If you love tracking your website’s performance through Google Search Console, there’s a new update you’ll want to explore. After rolling out Query Groups recently, Google has now added another super useful tool:
The Branded Queries Filter.
This update basically helps you understand how much of your traffic comes from people who already know your brand vs. people discovering you for the first time.
And trust me, this is a game-changer for SEO planning.
Let’s break it down in the simplest way possible.
What Exactly Is a Branded Query?
A branded query is any search that includes your brand name, or something closely related to it.
For example:
- Your brand name: Google
- Misspellings: Gogle
- Product names related to your brand: Gmail, Google Maps, Google Sheets
So if someone searches “Nike shoes”, “Nike store near me”, or even “Niky” those are branded queries.
On the other hand, non-branded queries would be things like:
- “running shoes for men”
- “best sports shoes”
- “comfortable gym shoes”
These don’t mention your brand, so these searches are from people who may not know you yet.
Why Does This Matter?
Because branded and non-branded traffic behaves totally differently:
Branded Traffic
People already know you.
They’re usually searching with intention, maybe to buy, maybe to check something.
This traffic usually has:
- Higher click-through rates
- Higher rankings
- Better conversions
Non-Branded Traffic
This is where your real SEO growth comes from.
These users don’t know your brand yet but find you because of your content.
This traffic shows:
- How well your SEO is working
- Whether your content is helping you reach new audiences
- Your organic reach beyond your brand name
So, What Did Google Add?
Inside Search Console’s Performance Report, you now get two filters:
✔ Branded
✔ Non-branded
This means you can see impressions, clicks, CTR, and ranking separately for both groups.
You can also apply this filter across:
- Web results
- Image search
- Video search
- News search
This gives you a much clearer picture of how people find you online.
A Quick Example to Make It Crystal Clear
Let’s say you run a website called FreshFit Meals.
Branded Queries Example:
- freshfit meals
- fresh fit meal plans
- freshfitmeals login
- ff meals
- freshfit protein bowls
Non-Branded Queries Example:
- healthy meal plans for weight loss
- best affordable diet meals
- weekly meal prep ideas
- high protein vegetarian meals
| Type | Clicks | Impressions | CTR | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branded | 1,800 | 4,000 | 45% | 2 |
| Non-Branded | 3,200 | 95,000 | 3.4% | 18 |
This tells you a lot:
- Your brand is strong → 45% CTR on branded searches
- You’re reaching a wider audience through non-branded searches
- But your non-branded ranking is lower → You need more SEO work, blogs, and optimization for those queries
This is exactly where the new filter helps you instantly understand your real SEO performance.
How Does Google Identify Branded Queries?
Here’s the interesting part:
Google is not using simple keyword matching or regex.
Instead, it uses an AI-assisted system that automatically understands:
- Your brand name
- Misspellings
- Brand names in multiple languages
- Product names unique to your brand
- Brand-related queries without the brand mentioned
This means if your site is known for a unique product like “FreshFit Protein Bowl,” the query “protein bowl FreshFit style” might also be tagged as branded.
Of course, because it’s AI-driven, some queries may occasionally be misclassified. Google admits that it is upfront.
New Addition: Brand Traffic Insights Card
Inside Search Console Insights, you will now see a small card showing:
- Branded traffic (clicks)
- Non-branded traffic (clicks)
This makes it easy to understand how much your brand awareness is growing over time.
When Will You See This Feature?
It’s rolling out gradually.
If you don’t see it yet, these might be the reasons:
1.Your property is not a top-level property
(Meaning subdomains or /path URLs won’t have this feature.)
2.Your site doesn’t have enough data/signals yet.
Give it some time, it’s coming.
Final Thoughts
This new branded vs non-branded filter is extremely helpful for:
- SEO planning
- Content strategy
- Brand awareness tracking
- Understanding user behavior
- Reporting to clients
If you’re serious about improving organic performance, this feature will make your analysis much easier and smarter.
So go ahead, open Search Console, click Performance → Search Results → and check if the new filter is live for you.
And once you start using it, you’ll wonder how you managed without it.