Direct Search, Indirect Search and Branded Search in Google Metrics

Direct Search

Direct searches happen when a user is looking for a specific business.

E.g., A customer would like to contact a hair salon, Drew James Salons. The keywords used would be the name of the business.

Indirect Search

Indirect searches happen when a user is looking for a product, service or category that is offered by a certain business.

E.g., If the user would be looking for a hair salon in her area, the keyword would be aveda hair salon and the results could display Drew James Salons amongst others.

Branded Search

A customer searches for a brand related to a business. They relate specifically to brand names that are not the same as the location’s business name. 

E.g., the customer searched for Hair Cuttery and as a result Drew James Salons appears as a recommended result in Google.