What is the difference between branded and non-branded searches?
Branded search terms
A branded search term is a search term that includes your brand name. This includes typos and alternate spellings. For SiteGuru, some examples of branded searches would be:
- SiteGuru
- Site Guru
- SiteGurru
- SiteGuru SEO tool
Branded searches can also include names of specific products you sell: for Apple, a search term like iPhone or Airpods would be a branded search term.
Branded searches often have a navigational search intent: people already know the brand, and want to visit the website of that brand.
It's not about any brand name: imagine you're running an online shoe store. You're getting traffic from search terms like “nike sneakers” or “adidas shoes”. To you, these search terms are non-branded, because they do not contain your brand name. However, if you were a marketer at Nike, the search term “nike sneakers” would be considered branded.
Non-branded searches
Non-branded, sometimes called unbranded searches, are the opposite: they do not include your brand name or any variant of it. The search intent is mostly informational. Instead, people are looking for specific products or information without having a specific brand in mind.
For SiteGuru, some examples of non-branded search would be:
- SEO tool
- Best SEO tool
- Website audit tool
- What is a redirect
Should I Focus on branded or non-branded searches?
Non-branded search terms drive considerably more new visitors to your site, whereas branded search terms drive mostly returning visitors.
Most SEOs focus on non-branded search traffic. The reason for this is that branded search terms will often rank well without too much effort: most sites have no problem ranking for their own brand name.
Non-branded searches however are often more competitive: you don't automatically rank for a non-branded search term. There's also more to gain from non-branded searches: these are potential new clients that may not be familiar with your company yet. Showing up in the SERP for a non-branded search term can be the start of a new relationship with a new client: they first encounter your brand, visit your site, and may become a customer at some point. Without ranking for that non-branded term, this would not have happened.
As an SEO, it's good to have an idea of the share of branded vs. non-branded traffic. It helps you better understand any changes in traffic. If you're working for a big brand that just launched a new TV campaign, you'll likely see a big increase in organic traffic. By splitting organic traffic into branded and non-branded traffic, you'll be able to see the effects of that campaign: people who've seen the TV ad will likely look for the brand name and be counted as branded traffic.
On the other hand, having an idea of your non-branded performance helps you understand which types of content help drive more traffic.
Why branded vs. non-branded traffic matters
Want to understand how much of your search traffic comes from people already looking for you—versus those discovering you for the first time? That’s exactly what the Branded Keywords Report helps you with.
In SEO, branded traffic refers to searches that include your brand name—like "SiteGuru SEO audit". These usually mean that people already know who you are and want to visit your site directly.
Non-branded keywords—like "best SEO tools"—are more competitive but much more important for growth. That’s how you reach new potential customers.
The Branded Keywords Report shows you exactly which keywords—and which content—are helping you grow. It helps you focus on what’s working to attract new visitors, not just repeat ones.
Start by connecting Google Search Console
To use this report, you need to connect your Google Search Console account. That gives SiteGuru access to the keyword data we need to generate the report.
Select your branded keywords
Once connected, go to the Branded Keywords report under the Insights section. The first step is to tell SiteGuru which keywords are branded.
You do this by adding branded terms—usually your brand name or a variation of it. If you add "guru," we’ll automatically include matches like "siteguru," "guru tool," or "best guru platform."
We recommend keeping this list short—no more than 3 branded terms. And only add your own brand names. For example, if you run a store called ShoeKing, don’t add "Nike" or "Adidas"—those aren’t your branded searches.
View branded vs. non-branded traffic
After setting up your branded terms, the report visualizes your data:
Branded vs. non-branded clicks
You’ll see a pie chart that shows the share of branded vs. non-branded traffic for your selected date range.
How that share changes over time
A timeline chart shows how your branded and non-branded traffic evolves over time. This helps you measure whether your non-branded visibility is growing—an important sign of SEO progress.
See keyword and page-level details
The report also shows:
- Your top branded and non-branded keywords, including clicks and average rankings
- Pages that attract branded traffic
- Pages that drive non-branded discovery
This gives you a clear picture of what content reinforces your brand—and what helps new people find you.
Non-branded keywords and the sales funnel
You'll often find that the conversion rates for non-branded search traffic are lower than for branded traffic. This has everything to do with the customer journey. A typical customer goes through four stages, as described by the AIDA model:
- Awareness: the customer is aware of the brand
- Interest: the customer is interested and does more research
- Desire: the customer has decided he wants your product
- Action: the final step: the customer buys your product. Ka-ching!
People who are searching for branded terms are further into the AIDA funnel: they're aware of the brand and looking for extra information, or are ready to buy. This leads to higher conversion rates.
An example: if you're searching for samsung 4K tv, you've likely already decided you want to buy a Samsung TV, or you're at least considering it. The chances of buying one if you find a good deal are pretty high. For Samsung, it's easy to get the top spot in Google for this term: they're the most relevant result.
Make smarter SEO decisions
The Branded Keywords Report gives you valuable insight into the balance between brand strength and discoverability. By tracking this over time, you’ll know exactly where to focus your SEO efforts.
Happy optimizing!
