Two routes to the same website
Imagine a fictional company called Bayu Office Catering. “Bayu Office Catering menu” names the business. “Office lunch catering Seremban” describes a service and place without naming it.
The first searcher may already know the company through a colleague or advertisement. The second may be comparing providers for the first time. These are plausible interpretations, not a complete account of either person’s journey.
Define what counts as your brand
List the business name, common abbreviations and obvious misspellings. Check ambiguous words carefully: a brand that uses a common noun may appear in searches that do not refer to the business at all.
Keep a note of your classification rules and apply them consistently. Review a sample of included and excluded queries instead of assuming one word filter is perfect.
Do not label every search containing a product type as branded unless it actually identifies your brand.
Use the available query data carefully
Search Console’s Performance report can group data by query and page, with filters and date comparisons. Google’s report guide explains the metrics and dimensions.
Use the available data as a view of search activity, not a complete customer history. Keep the same date range, search type and relevant audience filters when comparing groups.
Our measurement guide explains why clicks and enquiries should be considered separately.
Explain changes before celebrating them
A local event or advertising campaign may increase searches for the company name. That can be valuable, but it does not by itself show improved discovery for general service questions.
Equally, more non-branded impressions may come from a broader mix of questions that produce few suitable enquiries. Review the pages and services involved rather than assuming one group is always better.
Keep actual counts visible, especially when a small change produces a large percentage increase.
Choose a useful next step
- Define the brand terms you will use.
- Check representative queries in each group.
- Compare equivalent periods.
- Review relevant landing pages and business outcomes.
- Record other campaigns or events that may explain a change.
If general service questions reveal a content gap, use keyword research and search intent to decide what the website should answer.