"People Search for My Brand Name. Of Course I Rank."
You'd think so.
But search "[your brand] login" or "[your brand] pricing" and you might be surprised what shows up.
Competitor ads. Affiliate sites. Review pages. Third-party login portals.
If you're not actively optimising for navigational queries, you're leaking traffic.
What Are Navigational Keywords?
Keywords where the searcher wants to go to a specific website or page.
"Gmail login." "Shopify dashboard." "Nike official store."
They know where they want to go. They're using Google as a URL bar.
Why You Should Care
Two reasons:
1. Competitors buy ads on your brand name. Search your own brand. See anyone else's ad above your organic result? That's traffic theft. Legal, but annoying.
2. Third parties can outrank you. If someone searches "[your brand] reviews" and a review site ranks #1, that's a third party controlling your narrative.
How to Own Your Navigational Keywords
Claim your brand SERP. Make sure you have pages optimised for:
Yes, even "alternatives." Create your own comparison page. Control the narrative. This is part of a strong overall on-page SEO strategy.
Set up Google Business Profile. Even for SaaS. It dominates the right side of the SERP.
Keep title tags tight. "[Brand] - [Page purpose]" format. Schema markup can also help Google display richer brand results.
Don't Overthink It
Navigational keyword optimisation takes an afternoon. But it protects your brand traffic forever.
Check it off with SEO Checkup. 113 tasks. Free. No credit card. 30 seconds.