How to Track Branded Search from Billboards in Google Search Console
Track what people search after they see your billboard
If you buy billboards, you are paying for people to remember your name. Most of them will not click on anything at the moment. They will search later, usually on their phone, using your business name.
That is why branded search monitoring matters. It helps you see whether your billboards are creating more searches for your company name, service name, or key product name.
This guide shows you how to do it in Google Search Console, even if you are a business owner who has never opened it before. It also shows you how to hold your web team accountable, so this does not become another tool nobody checks.
Google Search Console explained like you are 5 :)
Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool from Google that shows how your website appears in Google Search. It does not show what people do once they are on your site. It shows what happens before that, when people search and Google shows your site.
Think of it like a report card Google gives you about search. It tells you what people typed, how many times Google showed your site, and how many times people clicked.
If Google Analytics tells you what happened on your website, GSC tells you what happened in Google Search that led people to your website.
Google’s own documentation explains the Performance report and what it tracks, including clicks, impressions, and queries. Source
Why branded search is the billboard metric most businesses miss
When a billboard works, people usually do one of these things later:
They search your business name, your business name plus a service, or your domain name. That is branded search.
If you only look at last-click tracking, you can miss the real story. Billboards often show up as “direct” traffic, “organic” traffic, or “branded searches” that spike after the campaign starts.
If you want a deeper read on why direct search trends matter for out-of-home measurement, these two posts pair well with this workflow: Billboard advertising increases direct search traffic and Why direct search traffic is the best way to measure billboard ROI.
Before you start the non-negotiables for access and ownership
1 Make sure your business owns GSC access
This is the first accountability moment. If your website vendor “owns” everything and you do not, you have a risk. Vendors change, people leave, and login credentials get lost.
You want your business to have verified owner access, not just the agency.
Google explains owners, users, and permission levels in Search Console here. Source
2 Ask for these two things in writing
Send this to your web person or agency:
“Please confirm our company has Verified Owner access to Google Search Console for our site. Please add my email as a Verified Owner, and share a screenshot of the Users and permissions screen showing it.”
That single request solves most small-business monitoring problems. It forces ownership, access, and proof.
3 Confirm the right property type
GSC can track a domain property or a URL prefix property. Domain property usually provides the cleanest view because it covers all protocols and subdomains under the domain.
Your web team should know which one they set up. If they do not, that is a warning sign.
What to track for billboards, branded queries, and brand plus service queries
Your goal is to monitor the search behavior that your billboard is most likely to drive. That usually includes:
Your exact brand name, plus common misspellings.
Your brand plus service, like “BrandName plumber” or “BrandName HVAC repair.”
Your domain name, like “brandname.com”.
Your top product or offer name, if you plan to run it on the billboard.
Do not overcomplicate this. Start with 10 to 30 queries you actually expect real humans to type.
Step-by-step branded search monitoring inside GSC
Step 1: Open the Performance report
In GSC, go to the Performance report for Search results. This report is where you will work most of the time. Source
Step 2: Set the date range for your billboard flight
Pick a date range that includes:
Two to four weeks before the billboard starts, the full flight, and at least two to four weeks after.
This matters because billboards elicit delayed responses. People see the message repeatedly, then they search when they need you.
Step 3: Turn on the right metrics
At a minimum, watch:
Clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position.
Impressions often move first for branded queries, because Google shows your site more often when more people search for your name.
Step 4: Filter to queries and add your brand filter
Click the Queries tab, then filter queries that contain your brand name.
If your brand is “Acme Plumbing,” you might filter for “acme” first, then separate out the noise.
Next, repeat the process for brand-plus-service phrases. You can also export the query list and maintain a small “brand query list” to track monthly.
Step 5: Compare before and after
Use the Compare feature in the date picker. Compare a “before” period to your “during” period, or compare the same length windows before and after launch.
When the billboard is working, you often see branded impressions and clicks trend up during the flight. You may also see “brand plus service” queries rise if your message stays consistent and clear.
Step 6: Segment by device
Billboards often drive mobile behavior. People see the board on the road, then search on their phone.
Use the Device filter to compare mobile vs. desktop trends for branded queries. If mobile branded impressions rise while desktop stays flat, that still counts. It matches how people behave in real life.
Step 7: Segment by location when possible
If you run boards in a specific metro, compare performance for that country or region where available. The level of location granularity depends on the property and available data.
Even a broad location filter can help you avoid false conclusions when you also advertise in other markets.
How to tie the billboard launch to the data without guessing
Most business owners do not track campaign dates cleanly. Then, later, they argue about whether the numbers “really changed.” Fix that upfront.
Create a simple campaign timeline document
Record these dates in a shared document:
Board start date, board end date, creative swap dates, offer changes, and any major website changes.
If your web team updates the site, it can also shift search behavior. You want that on the same timeline so you don't blame the billboard for a website change, and vice versa.
Pair GSC with the landing page discipline
Billboards work best when your site makes it easy to take the next step. If you need a refresher on billboard-focused landing pages, read our link to "Maximizing billboard campaigns with landing pages."
How to make sure GSC is actively monitored and not ignored
Most small businesses fail here. They set up the tools, then no one looks. You do not need a huge process. You need a simple habit and a clear owner.
Pick one person responsible for a weekly 10-minute check
This can be you, a marketing manager, or your agency. Just pick one. If it is “everyone,” it becomes “no one.”
That person should check:
Branded query impressions and clicks, top pages for branded traffic, and any sudden drops that could signal a technical issue.
Set a monthly billboard measurement meeting
If you pay for billboards monthly, you should review billboard impact monthly. Keep it short. Use the same 4 screenshots every time:
Branded queries trend, brand plus service queries trend, top pages trend, and mobile vs desktop split.
Ask your web people these accountability questions
1 What branded queries are we tracking? If they cannot list them, they are not monitoring.
2 How often do you check GSC? “When you ask” is not a good answer.
3 What is our biggest branded query trend over the last 90 days? They should be able to answer in plain language.
4 What technical alerts have we had in the last 60 days? GSC messages and issue reports matter, even if you are not doing heavy SEO work.
Common problems that make branded search reporting look wrong
Your billboard flight is too short for the behavior you expect
People often need repetition. If you run a short flight, you may not see a clean change. That does not mean the board failed. This indicates your measurement window is too narrow for the category.
This connects directly to frequency and time-to-results planning. Your existing post on frequency is a good internal reference when discussing expectations with clients: Billboard advertising frequency precedes purchase behavior.
Your brand name is too generic
If your brand name overlaps with common words, query filtering gets messy. In that case, track “brand plus city” or “brand plus service” more heavily. You can also track your domain name query.
You changed the website during the campaign
If the web team changed titles, migrated pages, or changed the domain, your branded performance may shift for reasons unrelated to billboards.
Log every major site change in the same timeline as your billboard flight.
Data timing is not real-time
GSC data usually arrives with a delay. Do not panic if yesterday is missing. Look at trends over weeks, not hours.
How AI and LLMs help you monitor branded search without making stuff up
You can use an LLM to speed up the analysis, but you should not use it to invent conclusions. The trick is to give it clean exports and ask it to summarize what changed.
Use AI for summarizing, not for guessing
A safe workflow looks like this:
Export your branded query table for the time range, then export the same table for the comparison range. Ask the LLM to summarize the differences and identify the top movers.
You should still verify the numbers yourself. AI helps you spot patterns faster, but you stay responsible for the decision.
Prompts that actually help a business owner
Prompt 1
“Summarize the top changes in branded queries between these two date ranges. Use plain English. List the top 10 queries that grew and the top 10 that fell.”
Prompt 2
“Based on this export, did mobile branded search grow faster than desktop? If yes, quantify it and explain what that might mean for a billboard campaign.”
What success looks like and what to do next
For many local businesses, the most practical win is a steady increase in branded impressions, clicks, and brand-plus-service queries during and after billboard flights.
If you see the trend, keep your message consistent, keep your landing pages tight, and keep monitoring monthly.
If you do not see the trend, do not jump straight to “billboards do not work.” First check the basics: flight length, location quality, message clarity, and whether your website makes it easy to convert.
For a broader view of how search is changing and why brand signals matter more, you can also connect this topic to: The impact of Google’s AI Overviews.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Google provides it for free. You only need verified access to your website property to use it.
No. GSC shows search visibility and Google Search clicks. To measure calls, you need call tracking and tight intake processes. GSC still helps because billboards often drive branded searches before a call.
Track your business name, common misspellings, your domain name, and your brand, plus your top services. Start small and expand as you learn what people actually type.
Weekly during an active billboard flight is ideal. Monthly is the minimum if you want real accountability.
That is a problem. Your business should own access to its core digital assets. Request Verified Owner access; if you cannot obtain it, treat it as a risk you need to mitigate.
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