Measurement

Branded search

brand query · branded SERP

Definition

Branded search is queries that include the company, product, or executive name. It is a demand and awareness residue. Coverage, ads, and word of mouth all move it. A spike after a feature, without a matching ad burst, is one of the cleaner outcome signals comms can show.

Define the brand set (name, misspellings, product lines) and subtract navigational noise if you must isolate discovery.

How it works

Pull Search Console brand queries weekly. Annotate launches, crises, and big hits. Watch impression and CTR. A crisis spikes brand search too; read the queries (“scam,” “outage”) before celebrating volume.

Worked example

A data study ships Tuesday. Branded queries rise 22% Wednesday–Friday versus the prior four-week baseline, no paid search change. Queries include the study title. That is an outcome, not an output.

How it differs

Referral traffic is clicks from the story. Share of voice is your slice of a category. Branded search is people looking for you.

Common errors

Counting all queries that contain a generic category word as branded. Ignoring the negative-query spike in a crisis.

Sources