The author's views are entirely his or her own (excluding the unlikely event of hypnosis) and may not always reflect the views of Moz.
Have you googled yourself or your company recently?
I bet you have, but this doesn’t mean you have a branded search optimization strategy.
Brand-driven search is so much more than URLs you see ranking for your brand name. It’s an ongoing process that will result in higher conversions and more predictable buying journeys.
Let’s start from the beginning.
What is branded search?
A branded (also referred to as brand-driven) search query is one that contains your brand or product name. Branded search includes search queries that include personal, brand-driven words, like your CEO or writers’ names.
Why should your branded search be your marketing priority?
There seems to be an obvious answer to this question. After all, great SEO starts with your brand[1], so branded SEO research should be any company’s priority. Yet, it’s quite unbelievable how many brands completely ignore search queries.
Branded search is crucial for several important reasons:
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Brand-driven search is usually high-intent: People who type your brand name in the search box want to either go straight to your site or research you before making a purchase.
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Branded search queries show which issues your current or future customers may be experiencing with your site or product.
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Brand-driven search is important to analyze in order to understand the online sentiment around your (and competing) brand.
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Finally (and obviously), any of those branded SERPs may influence buying decisions, which make them part of your sales funnel.
Like a branded hashtag, your branded SERPs don’t belong to you, and you can’t really control what people see there, unless you spend some time and effort optimizing for your own branded search.