Measure your brand’s true influence: Learn how to track Brand Search Lift effectively.
The Power of Brand Search Lift in Digital Advertising
In today’s digital-first world, understanding how your marketing efforts translate into brand awareness is more important than ever. While traditional metrics such as impressions, click-through rates (CTR), and conversions give valuable insights into your campaigns, they often fail to capture the long-term impact of your advertising on brand recognition and engagement. That’s where Brand Search Lift (BLS) comes in.
Brand Search Lift refers to the increase in the number of branded searches (people searching for your brand by name) after exposure to a specific advertising campaign. It is a key indicator of brand awareness and consideration. In simple terms, BLS measures whether people are becoming curious enough about your brand to look for it online after they’ve seen your ads.
Measuring BLS allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of your digital advertising in driving awareness and engagement, and helps you determine whether your efforts are resulting in sustained consumer interest. This guide will walk you through how to measure Brand Search Lift in digital advertising, the tools and methods you can use, and why it matters for your overall marketing strategy.
Understanding the Components of Brand Search Lift
Before diving into the measurement techniques, it’s essential to understand the basic elements that make up BLS. Brand Search Lift is directly tied to the performance of your campaigns, and its components can be broken down into the following:
- Baseline Search Volume:
This refers to the volume of searches for your brand or branded keywords before your advertising campaign starts. This acts as your benchmark for understanding how much impact your ads have. - Campaign Exposure:
The audience reached through your digital ads, whether through Google Ads, YouTube, social media, or other platforms. The quality and extent of your exposure will affect how many people are likely to search for your brand. - Lift in Search Volume:
After your campaign launches, the number of branded searches that increases as a result. The “lift” is the difference between the post-campaign search volume and the baseline. - Control Group vs. Exposed Group:
Many BLS studies involve comparing two groups—people who have seen your ad (exposed group) and those who haven’t (control group). This comparison helps ensure that any increase in search volume is due to your ads and not external factors.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Measure Brand Search Lift
Measuring BLS can seem complex, but with the right steps and tools, it becomes an insightful and manageable process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to accurately measuring Brand Search Lift for your digital campaigns:
1. Set Your Objectives and Goals
Before launching any digital advertising campaign, it’s crucial to define clear objectives. In the context of Brand Search Lift, your goals might include:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Driving more organic search traffic to your site
- Improving brand consideration among target audiences
- Boosting overall brand visibility in a competitive market
Your goals will guide the way you measure BLS and help you focus on the relevant metrics. For instance, if you aim to improve brand consideration, a higher lift in branded searches post-campaign would be a key indicator of success.
2. Choose the Right Digital Advertising Platforms
Certain platforms are better suited for measuring Brand Search Lift, especially those that provide sophisticated tools for tracking branded search behavior. Some of the most common platforms that can assist with BLS measurement include:
- Google Ads: Google offers a built-in Brand Lift tool that tracks the impact of your ads on branded search queries.
- YouTube Ads: YouTube’s Brand Lift studies include search uplift measurement, allowing you to track how video ads influence branded searches.
- Social Media Ads (Facebook, Instagram): Facebook Ads Manager allows you to track brand metrics, including brand awareness and consideration, which can give insight into search uplift.
- Third-Party Tools: Platforms like Nielsen, Kantar, and some marketing attribution tools also provide detailed Brand Lift studies.
These platforms either offer built-in analytics or allow for custom BLS studies, making it easier to attribute search increases to your campaigns.
3. Establish a Baseline for Branded Searches
To measure the “lift” in branded searches, you need to start by establishing a baseline. This is the average volume of searches for your brand’s keywords before the campaign begins. You can use tools like Google Trends or Google Search Console to track the existing search volume over a defined period, typically 4-6 weeks before the campaign launch.
This baseline acts as a control to ensure that any uplift in branded searches can be attributed to your digital ads rather than normal fluctuations in search traffic.
4. Launch Your Digital Advertising Campaign
Once your baseline is established, you’re ready to launch your advertising campaign. Depending on your chosen platform, this could involve:
- Google Ads: Running search ads, display ads, or video ads on YouTube.
- Social Media Ads: Launching video ads, carousel ads, or targeted posts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
- YouTube Ads: Using skippable and non-skippable ads to reach viewers and encourage search behavior.
Ensure that your campaigns are designed to drive curiosity and brand recall, as these are the key factors that influence BLS. The clearer and more engaging your ad creative, the more likely users are to search for your brand after exposure.
5. Monitor the Campaign and Branded Search Queries
During the campaign, it’s essential to monitor the changes in branded search queries. Here’s how you can track this:
- Google Search Console: Offers insights into search queries, including the specific branded keywords users are searching for. Monitor for an increase in these queries after your campaign launches.
- Google Trends: Provides a broader view of search behavior over time, allowing you to spot upward trends in branded searches.
- Google Ads’ Brand Lift Feature: For those using Google Ads, this tool automates the measurement of BLS and helps you compare your campaign’s exposed group to a control group.
These tools will give you data on how search volume changes throughout the campaign. Remember, BLS often takes time to manifest, so continue monitoring for 2-4 weeks after the campaign concludes to capture the full extent of the lift.
6. Calculate the Lift in Search Volume
Once your campaign has run its course, you can calculate the lift in branded search volume. Here’s the formula you’ll use:
Brand Search Lift=(Searches after campaign)−(Baseline searches)Baseline searches×100\text{Brand Search Lift} = \frac{\text{(Searches after campaign)} – \text{(Baseline searches)}}{\text{Baseline searches}} \times 100
For example, if your baseline search volume was 5,000 searches per week and, after the campaign, your branded search volume increased to 7,000 searches per week, your BLS calculation would look like this:
Brand Search Lift=(7,000−5,000)5,000×100=40%\text{Brand Search Lift} = \frac{(7,000 – 5,000)}{5,000} \times 100 = 40\%
This indicates a 40% increase in branded searches, which reflects a successful impact on brand awareness and consideration.
7. Analyze the Results
Once you’ve measured the search lift, it’s time to analyze the data in relation to your campaign goals. Key questions to consider during analysis include:
- Did the branded search lift meet or exceed your expectations?
- How does the lift compare across different audience segments?
- Which ad formats (video, display, search) contributed most to the lift?
- How does the timing of search uplift align with your campaign exposure periods?
Understanding these insights will allow you to refine future campaigns for even better results and ensure that your marketing dollars are driving significant brand impact.
Best Practices for Maximizing Brand Search Lift
To get the most out of your digital advertising campaigns and improve BLS, follow these best practices:
1. Create Memorable and Engaging Ad Creative
The more memorable your ad, the more likely it is to drive branded search queries. Focus on:
- Strong branding: Ensure your logo, tagline, and brand name are prominent in all ads.
- Compelling storytelling: Ads that tell a story or evoke emotions tend to generate more curiosity, driving users to search for your brand.
- Call-to-action (CTA): Encourage users to search for your brand with clear CTAs like “Learn more” or “Discover [brand name].”
2. Target the Right Audience
The effectiveness of BLS depends on whether your ad reaches the right audience. Use precise targeting to ensure your message reaches consumers who are likely to engage with your brand and search for it afterward. Leverage:
- Demographic targeting: Age, gender, location, and income level filters.
- Interest-based targeting: Users with specific interests aligned with your brand.
- Remarketing: Target users who have previously interacted with your website or ads for better BLS results.
3. Use Multi-Channel Campaigns
Integrated campaigns across multiple platforms (search, video, display, and social media) tend to perform better for BLS. A user may see your ad on one platform and then search for your brand on another. Ensure your branding is consistent across all platforms to reinforce recognition.
4. Leverage Data from Control Groups
When possible, include a control group in your BLS studies to eliminate external factors affecting search volume. Comparing the search behavior of people exposed to your ad vs. those not exposed will give you a clearer picture of how much your campaign influenced brand searches.
Conclusion: Brand Search Lift as a Critical Metric for Advertising Success
Measuring Brand Search Lift (BLS) offers marketers a powerful way to assess the long-term effects of their digital advertising campaigns. Beyond short-term clicks and conversions, BLS reveals how effectively your campaign is driving brand awareness and engagement, providing a clearer view of your brand’s overall growth in the digital space.
By following the steps outlined above, you can accurately measure BLS and apply these insights to improve future advertising strategies. As digital advertising continues to evolve, staying ahead of the curve with BLS measurement will give your brand a competitive edge and help you optimize your marketing investments for maximum impact.
