Consumers often search for a company’s name on Google when considering a purchase. Brand research is crucial for almost every business.
Brand name queries may include other keywords, such as “reviews” or “discount codes.” Most involve commercial intent – an opportunity to convert a searcher into a buyer.
If Google’s generative search experience becomes public, converting these purchase journeys will likely be more difficult, because the AI-generated snapshots are personalized and may include responses to a searcher’s past queries, not necessarily the brand.
The image below is an AI-generated response to the query “Halloween spirits reviews.” The snapshot states: “Reviews for Spirit Halloween are generally negative. » Few consumers are likely to buy this brand if they read about it.
![SERPs for "opinions on the spirit of Halloween" SERPs for "opinions on the spirit of Halloween"](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-spirit-halloween-reviews-570x346.jpg)
Brand searches can produce negative results, like this example for “Halloween spirit.” Click on the image to enlarge.
Controlling branded search results, especially in Google’s autocomplete suggestions, is essential for the next AI-driven search.
Here’s how.
Branded subreddit
Reddit threads are increasingly appearing in search results, often in higher rankings. Google’s “Discussions and Forums” section is primarily Reddit. Here’s an example of Reddit’s dialog box ranking for “Halloween spirit reviews” in this section and immediately below in an organic listing.
![SERPs for "opinions on the spirit of Halloween" displaying Reddit lists SERPs for "opinions on the spirit of Halloween" displaying Reddit lists](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2-spirit-halloween-reddit-570x512.jpg)
Reddit threads are increasingly showing up in search results, like this example of “Halloween spirit reviews.” Click on the image to enlarge.
“Reddit” itself is a popular query, indicating that searchers enjoy discussions about a product or brand on that forum. So, a good way to control brand queries is to create a Subreddit for your business and use it for customer support and community building.
Comcast has two subreddits, ranked 1 and 2 on Google for “comcast reddit”.
![SERPs for "comcast reddit" SERPs for "comcast reddit"](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/4-comcast-reddit-SERPs-570x420.jpg)
A search for “comcast reddit” produces two Subreddits ranked 1 and 2. Click on the image to enlarge.
This also appears in the SGE brand response.
![SERPS EMS for "comcast reddit' SERPS EMS for "comcast reddit'](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/5-SGE-comcast-reddit-570x325.jpg)
An SGE query for “comcast reddit” also displays the company’s Subreddits. Click on the image to enlarge.
And a query for “comcast” displays “comcast reddit” in the autocomplete suggestions. By maintaining its own subreddits, Comcast helps control organic top positions for its name search, SGE answers, and autocomplete suggestions.
![Automatic suggestions for query "comcast" Automatic suggestions for query "comcast"](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3-comcast-reddit-e1704374005824-570x497.jpg)
Searching for “comcast” on Google produces an autocomplete suggestion “comcast reddit”. Click on the image to enlarge.
Database
Google organic results encourage searchers to ask (more) questions. “People also ask” boxes in brand queries often prompt searchers to explore the company further. EMS snapshots include “Ask to follow up” questions that frequently correlate with “People also ask.”
![SERP EMS for "halloween spirit sale" SERP EMS for "halloween spirit sale"](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/6-spirit-halloween-knowledge-base-570x527.jpg)
EMS snapshots include “Ask to follow up” questions that frequently correlate with “People also ask.” Click on the image to enlarge.
Answering all the questions in the “People also ask” boxes is crucial to attracting these searchers to your site.
Also requested is a handy tool for collecting questions in the “People Also Ask” boxes. However, for vital brand queries, search manually and interact directly with the questions. The “People also ask” boxes are dynamic: clicking on the results produces more questions. No single tool can generate all the queries for your business.
A Q&A knowledge base section on your site can answer many of these questions. Some could be combined into a single answer on a page. Others require unique responses. Regardless, link all questions and answers so that pages rank well in branded queries.
Many brands have launched impressive knowledge bases using various platforms.
YouTube Playlists
YouTube is a surefire traffic and conversion generator. It also ranks well in organic search and can produce listings for branded queries.
To generate branded search results from YouTube, turn user-generated content into videos. Start by inviting customers to submit unboxing and how-to videos of your products. Separately, create YouTube alerts for new videos mentioning your business or products.
Then, curate these videos through YouTube playlists titled with top brand queries (e.g. “Halloween spirit reviews”). Videos in playlists will link together, helping to rank in organic search.
Videos rank high in Google search results. Brand-focused videos can drive traffic and conversions.
![SERPs for "halloween spirit reviews" displaying video lists SERPs for "halloween spirit reviews" displaying video lists](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/7-spirit-halloween-videos-e1704373946111-570x487.jpg)
Googling “Halloween spirit reviews” produces YouTube videos. Click on the image to enlarge.