What does branded traffic indicate?

Branded traffic reflects brand recognition and customer loyalty by measuring how many users specifically search for a company or product name.

Why is non-branded traffic important?

Non-branded traffic helps businesses acquire new users who discover the company through generic industry-related search queries.

How can a company improve branded traffic?

Businesses can improve branded traffic through consistent marketing campaigns, strong social media presence, content marketing, and customer retention strategies.

How can a company improve non-branded traffic?

Companies can improve non-branded traffic by optimizing SEO for industry keywords, publishing educational content, and targeting user intent through search campaigns.

How can this metric guide marketing strategy?

Analyzing branded and non-branded traffic helps marketers decide whether to prioritize brand awareness, lead generation, customer acquisition, or retention efforts.

Branded Vs Non-branded Traffic: Formula, SEO Analysis & Benchmarks

What Is Branded vs Non-branded Traffic?

Branded vs Non-branded Traffic measures the proportion of website visitors coming from searches that mention your brand or product name versus searches using general, industry-related keywords. This metric helps marketers understand how much of their traffic comes from brand recognition versus discovery by new audiences.

How to Calculate Branded vs Non-branded Traffic

Collect data from an analytics tool.

Use platforms like Google Analytics to separate visits driven by branded keywords from those driven by non-branded, generic keywords.

Count branded sessions.

Identify the number of visits from searches that explicitly include your brand or product name.

Count total sessions.

Include all search-driven visits, both branded and non-branded.

Calculate the percentage.

Divide the branded sessions by total sessions, then multiply by 100 to get the share of branded traffic.

Interpret results.

Compare the ratio over time to assess changes in brand awareness and search behavior.

Formula

Branded Traffic % = (Branded Sessions ÷ Total Sessions) × 100

Benchmark

Companies with strong brand awareness often see over 60% of search traffic from branded keywords.
For newer brands, a more balanced mix of branded and non-branded traffic is typical, as the focus is on reaching new users through generic search terms.
Tracking trends over time helps understand the impact of marketing campaigns and organic growth efforts.

FAQ's

Branded traffic reflects brand recognition and loyalty, showing how many users specifically search for your company or product.

Non-branded traffic is critical for acquiring new users who are discovering your business for the first time through generic search terms.

Through consistent marketing campaigns, strong social presence, content marketing, and encouraging repeat visits from existing customers.

By optimizing for SEO keywords relevant to your industry, producing educational content, and running campaigns that target user intent without relying on brand recognition.

Monitoring the balance between branded and non-branded traffic helps marketers decide whether to focus more on brand awareness, lead generation, or retention strategies.