Content & Brand Queries

To refine the insights provided by Search Goblin's dashboards and AI features, it's crucial to properly configure your content and brand query settings for each connected property. This allows the platform to accurately distinguish between branded and non-branded search traffic, giving you a clearer understanding of your organic performance and brand visibility.

Pro Tip: Properly configured brand queries help Search Goblin's AI provide more accurate insights by understanding which searches are driven by brand awareness versus content discovery.

Understanding Brand vs. Non-Brand Traffic

What is Brand Traffic?

Brand traffic refers to searches that include your brand name, company name, or variations of your brand. This type of traffic typically indicates:

  • Brand Awareness: Users who already know your brand and are searching for it directly
  • High Intent: Users with strong purchase or engagement intent
  • Existing Customers: People looking for your specific products or services
  • Brand Loyalty: Users who prefer your brand over competitors

What is Non-Brand Traffic?

Non-brand traffic consists of searches that don't include your brand name. This traffic represents:

  • Discovery Traffic: Users finding your content through topic-based searches
  • Competitive Opportunities: Potential customers comparing options
  • Content Marketing Success: Organic reach through valuable content
  • Market Expansion: Reaching new audiences beyond your existing customer base

Configuration Settings

Where to Configure

Open Profile › Search Console, click Edit on a property, and configure these essential settings:

Site Context

Purpose:

The site context provides Search Goblin's AI with essential information about your website's focus, industry, and target audience. This context helps the AI generate more relevant and accurate insights.

Best Practices:

  • Be Specific: Instead of "technology company," use "B2B SaaS project management software"
  • Include Industry: Mention your industry or niche (e.g., "e-commerce fashion retailer")
  • Target Audience: Describe your primary audience (e.g., "small business owners")
  • Key Services: List your main products or services

Example Site Context:

Good: "B2B SaaS platform providing project management and team collaboration tools for remote teams and small businesses in the technology sector."

Better: "Cloud-based project management SaaS serving remote teams, startups, and small businesses. Features include task tracking, team collaboration, time tracking, and client management. Target audience: project managers, team leads, and business owners managing distributed teams."

Branded Queries (Regex Pattern)

Purpose:

The branded queries regex pattern helps Search Goblin automatically identify which search queries are brand-related versus content-related. This separation is crucial for accurate performance analysis.

Understanding Regex:

Regex (Regular Expressions) is a powerful pattern-matching language. Here are the key components you'll use:

  • .* - Matches any characters (before and after your brand terms)
  • | - Means "OR" (matches either pattern)
  • () - Groups multiple options together
  • \b - Word boundary (ensures exact word matches)

Common Brand Patterns:

Simple Brand Name:
.*acme.*

Matches: "acme", "acme corp", "acme solutions", "best acme tools"

Multiple Brand Variations:
.*(acme|acme corp|acme-corp|acme solutions).*

Matches: "acme", "acme corp", "acme-corp", "acme solutions", "acme corp tools"

Exact Word Boundaries:
.*\b(acme|acme corp)\b.*

Matches: "acme", "acme corp" but NOT "acme123" or "myacme"

Case Insensitive:
.*(?i)(acme|acme corp).*

Matches: "ACME", "Acme", "acme", "ACME CORP"

Advanced Examples:

E-commerce Store: .*\b(fashionista|fashionista store|fashionista-shop|fashionista.com)\b.*

Captures brand name with common variations and domain

SaaS Company: .*\b(taskflow|task flow|taskflow.io|taskflow app|taskflow software)\b.*

Includes product name variations and common descriptors

Personal Brand: .*\b(john smith|johnsmith|john smith seo|johnsmith.com)\b.*

Captures personal name with and without spaces, plus domain

Testing Your Configuration

How to Test Your Regex Pattern

  1. Use Online Regex Testers:

    Test your pattern using tools like regex101.com or regexr.com before implementing.

  2. Create Test Cases:

    List sample queries you expect to match and not match:

    Should Match:
    • "acme"
    • "acme corp"
    • "acme solutions"
    • "best acme tools"
    Should NOT Match:
    • "project management"
    • "best tools"
    • "software solutions"
    • "acme123" (if using word boundaries)
  3. Monitor Dashboard Results:

    After configuration, check your dashboards to ensure brand vs. non-brand traffic is properly separated.

Impact on Search Goblin Features

Dashboard Analytics

Proper brand query configuration affects:

  • Traffic Segmentation: Clear separation between brand and non-brand performance
  • Trend Analysis: More accurate identification of organic growth vs. brand awareness
  • Keyword Analysis: Better understanding of which keywords drive discovery vs. brand searches
  • Performance Metrics: More meaningful CTR and position data for each traffic type

AI-Powered Insights

Search Goblin's AI uses this configuration to:

  • Generate Accurate Summaries: Provide insights that distinguish between brand awareness and content discovery
  • Identify Opportunities: Highlight non-brand keywords with growth potential
  • Content Recommendations: Suggest content strategies based on non-brand search patterns
  • Competitive Analysis: Better understand your position in non-brand searches

Common Configuration Mistakes

❌ Too Broad Patterns:

Problem: Using .*acme.* when "acme" appears in competitor names

Solution: Use word boundaries: .*\bacme\b.*

❌ Missing Variations:

Problem: Only including exact brand name, missing common variations

Solution: Include all common variations: .*(acme|acme corp|acme-corp).*

❌ Case Sensitivity:

Problem: Pattern only matches exact case

Solution: Use case-insensitive flag: .*(?i)(acme).*

❌ Vague Site Context:

Problem: Generic description like "business website"

Solution: Be specific about industry, audience, and services

Regular Maintenance

When to Update Your Configuration

  • Brand Evolution: When your brand name or positioning changes
  • New Products: When launching new products or services
  • Acquisitions: When acquiring other brands or companies
  • Market Expansion: When entering new markets or industries
  • Performance Issues: When dashboards show unexpected brand/non-brand splits
Success! With proper configuration, Search Goblin will provide more accurate insights, better AI-powered recommendations, and clearer performance analytics that distinguish between brand awareness and content discovery traffic.