Why the split matters in iGaming
Branded searches usually reflect marketing outside search: TV, sponsorship, affiliates, word of mouth. Non-branded searches ("online slots", "sports betting app") show whether your pages win new demand. If you report them together, a strong brand campaign can hide falling organic performance, or the reverse.
What Search Console now offers
Google introduced a branded queries filter in November 2025. Its help pages say the filter "allows you to easily separate data based on whether or not the search term included your brand name", that it "provides a 16-month history of data, starting from when it was first introduced in March 2025", and that it "isn't available for sites with a low number of impressions" or for sub-properties. Google is direct about accuracy: "Query classification is powered by AI and may mislabel branded and non-branded queries." The classification does not affect ranking.
Use the filter as a check, not as your only definition. You cannot see or edit its rules, so you cannot reproduce it outside Search Console.
Build a brand-term list
- Official names: the brand, the legal entity if people search for it, and product names (for example "BrandName Casino", "BrandName Sportsbook").
- Variants: spacing ("brand name", "brandname"), common misspellings, and local spellings.
- Navigational modifiers only when paired with the brand: "login", "app", "promo code".
- Exclusions: generic words that happen to be in your brand. If your brand is a common word, add rules that require a second brand signal.
Store the list with a version number and a date. Every report should name the version it used.
Turn it into a regex you can audit
Search Console's regex filter uses RE2 syntax; Google says the "default matching is a 'partial match'" and is "not case-sensitive". An example for a fictional brand called Spinvale:
spin\s?vale|spinvail|spinvale\s?(casino|bet|sportsbook|app|login)Apply it with "Custom (regex)" and "Matches regex" for branded queries, and "Doesn't match regex" for non-branded. Keep the pattern in your method notes. RE2 does not support lookaheads, so express exclusions as a second filter rather than inside the pattern.
Review ambiguous queries by hand
Export the top branded and non-branded queries and read them. Typical problems in casino data:
- Brand names that are also game or sports terms.
- Competitor comparisons ("brand A vs brand B"), which contain your brand but signal shopping intent. Decide a rule and apply it consistently.
- Affiliate review queries ("brand review", "is brand legit"). These are branded, but the click often goes to an affiliate, not to you.
Compare your rules with Google's filter
| Google: branded | Google: non-branded | |
|---|---|---|
| Your regex: branded | 9,400 clicks | 300 clicks |
| Your regex: non-branded | 650 clicks | 4,100 clicks |
Here the two methods agree on 13,500 of 14,450 clicks (93%). Read the 950 disagreeing clicks' queries, update your list where Google is right, and note where you deliberately differ.
Report both, separately
- Lead with non-branded clicks and impressions for SEO performance.
- Show branded demand as context for other marketing.
- State the method: brand-list version, regex, and whether you cross-checked with Google's filter.
- In share-of-voice work, calculate competitive share on non-branded keywords.
Questions
Can I rely only on Search Console's branded filter?
It is a useful cross-check, but Google says its AI classification can mislabel queries, its rules are not visible, and it is unavailable for low-impression sites and sub-properties. Keep your own documented rule as the primary definition.
Is a query like "brand promo code" branded?
Yes, by most definitions, because it contains the brand. Track it as its own navigational group, since affiliates often compete for these queries.
Why does RE2 matter?
Search Console uses RE2, which lacks some features of other regex engines, such as lookaheads. A pattern copied from another tool may fail or match differently.
Sources
- Search Console Help: Performance report, dimensions and data groupings (branded filter) no date shown
- Search Console Help: Insights report no date shown
- Google Search Central Blog: Introducing the branded queries filter in Search Console November 2025
- Search Console Help: Advanced filtering and comparison (regex) no date shown
- RE2 syntax reference checked October 26, 2026
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