Branded vs non-branded query
-
So there's an obvious difference between a branded and non-branded search term, but I'm interested in the SERPs that are shown as a result.
Branded search only results in 7 listings on the first page - obviously because branded search is generally more navigational in nature and the lower results get minimal CT.
Are their any technical differences beyond this?
Also, how does google define a branded search term? Because a search for Vodafone or Dell show reduced results, but Coca Cola does not.
Thanks guys
-
That's a great study - thanks for sharing it with me.
-
Many "branded" queries do result in 7-result SERPs, but not all, and some non-branded queries can generate them. I've dug into this in some detail, and the picture is pretty complex:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/secrets-of-the-7-result-serp
Google is doing more and more entity association - trying to match queries to concepts, and that could tie into brand detection, but there's really no simple way to identify a query as being a brand, and there are many exceptions to simple rules.
I also think they factor in the usual signals - links, social, etc. They are working hard to integrate offline signals and this all factors into Google's general idea of dominant intent. In other words, if someone types "IBM", it should bring up the IBM home-page, even if that page happened to have terrible SEO and no links, because that's the best answer.
There are many, many arguments, though about whether Google actually favors big brands, or if big brands dominate through other, more mundane factors. Keep in mind, too, that "brand" doesn't mean big. Bob's Plumbing in Walla Walla, Washington should rank for brand queries (assuming that there's only one Bob's Plumbing), too, even without links/trust/social signals, for the same reason. In other words, someone looking for Bob's Plumbing wants to find that specific business, not just plumbers named Bob.
My post has a lot more details, but there's no clear or easy answer, I'm afraid.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Google ranking impact: Returning visitor vs New visitor
Hi all, If a website's traffic increase in "New visitors"; will this impact rankings? Do the website overall traffic affect rankings? How much this is related with ranking improvement for main keywords? Just because thousands of visits increased for website, will it count as a strong ranking improvement signal? Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | vtmoz0 -
Https slower site Versus Non https faster site??
Hey all, I know that everyone is going on about https as a ranking signal (as far as I read it is not a very important ranking signal, but a low ranking signal) but Site speed is a ranking signal https is now a ranking signal as well https makes sites slower So in view of the above, what's better? An https site that is slower A non https site that is faster Thanks!
Algorithm Updates | | bjs20100 -
Optimizing for Lawyer vs Attorney Words
With Hummingbird update, my client's personal injury lawyer site went from very good positions for top terms in Google to oblivion. The site had primary landing pages for parallel terms such as "dog bite lawyer" and "dog bite attorney", among other. He does work in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, so we focus on key phrases for both "Philadelphia dog bite lawyer" and "Pennsylvania dog bite lawyer" etc. I've decided to investigate siloing more deeply, but am unsure whether Google now considers attorney searches to be the same as lawyer searches, which would mean we would silo for "Pennsylvania" and "Philadelphia" not "Attorney" and "Lawyer". Any real world experience in this anyone? Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | JCDenver0 -
LocalBusiness vs. Physician
I have a physician who is a client and I'm wondering: is there any advantage to having their schema.org as "LocalBusiness" vs. Physician? Clearly as Physician is a sublisting, it should be fine. But I'm just curious. Other than future-proofing is there any "real-time" advantage? Thanks for any insight!
Algorithm Updates | | Titan5520 -
PPC vs Organic CTR
Hello, I found two studies that seem to contradict themselves about PPC vs Organic CTR:
Algorithm Updates | | Cornel_Ilea
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2200730/Organic-vs.-Paid-Search-Results-Organic-Wins-94-of-Time
http://brandongaille.com/google-organic-click-through-rate-statistics/ Which one is true? Thank you
Cornel0 -
Non .Com or .Co Versus .ca or .fm sites - In terms of SEO value
We are launching a new site with a non traditional top level domain . We were looking at either .ca or .in as we are not able to get the traditional .com or .co or .net etc . I was wondering if this has any SEO effect ? Does Google/Bing treat this domain differently .Will it be penalized ? Note : My site is a US based site targeting US audience
Algorithm Updates | | Chaits0 -
Troubleshooting Decline of Branded Keyword Searches
Hi, Over the past year, I have seen a huge change in the distribution of our organic keyword traffic. I'm trying to research why our branded keywords have gone down. Google analytics only shows me impressions for the past three months. Does anyone have ideas on how to explain this change in traffic? Please see the attached chart. Thanks! branded-v-nonbranded-organic-search.jpg
Algorithm Updates | | netdiva_amy0 -
Physical locationof the server vs customer base vs SEO penality?
HI All, We are an Australian business with our hosting currently based in Australia. We have recently been considering moving hosts for a few reasons. In particular when we have done analysis of hosting in the US and also with Rackspace say in Hong Kong we have found that the prices can be significantly cheaper or with more bells in whistles provided in the hosting of a dedicated server offshore vs Australia for the same price. Therefore from this point of view we would be much better off moving our hosting to the US or HK with Rackspace. There are the issues such as latency to take on board but lets put that to the side for the moment as we are mostly interested in understanding if offshore hosting will impact us from an SEO perspective and if so how and can these impacts be mitigated. So our first question is a) if we move our hosting offshore, will this impact our SEO? b) if it does impact our seo, how will it impact (ie lose rankings for organic pages due to IP address being offshore)? c) is A is also an impact are there ways of eliminating these impacts outlined in B? d) net - if the impacts on seo can be mitigated will the net result still be negative or could we still be seen on the same footing as a domain hosted in Australia? Thanks Sean
Algorithm Updates | | sbcinv0