Website owners and SEO professionals usually focus on non-branded keywords but ignore branded ones. This is a mistake that can cost them money. The reason is that when someone searches for a branded keyword, they have passed the awareness stage. They know what they are searching for and are probably ready to spend money on the brand.
That means these branded keywords have the highest potential for conversion and generate the most sales. However, brand names are only valuable when people know your brand exists. This is why you need to optimize for them if your brand will get visibility.
What are Branded Keywords?
Brand names are keywords associated with a brand, product, or service. They can include phrases or variations of your brand name. Examples of the most popular brand names are:
- Amazon
- Youtube
- Tiktok
For instance, when someone searches for the term Amazon, Google understands that they want to visit the site. But instead of entering the Amazon url, they search for the site. They will also search for the brand name to find a company through social media.
What are Non-branded Keywords?
These are keywords related to your niche but aren’t branded. They are often considered SEO keywords and are more competitive than branded ones. This is because any business in the niche can target them. They can be categorized as either information or commercial keywords.
Many SEO experts usually focus on non-branded keywords as they have higher search volumes. They also help businesses to increase their visibility online. But for the best results, focusing on branded and non-branded keywords is advisable.
Why You Should Optimize for Branded Keywords
Whether they are searched through search engines or social media, branded terms offer an opportunity for a business to:
Interact With Customers
Customers nowadays are using social media to seek support from businesses. This is also increasing the search for brand names. When you have understood searches about your brand, you will never miss an opportunity to respond to your customers.
Better Competitive Analysis
By searching for your competitors’ brand names, you can easily spy on them. It can also show you how your reputation compares to theirs. For instance, when you search your competitor’s brand name, you may see the ads they are placing. Some of the terms you can use to search for your competitors include:
- {Brand name} review
- {Brand name} alternative
- {Brand name} vs.
How to Find Branded Keywords
You should optimize your site for voice search with branded and non-branded keywords to increase visibility and sales. Here are the steps to follow when finding branded keywords:
Use Google Tools
Google Trends can help you to track branded keywords. One is Google Alerts, which allows you to set notifications when your brand name is mentioned. This can help you keep tabs on brand mentions on social media.
Keyword Research Tools
Your favorite keyword research tools may also help you do branded keyword research. By searching for your brand name on a tool such as Semrush, you will see all the keywords people use to search for that keyword. For instance, when you search for the keyword Tiktok, some of the searches you will see are:
- TikTok banned
- TikTok downloader
- TikTok songs
- TikTok recharge
These searches can hint at branded keywords you can focus on, assuming you run the TikTok site.
Steps in Using Branded Keywords
Now that you have found some keywords to target follow these steps in optimizing your site for branded keywords.
Organize Your Keywords
You can organize your keywords according to the action you want to take on them. For instance, you may want to:
- Create content around branded keywords
- Launch a product or service
- Add them to the existing page
Understand the Search Intent
In our introduction, we mentioned that someone searching for your brand name already knows about it. So, you should ask yourself: Why are they searching for my brand? When doing that, try to understand the sales funnel stage they are in. By understanding the search intent of a branded keyword, you can know which page of your site to optimize for the branded keyword.
Create content
If you find people searching Google about your brand, you can optimize for branded keywords by including a FAQ section on your webpage. Since Google prioritizes official websites, it will be easy to rank for such keywords.
Another way of optimizing for brand name is to create a separate page for each brand keyword. For instance, you can have pages addressing:
- How to log in (Brand name)
- Brand name pricing
- Brand name review
Ensure that each of your pages addresses these queries comprehensively.
Check Weak Spots
When doing brand name keyword research effectively, an important part is to understand the weak points of your product or services. Therefore, you should be keen on keywords that contain keywords such as:
- Spam
- Scam
- Refund
- Return policy
- Alternatives
If you can see these terms on your keywords research tool, it indicates that people are searching for them. This can be a sign of a problem that needs to be addressed. To ensure that these terms don’t spoil your brand name, you can use these terms to set up a social media monitoring system. Other names you should put on your watchlist include:
- {Brand name} downtime
- {Brand name} malware
- {Brand name} slow
- {Brand name} down
These can be an indication of regular tech issues. You want to be the first to hear of them so that you can resolve the issue as fast as possible. But if you notice these words when doing a competitor analysis, it means you have a better chance of beating the competition.
Final Thoughts
Unlike what many SEO professionals think, it’s not only non-branded that are worth pursuing. While the non-branded keywords will help drive traffic to your site, branded keywords will help with conversion and increasing revenue. They will also help you understand what people are saying about your brands. Use this guide to optimize your content for branded keywords and grow your conversion.
