Branded search and SEO: What you need to know

Branded search refers to the results that Google or an LLM (like ChatGPT) shows when someone searches for your brand name. 

Whether you’re a small company or a large, established brand, ranking highly for these queries is essential – but it’s not always easy.

If your brand is new or shares its name with other entities (such as a town, a film, or another company), search engines may prioritize other meanings. 

Even if your brand name is unique, it takes time for search engines and users to associate it with your business.

Optimizing for branded search helps ensure your brand appears prominently and accurately in search results.

What are branded keywords?

A branded keyword or search is any Google query that includes a company, business, or brand name. 

This can also include additional words, known as brand compounds, such as:

• Company contact (e.g., “Dan’s Timber customer service”).
• Company careers (e.g., “Dan’s Timber jobs”).
• Company locations (e.g., “Dan’s Timber near me”).

Branded search queries always contain the brand name. For example:

• If you own a hardwood retail business, a search for “Dan’s Timber” indicates that the user is looking specifically for your company.
• In contrast, a search for “timber merchant” is a general query looking for a retailer that sells timber, not necessarily your business. These general searches are sometimes mistaken for branded queries because they relate closely to a company’s product offering but are not truly branded.

Branded queries can also include trademarked products or services associated with your brand. For instance:

• If a company has trademarked offerings with distinct names, users may search for those specifically.
• Depending on the brand’s recognition, users might also add the main brand name for clarification (e.g., “Main Brand Product X”)

Google determines whether a trademarked product name is seen as a standalone entity or primarily associated with the parent brand. 

Establishing dominance in branded search takes time, marketing, and a strong market presence. 

While digital PR efforts can help, brand recognition ultimately requires consistent investment in education, marketing, and consumer engagement.

Why optimize for brand search?

Many companies assume their brand will take care of itself when it comes to SEO. 

This is especially common after a rebrand when a company expects to rank immediately for its new name but doesn’t.

The broader business may share this expectation, but a brand name can have multiple meanings or connotations. 

If it’s a word that already exists – whether as a town, another brand, a film, or anything else with an established meaning in any language – it won’t automatically rank at the top of search results. 

Even if the name is completely unique, search engines and audiences need time to adjust.

Dig deeper: Top 10 SEO benefits of building a brand that people trust

Optimizing for branded queries based on audience groups

When optimizing for branded queries, it’s essential to understand why the user is searching for your brand and provide a search experience that aligns with their journey.

Branded search optimization isn’t as simple as targeting “brand + brand compound” queries. 

You need to go deeper to understand the intent behind these searches. 

This applies to both existing and prospective customers, as well as other key audience segments.

Existing customers

The first audience group consists of current customers searching for post-purchase information. Their queries often fall into categories such as:

• Account access: “Brand login,” “reset Brand X password.”
• Customer support: “Brand X contact,” “Brand X customer service,” “Brand X refund policy.”
• Subscription details: “Brand X renewal pricing,” “cancel Brand X subscription.”

These searches indicate users looking for assistance, troubleshooting, or account management, so optimizing for them ensures a seamless customer experience.

Prospective buyers

The second audience includes users who aren’t yet customers but are close to making a purchase. 

They may perform multiple searches related to your brand as they evaluate their options. A key example is comparison queries, such as:

• “Brand X vs. competitor Y”
• “Is Brand X better than Competitor Y?”
• “Best [industry/product] for [specific need].”

Often, companies address these searches through blog posts or programmatic pages. 

A common approach is to create “Top 5” or “Top 10” lists that position their own brand as the best option while giving minimal attention to competitors.

Google evaluates whether such content genuinely explains differences between brands or merely serves to rank for comparison queries. 

While this tactic remains widespread – especially among SaaS companies – brands should focus on providing valuable, objective comparisons rather than just ticking SEO boxes.

Neutral information seekers

The third audience segment consists of users looking for general brand information. These can include:

• Journalists and press members verifying details or seeking a media contact.
• Procurement teams gathering vendor information for decision-makers.

Marketing strategies often target ideal buyers, such as “middle managers with two-plus years of experience,” and use firmographics to tailor messaging. 

However, in many cases, decision-makers delegate research to procurement teams, who then compile vendor lists based on given specifications.

Here, two key assumptions come into play:

• Procurement team members may have little knowledge of what they’re researching.
• They may have baseline knowledge but are strictly assessing criteria based on provided guidelines.

Your content should be clear, informative, and to the point, ensuring that non-decision-making stakeholders can easily understand and relay information. 

The ideal buyer persona you’ve created won’t always align with the needs of those handling the research process. 

Optimizing for this group means structuring content in a way that makes key details accessible and actionable.

Dig deeper: How to establish your brand entity for SEO: A 5-step guide

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4 steps to optimize for branded search

There are four key steps to this process. 

Some may condense it into three, while others may add a fifth step, but in my experience, these four are essential.

1. Understand and identify all branded keywords

Identify all the keywords related to your brand. This requires pulling data from multiple sources. Common branded queries include:

• Brand-specific searches: “Brand X careers,” “Brand X contact,” “Brand C login,” “Brand X telephone number.”
• Search behavior insights: Use tools like Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, and third-party platforms to analyze how users search for your brand and what keyword compounds they use.

Understanding these branded search patterns helps determine how people interact with your brand online.

2. Categorize your branded keywords

Once you’ve identified branded keywords, classify them into three main buckets:

• Marketing and pre-purchase keywords: Queries from potential customers considering a purchase.
• Post-purchase keywords: Queries from existing customers looking for support, renewals, or account management.
• Unwanted or uncontrollable keywords: Queries related to outdated product names, discontinued services, or external narratives you may not be able to control.

While you can’t always influence how users search – especially for discontinued products –you need to decide whether to address these queries or allow other sources to control the narrative.

3. Determine where to allocate resources

Next, refine your keyword lists by prioritizing which terms are worth targeting. This varies by category:

• Pre-purchase and marketing-focused keywords generally take priority, as they represent potential new leads and sales.
• Post-purchase keywords are essential for customer retention and experience.
• Identify underperforming branded keywords that may not be yielding as much value as expected and assess whether optimization could improve their impact.

For SEO and content teams, the key is balancing visibility across all keyword types while focusing on those that drive the most meaningful engagement.

4. Identifying existing mismatches

Look for instances where brand-related searches are leading to incorrect, outdated, or unhelpful pages. Common mismatches include:

• Search results leading to irrelevant pages instead of the most useful content.
• Random PDFs or outdated documents ranking for branded queries.

Additionally, in today’s search landscape, it’s important to consider AI-generated overviews from Google, Bing, and other search engines. 

Review how your brand is represented in AI summaries and ensure the information is accurate. 

If incorrect data appears, determine whether you can adjust the narrative through content updates, structured data, or other SEO efforts.

Dig deeper: How SEO grows brands: The science behind the service

Take control of your brand’s search results with these optimization steps

As a company grows, the number of branded searches will increase over time.

It’s common to separate traffic KPIs into branded and nonbranded categories. I still believe it’s critical to maintain this distinction in your reporting and organic KPIs.

However, optimizing for branded search shouldn’t be dismissed as providing no return on investment – especially if it has never been optimized or has been neglected.

In some cases, addressing branded search can uncover wasted potential and improve brand user journeys, ultimately adding value to the business.