How to measure brand awareness
To know how your brand is doing in terms of getting more or less know. Or the initiative you are working on, there are a few quick ways to find out without involving an agency or undergoing a big research project.
View these methods as a preview of if your brand are increasing or decreasing in awareness. A first step in an investigation that will give you an indication in terms of what to do next.
Google Trends
Google Trends is an excellent research tool to get an indication how brand awarness initatives have performed. Match this with events, PR work, product launches and exlplore the effect these have had on search volume relating to your brand and vertical.
Let’s use Elegantly Vegan as an example:
As you can see there are a few spikes in this graph in terms of search volume. (For you who don’t know Elegantly Vegan is my side project where I write about vegan food and lifestyle). These spikes in search volume has do do with press coverage. Every time a magazine, newspaper or a larger website has written about Elegantly Vegan – the search volume goes up. Since there is a specific correlation and its easy for me to remember, the conclusion here is that, there is low awareness of Elegantly Vegan since the blog is not that well known.
Compare this to the topic vegan recipes you can see what the potential and what can be achieved with a little bit (well a lot) more work.
If you view the page you can also see related topics that are rising and more detailed infomation which also heps you in establishing an understanding on how your brand are doing in terms of awarness. (Vegan recipes as an example)
Google Analytics & Google Search Console
If you haven’t already, you need to enable Search Console to get an indication of what keywords people are using to land on your website. Can you see a rise in branded keywords and queries? if so, this is an indication that you are increasing in awareness.
Google AdWords and/or other paid search
The same logic applies to your paid search, does the branded keywords and queries increase in performance? then you are on to something.
Followers in social channels
If followers are increasing and mentions are increasing, you are gaining. If not, you need to work on your brand awareness initiatives.
In terms of mentions – are they positive or negative?
Useful tools
Google Alerts – get notified when your brand or a topic related to a bradn is mentioned online (indexed as search result) to keep on top of what is written and said about you.
Mention – monitor your brand, competitors and industry on teh web and in social channels.
Trackur – if you want insight, but a free trial first, use this.
Klout – “scorecard” to measure influence
Image credit – aka borrowed from: pingler.com