In our previous SEO KPIs post, we have mentioned that analyzing traffic from branded keywords and non-branded keywords is one of the primary way you can measure your SEO efforts.

Though most search marketers focus primarily on non-branded searches, do you know that 50% or more of people who search for brands click on the top ranking page.

Do your brand keywords rank in #1? How can you get more traffic from branded organic traffic?

In this article, I’ll share what is branded search, why branded search is so important and 10 ways you can use to increase branded organic search traffic.

Let’s get started from the basic.

What is Branded Search?

A branded search query is any search query that contains your unique brand name or some variation of it. And what are branded keywords? The search terms people use for this purpose are referred to as branded keywords.

For example, let’s say that you work for a brand named XiaoMi that sells Android phone. Here’s what non-branded traffic would look like versus branded traffic:

• Traditional: Android phone
• Branded: XiaoMi phone

See the difference? The branded keyword directly references your company. That means that people who search that term are in the market for your product specifically.

In most cases, branded search queries are used by people who already know your brand, or are at the very least familiar. Those searching your brand name directly are more likely to convert into customers compared to those who randomly find you in search. 

Why Invest in Branded Search?

Marketers and SEOs usually ignore branded search. Why? Because they assume that they rank #1 and there’s nothing to gain. 

However, it’s crucial to invest in a branded search strategy. Here we have listed the most relevant reasons. Check them out!

1. Your Branded Keywords is Not Definitely Ranked in #1

Most of the time your website will rank No. 1 for any and all variations of branded keywords. However, there is still chance that you cannot rank them in the first position. If you didn’t rank them and neglected them, you have suffered a loss. Here’s an example of a branded query where a third-party page is featured instead of the brand it refers to:

2. Branded Search Drives Higher CTR (= More Traffic)

The chart clearly shows that when ranked in first position, branded search traffic has much higher CTR than non-branded search.

3. Branded Terms Typically Have High Commercial Intent (= Higher Conversions)

Additionally, branded terms typically have high commercial intent. People who use these keywords are already familiar with your organization. Hence, they’re more likely to make a purchase. So, you must be able to not only capitalize on the current brand search volume but also increase it.

4. Minimal Dependency On Searching Algorithm Changes

No matter the changes in the searching algorithms, if users type the name of the company in their search query, they will usually see the website they were looking for right in the first spot.

10 Ways to Increase Your Branded Search Traffic

1. Make Sure Your Main Branded Keyword Rank in #1

Do you know what shows up when people search for your branded terms? 

As we mention earlier, when potential customers perform a brand name search does not mean they will find your branded keyword at the top of Google, Bing or other search engines.

So, first of all, enter your main brand keyword in search engines and make sure they are ranked in #1. If your brand keyword doesn’t appear, here are the likely reasons.

• Your site is new and not indexed by search engines yet.
• There are gaps in your existing SEO strategy, chief of which is the lack of branded search integration into your SEO strategy.
• You have different brand names in your portfolio.
• Your brand name or acronym is similar to that of another company.

2. Collect All Your Branded Keywords

Branded queries are extremely valuable because, as previously noted, both CTR and commercial intent are high. I’d recommend conducting keyword research to identify all relevant brand search terms.

Luckily, they are easy to find. Here are four sources of branded keywords.

• Google suggest and autocomplete
• Related searches
• Your Queries report in Google Search Console
• Keyword search tools like SEMrush and Google Keyword Planner

If you are not seeing too many branded search queries for your brand, this may mean either of two things:

• You are in a tight niche where not many people search. Or your business is not large enough.
• Your business is new.

3. Expand Reach with Branded Variations

Once you’ve uncovered the branded keywords consumers are using to find your products/services, use the information to create content that addresses them.

For many established companies, their branded variations terms make up a majority of their keyword profile. So, it is a good chance to gain more traffic from long-tail branded keywords.

By analyzing your branded search queries, you can find content gaps in your website that can be filled with blogs, FAQs, service/product information, and resource articles.

It’s pretty easy to rank for branded variations terms too, provided you have a page addressing each query: Google is very good at understanding entities (brands) and ranking official websites when responding to navigational queries. All you need is to create a separate page, each addressing a separate set of keywords.

There should also be separate pages, rich in content, video tutorials, and screenshots, addressing these search queries for them to rank well.

4. Use Your Brand Name in Meta Titles.

The main benefit of including your brand name in meta titles is that it strengthens your website’s relevance to the brand. A website that has its brand name included in its meta titles is unlikely to be mistaken for another entity, thereby ensuring that every branded search term leads users to the right domain.

Additionally, including your brand name in the meta title of your webpages whenever possible can help increase brand awareness.

5. Sitelinks

These appear as two to six links in the big search snippet for your brand’s search ranking. They are traffic magnets.

If your brand keyword has already ranked in #1, but you don’t see the sitelinks, learn how to get Google sitelinks for your website.

6. The “Knowledge Panel” For Your Brand

When you search a prominent brand or person, you’ll likely see a knowledge panel. Whether on desktop or mobile, knowledge panels are prominent features on SERPs. This provides incredible branded search visibility that you can leverage on.

If there is no Google knowledge panel of your brand, learn how to increase the chance to get a Google Knowledge Panel.

7. Social Media Channels

Having social brand pages on different social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, etc…) is just the start. The key to make them a marketing arsenal and be one of your site’s biggest sources of branded signals is the activities that take place within those platforms.

Let your content drive your social activities. The more you create useful content (and the more people share them), the more interactions you can make, and definitely more signals they can send out. Investing on building content types that have high potentials of getting socially shared can help your brand be discovered.

Share stuff from others as well, particularly those that you think will be really useful to your followers. It’s also a great strategy in getting to your target influencers’ radars, and eventually in absorbing their followers as well.

8. Raise Brand Awareness with Digital Display Ads

The power of brand awareness can have customers immediately think of your brand when they see a product. However, according to Localogy, consumers must encounter a brand 10 times before they think about doing business with them.

Display ads help your business to grow by getting you in front of a high volume of the right kind of people even if they are not searching for the product. In turn, this will keep your brand top of mind with consumers. And, they’ll search your brand name when needed.

Another reason to bid on branded terms is that your competitors are doing it. They are generally targeting your audience by using your branded keywords and heading your traffic to the welcoming pages of your competitors.

What to do if competitors are bidding on your brand’s name?

• Bid on your own brand and push their ads down (defense)
• Bid on the names of their brands (counter attack)

9. Work with Influencers

Love it or hate it, influencer marketing is a necessity — especially if your brand is targeting younger consumers. Naturally, if you want to increase brand awareness and branded search, you’ll try to partner with the influencers who have very large followings.

For getting better results, you need to collaborate with that influencer whose followers come under your target audience.

They can mention your brand in their content or they can create content about your product/service that will be shared with their followers.

This will certainly generate word-of-mouth publicity and brand-driven searches on Google to know more about you. 

10. Implement local SEO

Local SEO plays a huge role in local brands due to precise location targeting. It’s one of the best ways to drive branded traffic to your website. 

Here’s what you should pay attention to build a successful local SEO strategy:

• Verify and optimize your local business listing on Google to drive traffic from local and map searches.
• Add local schema to your website.
• Add your branded keywords to your landing pages, business description on Google local, business reviews, and localized content.
• Optimize Alt tags and filenames for your brand images, including the brand’s name and the name of your product or service. To be more relevant, you can add such characteristics like model, size, color or gender.

Conclusion

Branded searches are requisite and often underestimated. It is a crucial portion of your keyword optimization efforts. Once you start optimizing for your brand, you will quickly improve your brand awareness and generate more qualified traffic to your website which will lead to more sales finally.