Google Search Console adds branded queries filter

Google announced new branded queries filters are rolling out gradually within Google Search Console reporting. You can filter your performance reports by branded or non-branded queries and Google can show you the percentage of branded versus non-branded traffic driven to your site from Google Search.

This was first introduced at the Google Search Central event in Tel Aviv today, so this news leaked from there first.

What are branded queries. Google defined what it considers a branded query. Google wrote:

A branded query is a query that includes your brand name (for example, Google), variations or misspellings of the brand name (for example, Gogle), and brand-related products or services: (for example, Gmail).

Differentiating between traffic from people who are already familiar with your brand and people who aren’t is not always straightforward. Focusing on branded queries and non-branded queries separately can help you better understand traffic patterns. Branded queries typically lead to higher-ranking pages from your site and result in higher click-through rates, whereas non-branded queries offer organic growth, as they show how new users find your content without any initial intent to go to your site.

Where to find the filter. You can find the filter for branded verus non branded queries under the search filter for queries in the performance report. You can apply this filter across all search types including web, image, video, and news. When applied, you will be able to see metrics—such as impressions, clicks, average position, and CTR—limited specifically to the selected group of branded or non-branded queries.

Here is a screenshot:

Insights report. Plus, Google added a report to show you your branded versus non-branded queries in the Insights report. Google said this, “shows the breakdown of total clicks for branded versus non-branded traffic, helping you measure brand recognition and compare the volume of traffic from people already familiar with your brand to the volume of traffic from those who didn’t explicitly intend to visit your site.”

Here is a screenshot:

Gradual rollout. You might not see this option yet, Google is slowly rolling it out. Google said, “The branded queries filter will be rolling out gradually over the coming weeks. If you cannot see this option in your reports, it might be due to one of the following reasons:

• This is only available for sites with a sufficient volume of queries and impressions for our signals.
• This is only available for top level properties (and not for URL path properties such as https://example.com/path or subdomain properties such as developers.google.com).

Why we care. This gives you a new way to see how well your site is performing within Google Search. You can now get a quick breakdown of branded vs non-branded exposure within Google Search.