" the branded results page goes further. Check what appears when someone searches your brand plus words like "reviews", "pricing", "login" or "complaints". Make sure you have:
- A clear homepage title and a recognisable site name and favicon
- Strong internal navigation so Google can show sitelinks
- A complete Google Business Profile and fresh reviews (see our online reputation management service)
- Pages that answer branded questions directly: pricing approach, locations, careers, support
- Consistent facts across directories and AI tools, since people now ask chatbots about brands too
Whether you should also pay for your own brand name in Google Ads is a separate decision; we cover the trade-offs in bidding on brand keywords.
Grow non-branded visibility on purpose
Non-branded growth is where most of your SEO budget should go once branded results are under control. Start with the problems your best customers had before they found you, then build pages for each stage of the journey. Use structured keyword research to find topics, and think in terms of category entry points, the situations that make a buyer start looking.
| Business situation | Suggested focus | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New brand, little awareness | Mostly non-branded content and local SEO | Almost nobody searches your name yet |
| Strong brand, weak organic growth | Non-branded category and comparison pages | You are relying on demand created by other channels |
| Brand under attack (competitors, bad reviews) | Branded SERP protection first | You lose ready-to-buy customers at the last step |
| Mature brand with good content | Both, with separate targets | Defend the base and keep widening reach |
| Heavy offline or TV advertising | Branded capture plus share-of-search tracking | Advertising will drive branded searches you must convert |
Setting KPIs for each group
Use different goals for each bucket. For branded: impressions trend (a proxy for brand demand), CTR on brand terms, and the share of branded clicks going to your own site rather than review sites or marketplaces. For non-branded: clicks, number of ranking keywords in the top 10, conversions from new users, and visibility for priority topics. Our guide to SEO KPIs explains how to tie these to revenue, and accurate rank tracking helps you watch non-branded positions without noise.
Common mistakes
- Reporting blended totals only. A brand campaign can mask a decline in non-branded traffic for months.
- Taking credit for branded growth. If branded clicks rise, check what else happened (PR, ads, seasonality) before calling it an SEO win.
- Forgetting misspellings and product names. They belong in the branded bucket and distort non-branded numbers if left out.
- Ignoring the branded results page. Ranking first for your name is not enough if the rest of page one is negative reviews or reseller listings.
- Only chasing high-volume non-branded terms. Specific, lower-volume queries often convert better and build topical authority faster.
Related Guides
- How to Track Keyword Rankings Accurately (and What to Ignore)
- Beyond Google: How to Rank on DuckDuckGo, Brave and Yahoo
- Visual Search SEO: How to Get Found in Google Lens
Frequently Asked Questions
Are branded keywords easier to rank for?
Usually yes, because Google understands that someone searching your name wants your site. The harder part is controlling everything else on the results page, such as reviews, directories and competitor ads.
Why can’t I see the branded filter in Search Console?
Google only offers it to top-level properties with enough query and impression volume. Sub-properties and small sites do not get it, so use a custom regex filter instead.
What is a healthy ratio of branded to non-branded traffic?
There is no universal benchmark. A well-known brand naturally has more branded traffic. What matters is that non-branded clicks and conversions grow over time.
Should competitor names count as branded?
No. Queries containing a competitor’s brand are non-branded for you. Track them as a separate segment if comparison pages are part of your strategy.
Can SEO increase branded search volume?
Indirectly. Helpful non-branded content, AI citations and reviews introduce people to your brand, and some of them later search for you by name.
Conclusion
Branded keywords show the demand you have already earned; non-branded keywords show whether you are earning new demand. Split them, measure them separately and give each its own job, and your SEO decisions get much clearer. If you would like help setting up branded reporting or building a non-branded content plan, our SEO services team can help. Request a free quote and we will review your current split.
