How to use non-branded content and optimise it

JC Connington

Non branded traffic

How do I integrate non-branded content on my website?

• Non-branded search queries tend to command high monthly search volumes (MSV) compared to branded queries.

• Non-branded queries match up 'better' with users needs.

Think about this. Someone might want to make a will, or donate some money to a good cause. But they don't necessarily know what good causes are 'out there'. They need guidance. And context. So they make a search like 'best charities to donate to' or perhaps a more localised search like 'list good UK charities'.

• There are potentially many touchpoints with a brand that occur BEFORE someone makes a branded search or knows what the brand offers them. In the last 10 years working in SEO - I would put this figure at around 4 or 5 touchpoints.

• There are exceptions with the 'big beasts' like Apple, or Lego or Google and so on. If you have been living under a rock then (just maybe!) you have not heard of these brands...

• Using non-branded keywords in your content is also a much more empathy driven SEO strategy. This is because people have needs, desires and wishes to do events, make wills, get their lawns cut or find the 'best laptop' on the market.

• Brand terms will not (unless paid or paid social) appear for non branded ‘desire’ driven searches.

• Desire as a factor for me has always been better served by using non-branded terms.

Why are non-branded keywords important? Non-branded keywords are important because they help you gain visibility online through organic search efforts

What is the difference between Branded and Non-branded keywords? A Branded keyword is a query that includes your website’s brand name or variations of it and is unique to your domain. For instance, branded keywords for Semrush.com will include queries like: 'Apple iPad' or 'Cancer Research donation' or 'Lego spaceship'.

Keywords that do not reference a brand name or any part of it (including any misspellings) are considered Non-branded keywords. Additionally, some keywords that have a brand name within the phrase but are not unique to one brand or domain will be considered Non-branded by the SEO tools that SEO's tend to use.

More explanation of this below.

Determining Criteria

Branded keywords can be said to appear if you see any of the following:

1. A keyword or phrase with your brand name in it (somewhere).

2. Sitelinks with your site’s URL on the keyword’s result page.

3. A link to your site from the Knowledge Graph on the keyword’s result page

4. A branded keyword within the keyword phrase if the domain is ranked in the first organic position.

And so on. Basically - if the search you make has a brand name in it - it's classed as a 'branded search'.

Filtering Branded and Non-Branded Keywords

SEO tools provide the ability to filter Branded and Non-Branded keywords in their organic search reporting 'dashboards' or 'workspaces'. Most tools like Conductor or SEMRush have this feature.

Studying both keyword types is essential to SEO and PPC campaigns because they demonstrate different search intent and reach users at different stages of the buying process.

What users in the marketing funnel do branded and non-branded keywords attract?

Non branded keywords attract people at the 'investigational' or 'informational' stage of their customer journey. If a person searches for 'best laptop uk' - this shows us that they don't know what kind of laptop they want. They are investigating. So - you need to make sure that your blog, or some page on your website caters for these 'top of the funnel' investigative keywords.

If you capture someone at THIS stage of their journey, chances are you might stick in their minds and they might come back, and end up transacting with you. So ensure your content strategy has a space for generating non-branded articles, or static web pages that answer questions that users ask - and talks about the products and services you offer in an accessible and contextual way.

Matt Cutts from Google said that Google rewards sites who provide helpful content and guided content. This doesn't mean an essay. It means write for a human about what it is you do, or offer - and ensure you use the keyword research to 'ask a question' with a H2 heading - and answer it underneath using body copy.

In our example, the heading might be 'What are the best laptops in the UK?' and underneath we might write a few paragraphs about what we think the answers is that provides a valuable insight to users who have come to read this content.

Competition and non-branded keyword tip Sometimes when you’re analysing a competitor, it’s important to exclude their branded keywords from the list of keywords that they currently rank for. This will then give you a clean list of non-branded keywords that will give you more traffic, albeit with more competition out there.

Ranking for long-tail keywords

Always ensure that you try to rank for some long-tail phrases too - they might have lower search volumes, but for those people who have searched for a particular bit of advice or information - you will capture all the clicks if you own the answer in the SERPS.