Google Launches New Branded Searches Metric to Track Upper Funnel Impact
Google has introduced a new way for advertisers to measure the brand impact of their campaigns with a conversion metric called Branded Searches. This update allows marketers to see how many users search for their brand on Google or YouTube within 30 days of seeing an ad.
Previously, tracking upper funnel engagement like brand awareness was difficult to quantify. With this new metric, advertisers now have a clearer view of how ads drive branded interest and search behaviour, even if users do not click straight away.
Branded Searches are currently supported across the following campaign types:
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YouTube
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Performance Max (YouTube, Discover, Gmail)
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Demand Gen (YouTube, Discover Feed, Gmail)
Google will attribute branded searches to any ad views that happen within a 30 day window. While optimisation features are not yet available, Google has suggested that they could be added in the future.
To use Branded Searches effectively, advertisers must ensure brand mapping is correctly configured in their Google Ads account.
One of our PPC experts, Fin, had this to say:
"This is a really exciting move from Google. For marketers running awareness campaigns for clients (like us at Honchō 😉), it finally gives us tangible data to work with. We can now see exactly how those campaigns are driving branded search activity, which means we can make smarter tweaks and optimisations to boost results even further. When it comes to awareness, this is a total game changer."
This new metric offers a valuable link between upper funnel activity and measurable interest, helping brands better understand the full impact of their advertising.