It’s a question we get a lot: why are branded search terms important? Many marketers assume anyone searching for their brand will find it anyway – despite common distractors like similar brand names and competitors placing ads to target those searching for your brand.
Search Engine Watch has put together some tips for optimizing search around your brand. Some of the highlights:
- Take a look at your ratio of branded search to non-branded search and evaluate. (A low ratio of branded to non-branded search can be an indicator either of very robust non-branded SERPs, or a need to optimize more around your brand.)
- Filter your branded queries to see what the top branded queries are that are driving traffic. Is your brand commonly searched for in conjunction with a particular product, service or offering?
- What are the top pages getting branded clicks? Just your homepage, or others?
- What states or countries are searching the most for your brand?
- How has branded search trended over time? Up, down, seasonal?
- Are there a lot of location-based queries for store addresses, hours and the like?
From here, you can delve into rankings for specific branded queries, set goals and start optimization. This is one of the instances where Google truly wants you to do well! It’s in everyone’s best interests when a search for your brand returns the most relevant information about your brand.