# Branded vs Non-Branded Keywords: Search Console Report

- URL: https://betteranalyst.com/data-connectors/google-search-console/brand-vs-non-brand-report
- Published: 2026-10-29
- Updated: 2026-10-29
- Author: David Bressler, Founder (https://betteranalyst.com/authors/david-bressler)

> **Summary:** A brand vs non-brand report splits Search Console queries by whether they contain your brand name or its variants, then trends clicks, impressions and CTR for each group. Non-brand growth is the clearest sign that SEO is reaching new people; brand growth mostly reflects awareness built elsewhere.

Data source: [Google Search Console](https://betteranalyst.com/data-connectors/google-search-console)

Split Google Search Console clicks into branded and non-branded queries with a regex, track each trend, and see whether SEO growth is real. Fields and sample.

## Who this report is for

SEO teams and agencies reporting organic performance to leadership or clients who want to separate demand the brand already had from traffic SEO actually earned.

## What the report includes

*Metrics and dimensions in this report*

| Metric | Source field | Why it matters |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Query | query | Classified as brand or non-brand with a case-insensitive pattern of your brand terms and misspellings. |
| Date | date | Daily rows rolled up to weeks or months to trend each segment. |
| Clicks | clicks | The outcome to compare between branded and non-branded search. |
| Impressions | impressions | Shows whether non-brand visibility is growing even before clicks follow. |
| CTR | ctr | Branded CTR is usually far higher; mixing the two hides changes in either. |
| Average position | position | Tracks non-brand ranking progress separately from brand terms you already own. |

## How to build it in Better Analyst from Google Search Console

1. In Better Analyst, open Connectors, choose Add Connector, then Google Search Console.
2. Click Connect with Google and allow read-only access, using an account with Owner or Full user access to the property.
3. Select the URL-prefix or domain property you want to report on and click Connect.
4. Give Better Analyst your brand terms, including misspellings and product names, for example 'acme|acmee|acme analytics'.
5. Ask it to label each query brand or non-brand with that pattern and summarise clicks, impressions, CTR and position by month for each group.
6. Save the brand pattern in a Data Context note or agent instructions so every future report uses the same definition.

## Questions to ask

- “Split clicks into brand and non-brand queries by month for the last 12 months using the pattern acme|acmee.”
- “What share of organic clicks came from non-brand queries last quarter compared with the quarter before?”
- “Which non-brand queries gained the most clicks this month?”
- “Show brand versus non-brand CTR by device.”

## Sample output

Sample data for illustration, not real account data.

*Sample data: monthly brand vs non-brand split (illustrative)*

| Month | Brand clicks | Non-brand clicks | Non-brand share | Non-brand impressions | Non-brand CTR |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jul 2026 | 8,240 | 11,960 | 59.2% | 612,000 | 1.95% |
| Aug 2026 | 8,410 | 12,880 | 60.5% | 655,400 | 1.97% |
| Sep 2026 | 8,090 | 14,310 | 63.9% | 702,900 | 2.04% |

## Charts to use

- **Brand vs non-brand clicks** (Stacked column chart): Monthly clicks split into the two segments, so you can see which one is driving growth.
- **Non-brand share of clicks** (Line chart): The proportion of organic clicks earned from non-brand searches over time.

## Keep it up to date

A monthly scheduled task can rerun the split with the saved brand pattern and post the chart to Slack. An alert on non-brand clicks (for example a drop of more than 15% versus the previous week) catches ranking losses early.

## Further reading

- [Google Search Console connector](https://betteranalyst.com/data-connectors/google-search-console)
- [Data Context](https://betteranalyst.com/product/data-context)
- [Alerts](https://betteranalyst.com/product/alerts)
- [Better Analyst for agencies](https://betteranalyst.com/solutions/agencies)

[Try Better Analyst free](https://betteranalyst.com/signup)

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I define branded queries?

List your company name, product names, common misspellings and domain, and match them case-insensitively, for example acme|acmee|acme\.com. Review the unmatched top queries once to catch variants you missed.

### Why does the brand plus non-brand total not equal the site total?

Search Console's site totals include anonymized queries that never appear as query rows, so the sum of classified queries is lower than the property total. Report the anonymized remainder separately.

### Does Search Console have a built-in brand filter?

Filters in the Search Console interface vary; the API returns raw queries, so a regex you control gives a stable definition that works the same way in every report.

## Related reports

- [Search Console CTR Opportunity Report: Find Quick SEO Wins](https://betteranalyst.com/data-connectors/google-search-console/ctr-opportunity-report)
- [GA4 Monthly Client Report for Agencies (Template + Fields)](https://betteranalyst.com/data-connectors/google-analytics/monthly-client-report)