Why the split matters
Branded searches are people typing your name: "brightsmile dental", "brightsmile dental hours", "brightsmile login". They already chose you. Non-branded searches are people looking for what you do: "teeth whitening cost", "emergency dentist near me". That is where SEO wins new customers.
The two behave very differently. Google says branded queries usually rank higher and get a higher click-through rate (Google Search Central blog, November 2025). You almost always rank first for your own name, and people click.
That is why total clicks can lie. Say a local ad campaign doubles searches for your name. Total clicks go up. At the same time, you lose page one for three service queries. The total still looks fine. Only the non-branded line shows the real drop.
| Item | Branded | Non-branded |
|---|---|---|
| Who searches | People who know you | People who need what you sell |
| Typical position | 1 to 2 | Anywhere |
| Typical CTR | High | Lower, varies a lot by position |
| What moves it | Ads, PR, word of mouth, offline marketing | SEO work: pages, titles, links, content |
| What it tells you | Brand demand | Whether SEO is working |
Where the branded filter is
- Open Search Console and pick your property.
- Go to Performance > Search results.
- Click Add filter (or the + New button) and choose Query.
- Pick Branded or Non-branded.
Every number in the report (clicks, impressions, CTR, average position) now covers only that group. Use Compare in the date filter to see how the group changed over time.
The Insights report also has a card that shows total clicks split into branded and non-branded (Insights report help). It is the fastest way to see the share at a glance.
How Google decides what is branded
You do not type a list of brand terms. Google classifies each query with an internal, AI-assisted system. Google's help pages say a branded query includes:
- your brand name (for example "Google"),
- variations and misspellings ("Gogle"),
- brand-related products or services, even without the brand name ("Gmail").
Google says the system covers your brand name in all languages (Performance report help). You cannot edit the classification. If a query looks wrongly sorted, use the regex method below to check it.
Why the filter is missing for your property
Two rules decide if you get it (Google):
- Top-level properties only. It works on a Domain property (example.com) or a root URL-prefix property (https://example.com/). It does not show on path properties like https://example.com/blog/ or on subdomain properties.
- Enough data. Your site needs enough queries and impressions for Google's system to work. Many small sites do not qualify.
If you only have a path or subdomain property, add a Domain property. It also gives you data for http, https, www and every subdomain in one place.
The regex fallback
If the filter is missing, build the split yourself:
- Performance > Search results > Add filter > Query > Custom (regex).
- Choose Matches regex and enter your brand name and its typos, for example:
brightsmile|bright smile|brightsmyle|bright-smile- That view is your branded traffic. Switch the same filter to Doesn't match regex for non-branded.
Tips that save time:
- Matching ignores upper and lower case by default and matches anywhere in the query, so
brightsmilealso catches "brightsmile dental hours" (Search Console Help). - Add product names that only you sell.
- Look at your top 100 queries once and add any brand typo you see.
- Leave out generic words that are in your name. A shop called "Northwind Outdoors" should not match every query with "outdoors".
One catch: the regex view only sees queries that Search Console shows. Google hides very rare queries to protect privacy, so the two regex views will not add up to your total clicks. Compare them with each other over time, not with the total.
What to do with the numbers
Use Compare (for example, last 3 months vs the same 3 months last year) on each group.
| What you see | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Branded up, non-branded down | Marketing works, SEO is slipping | Open non-branded, Pages tab, sort by clicks lost. Fix those pages first |
| Branded down, non-branded flat | Less demand for your name | Not an SEO problem. Check ads, reviews, seasonality |
| Both down at the same time | Site-wide issue | Check Indexing > Pages, a Google update, or tracking changes |
| Non-branded up | SEO work is paying off | Find which pages grew and do more of the same |
Worked example (fictional site). brightsmile-dental.com saw total clicks up 4% quarter over quarter and assumed SEO was fine. The Non-branded filter told a different story: non-branded clicks fell 22%, while branded clicks rose 30% after a radio campaign. In the non-branded view, the Pages tab showed most of the loss on two pages: "teeth whitening cost" and "dental implants cost". Both had dropped from position 3 to position 8. The team rewrote both pages with real local prices and a short FAQ, and set a reminder to check the non-branded view again in 6 weeks.
Report it the right way
If you send SEO reports to a boss or a client, report non-branded clicks as the main SEO number. Show branded clicks on their own line, labeled as brand demand. Our SEO audit report template uses this split in its summary.
How to use this with an AI assistant
Connect SEOmatic at https://seomatic.ai/mcp and ask: "Use gsc_insights brand_split on mysite.com with my brand terms, then gsc_performance compare_periods by page for non-branded queries. Tell me which pages lost the most non-branded clicks and why." Sign in with connect_seomatic to read your Search Console data; reading is free.