How to Measure Brand Awareness [Methods and Metrics]
Unlock the key to success with this guide on how to measure brand awareness. Build an effective strategy and start tracking impressions, reach, and more.
POST UPDATED:
February 23, 2025
Do you want to know how to measure brand awareness efforts? Would you like to know if your investment in awareness marketing campaigns is actually paying off?
There are several ways to track and assess brand awareness, but figuring out which ones are essential for your marketing goals isn't easy. Even if you use analytics, you must be able to interpret the data in a meaningful way. Otherwise, you won’t be able to make adjustments that will move the needle.
Measuring brand awareness isn’t impossible. It takes a combination of metrics and tools that will give you a clear picture of consumer perception. Some examples of these metrics are:
- Impressions
- Reach
- Social media engagement
- Web traffic
In this post, we'll explore how to measure brand awareness. We'll also look at strategies you can use to improve brand recall and increase market share.
The challenges of measuring brand awareness
Measuring brand awareness is not as simple as counting clicks or tracking conversions. Awareness is a complex ecosystem of factors influencing how the target market perceives your company.
The customer journey isn’t linear. In fact, consumers may interact with your brand many times and in many ways before becoming a paying customer.
Then there’s attribution. How do you know which touchpoint influenced the customer’s decision to buy? Was it the ad they saw on Facebook or the product review they read on Amazon? It’s tough to say for sure.
There is also the intangible nature of awareness. It’s a feeling, an emotion, a perception. How do you measure that? It’s not as simple as measuring the open rates for an email campaign.
But that doesn’t mean we should give up altogether. There are reliable ways to understand how the target audience sees your brand. Surveys, focus groups, and social media performance are examples. All these provide valuable insights into consumer sentiment and their degree of recall.
The key to measuring brand awareness is to look at the bigger picture. You must understand how every touchpoint works to create a cohesive experience.
How do you know if your brand awareness measurement is accurate?
To ensure accuracy, compare multiple data sources, such as surveys, content marketing metrics, and web analytics. Consistency across these sources typically signifies reliable measurement. Divergence suggests a need to reassess your data collection or analysis methods.
How to measure brand awareness: Methods
There are several ways to measure brand awareness. Surveys, social media metrics, and website analytics are examples. Each of these provides unique insight into how consumers interact with your brand.
Tracking awareness over time lets you assess the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Then, you can use the data to adjust your strategy as needed.
In the following sections, we’ll explore the methods used for measuring awareness and share some practical tips for improving your strategy.
How to measure brand awareness: Web traffic
Website traffic is an effective way to measure brand awareness. These metrics enable us to learn how visitors use search engines to find your website and what they do once they arrive on the page.
Google Analytics and Google Search Console are some of the best website traffic tools. Google, the world's largest search engine, collects the most data. Their proprietary reporting platforms break down site traffic by source. But, sometimes, Google Analytics doesn’t show the source (i.e., “not provided”). When this happens, reviewing organic search queries becomes more complicated. Despite this, website traffic metrics can still give you a broad sense of where you stand. This method works even better if you have a large volume of search engine traffic.
Direct website traffic
Direct traffic refers to users who input your website URL into the browser (or use a bookmark) to visit your site. An increase in direct traffic could mean your presence is growing. To know for sure, you can use Google Analytics to track direct traffic levels. Examples of these metrics are unique page views and direct blog referral sources.
Referral traffic
Referral traffic refers to the visitors who come to your website without searching. These users find your website links on other sites, such as social media platforms. You can track this traffic using UTM codes to determine the exact source of the referral.
Backlinks are a common source of referral traffic. These are links to your site from other websites and are a source of organic traffic.
How to measure brand awareness by monitoring your online presence
You can track awareness by monitoring each aspect of your marketing strategy. In this section, we’ll look at some of the most common marketing channels used.
Social media platforms
Social media marketing is the most popular channel for brand awareness campaigns. Most companies use follower count to track their success on social platforms. As your follower base grows, so does your brand’s reach. But the number of people who follow you is just a superficial metric. You should also monitor social media engagement, such as likes, shares, and comments. To increase engagement, create useful and diverse content that will appeal to your audience.
Comments and engagement can help expand your social media reach. Include content encouraging your followers to engage with your brand, such as thought-provoking questions or light-hearted content.
Online visibility
Online visibility is a key factor in attracting potential customers because companies with higher visibility appear more often across digital channels.
Having a website is not enough to ensure online visibility. It must be accessible to your target audience, no matter where they are. Geographic boundaries no longer limit business transactions. Most consumers research brands before buying. Brands with higher visibility offering more product information are more likely to attract customers online.
You can also gather more reviews by getting visitors to your website and social media pages. These can help you improve your customer service process and brand reputation.
Check reviews
Allowing customers to post reviews on your website can have a positive impact on awareness and sales. One study found that up to 84% of consumers place as much trust in online reviews as they do in personal recommendations.
Customers who read positive reviews about your business are more likely to buy. Giving shoppers an opportunity to review your company and products gives them more confidence in it.
Organic search rankings
Organic traffic isn’t driven by paid advertising efforts. Instead, it comes from a collection of web pages that get indexed in search results. Your rankings on search engines show how well-known your brand is to consumers.
Most online experiences (68 percent) start on a search engine. So, companies must appear in search engine results to gain recognition with consumers.
You can measure brand awareness using organic search traffic metrics. The best way to do this is to compare organic versus paid search traffic. A higher percentage of organic search traffic means better awareness.
Backlink profile
Backlinks are links to your website from other domains. You can track backlinks using an SEO tool. There is a correlation between the number of backlinks and the level of awareness.
Brands with a strong presence receive backlinks from industry publications, such as links from industry blogs reveal which audience types are interested most.
Use a backlink checker tool, such as the one from Ahrefs, to track backlink growth month over month. Note the number of backlinks, their quality, and if they are dofollow or nofollow links. Also, make sure the site linking out to you relates to your industry.
The debate between follow and nofollow backlinks for brand awareness is nuanced. Here's a breakdown of why both are important:
Dofollow backlinks
Dofollow links pass "link juice" or authority to your website, potentially improving your search engine rankings. Higher rankings can increase visibility and brand awareness. People may click on dofollow links from other websites, leading directly to yours. This introduces your brand to a new audience.
Nofollow backlinks
Even though nofollow links don't directly impact SEO, they can still drive referral traffic if people find the content valuable and click through. Mentions on relevant authoritative sites, even with nofollow links, expose your brand to a wider audience, potentially increasing recognition over time.
A healthy link profile looks suspicious to search engines if it consists solely of dofollow links. Nofollow links add diversity and make your profile appear more natural.
The best strategy: A balanced approach
For optimal brand awareness, aim for a mix of both dofollow and nofollow backlinks:
- Prioritize quality: Focus on getting backlinks, regardless of follow status, from reputable and relevant websites within your industry.
- Earn dofollow links naturally: Create high-quality content that other websites want to link to organically. This often results in earning dofollow links.
- Don't dismiss nofollow opportunities: If a well-respected site offers a backlink opportunity, but it's nofollow, it can still be valuable for awareness.
Search trends data
Google Trends is an effective tool for gauging brand awareness. Enter your brand name to see how popular it is in searches and to make competitor comparisons. The tool offers regional data, showing where it is more recognized, and helps identify seasonal patterns in interest.
Google Trends also shows related queries, offering further insights into customer interests and associations. However, it’s important to note that Google Trends reflects relative popularity rather than exact search numbers or awareness levels.
Brand awareness surveys
Surveys are another way for businesses to gauge consumer sentiment. These online surveys target a group beyond a brand’s current customer base. Companies can define groups by geography, products, services, or other factors.
For instance, a wine brand might survey an audience group based on their age or preference for red or white wine. Meanwhile, a local brewery might survey beer drinkers in a particular geographic area. It’s crucial to survey the right target group to get accurate results.
Conversion rate tracking
Awareness is often the first step in the path to conversion. To figure out how effective your marketing efforts are, you need to track conversions. Then, you can analyze the data to determine how your awareness level influences sales. Conversion tracking tracks website actions and identifies their nature (i.e., sales, form submissions, newsletter sign-ups).
Conversion tracking also shows which channels and campaigns are driving the most conversions. These insights allow you to adjust and optimize your strategy.
How to measure brand awareness using KPIs
Now, let’s review all the brand awareness key performance indicators (KPIs) you should track.
Brand mentions on Google Trends
When using Google Trends, there are several Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) you can focus on:
Search volume trends.: This KPI tracks the volume of searches for your brand. The higher, the better.
Geographic popularity: This KPI shows the regions or cities where your brand is more frequently searched.
Comparative interest: By comparing your brand's search interest with industry benchmarks, you can gauge its market awareness.
Related topics and queries: This KPI involves monitoring related topics and queries that appear with your brand. It can provide insights into how people discover your company or what other interests they might have about it.
Time-based analysis: Analyzing how search interest varies during different times of the year can help identify seasonal trends or the effects of specific marketing campaigns.
Remember, these KPIs provide relative—not absolute—insights. They are more about understanding trends, shifts, and comparative interest than exact figures.
Branded search volume
When using branded search volume to measure brand awareness, track the following KPIs:
Total search volume: This represents the number of times your brand name gets searched for in search engines. An increase in the overall site traffic indicates growing awareness.
Search volume over time: Look at how your search volume changes over time—weekly, monthly, or yearly. This can show whether awareness is increasing, decreasing, or staying the same.
Geographical distribution: Track where the searches for your brand are coming from.
Search volume in relation to campaigns: Measure how search volume changes in response to your marketing campaigns. A spike in searches after a campaign can suggest its effectiveness in increasing awareness.
Comparison with competitors: Compare the search volume to your competitors' volume to understand your brand’s position in the market.
Share of Voice
Share of Voice (SoV) measures your brand’s visibility compared to competitors.
Focus on:
Social media mentions: Track how often your brand is mentioned across social media platforms compared to competitors. This includes posts, comments, and hashtags.
Online media coverage: Gauge how much online and digital media attention you get compared to others. This includes news articles, blogs, and online publications.
Advertising share: If applicable, measure the proportion of advertising efforts (such as online ads, TV, and radio) in your market segment.
Customer reviews and ratings: Track the volume and quality of customer reviews and ratings on various platforms.
Engagement rates: See how much interaction (likes, shares, comments) your brand’s content receives relative to competitors. Collectively, these KPIs provide a comprehensive view of your brand’s market presence and consumer mindshare, which is crucial for understanding overall brand awareness.
Organic traffic growth
When using organic website traffic growth, review these analytics:
Share of impressions: The percentage of total views or exposures your brand's advertisements or content receive within a specific channel or market, compared to the total impressions of all brands in that space. It's a key metric for gauging brand awareness, as it helps determine how visible and prevalent your brand is among competitors in the same marketplace. A higher share of impressions indicates greater visibility, suggesting that more people are seeing your brand's message, which can lead to increased brand awareness and potentially a larger market share.
User engagement: This includes metrics like engagement rate, time spent on the site, and the number of engaged sessions per user. High engagement rates and longer session durations suggest users find your content relevant and interesting.
New users: The number of new users who visit your site through organic search. An increase in new users can mean you are reaching a broader audience.
User retention: This shows how many users return to your site after their first visit. High retention rates can indicate the company has made a positive impression, prompting users to return.
Social listening
Tracking these KPIs using social listening tools allows you to get a clear picture of awareness on various social platforms:
Mention volume: The number of times people mention your company on social media. Tracking this helps you understand how many people are talking about your brand.
Sentiment analysis: This involves evaluating whether mentions of your brand are positive, negative, or neutral. Positive sentiment is a sign of a good reputation.
Influencer mentions: Track mentions from influencers or critical industry figures.
Hashtag performance: If you use specific hashtags for your content or campaigns, monitor their use frequency.
Engagement rate: Social shares, comments, and other interactions with your brand’s social media content. Higher engagement rates suggest higher interest and awareness.
Reach and Impressions: Reach is the number of unique users who see your content, while impressions are the total number of times your content is displayed.
How to measure brand awareness in offline channels
While digital platforms provide detailed analytics for tracking brand awareness, it's crucial not to ignore offline channels. Traditional methods still play a vital role in understanding how your brand is perceived outside the digital realm.
One way to gauge offline brand awareness is through surveys conducted in person or by phone to collect firsthand feedback on how well people recognize and feel about your brand. This can focus on particular demographics or geographic areas important to your business. Additionally, organizing focus groups can offer deeper insights into your brand's perception, the effectiveness of your messaging, and how your brand stands out against competitors.
Another approach is tracking your brand's mentions in traditional media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. Using media monitoring services can help you analyze these mentions and understand your brand's visibility and reputation in offline channels. For businesses with physical storefronts, analyzing point-of-sale data can reveal the impact of marketing efforts, product placements, and sales performance, providing indirect evidence of your brand’s offline awareness.
Participating in events or sponsorships can yield valuable metrics like attendance rates, leads generated, and audience feedback, offering a glimpse into the brand visibility achieved through these activities. However, measuring brand awareness in offline channels comes with challenges and may not be as precise as digital tracking. These methods should be viewed as qualitative additions to a comprehensive brand awareness strategy that blends offline insights and digital metrics to fully grasp your brand's overall impact.
Brand tracking software
Tracking brand awareness metrics can be cumbersome. Fortunately, there are tools to help you do the job. These applications provide insights into your brand’s health metrics, which enable you to assess reputation, mentions, and even data on your competitors.
Brandwatch, Brand24, and Qualtrics are examples of tracking software. You can take steps to improve visibility and reach with the information they provide.
Predictive analytics and brand awareness
Traditional methods of measuring brand awareness typically focus on assessing the current state, offering a limited perspective. Predictive analytics changes this by using historical data, trends, and machine learning to forecast future brand awareness. This approach analyses a wide array of data, including social media activity, search trends, and customer behavior, to predict changes in consumer perceptions, the effectiveness of marketing campaigns before they launch, and competitor strategies.
The main advantage of predictive analytics is its ability to shift brand awareness management from reactive to proactive. It enables marketers to allocate resources more efficiently, refine messaging based on anticipated changes in audience sentiment, and seize opportunities or mitigate threats ahead of competitors.
When looking into AI-powered brand tracking tools that use predictive analytics, it's crucial to consider the variety of data sources, how easy the tools are to use, and their compatibility with existing marketing technologies. However, it's important to note that predictive analytics should complement, not replace, other brand awareness metrics to form a comprehensive strategy.
How to measure brand awareness and avoid inaccuracies
Here are a few tips to help you maintain accurate tracking:
First, avoid being too general. To get a reliable measurement, examine all factors, not solely the obvious ones.
I’ll use an example to illustrate. A student lender may discover they are underperforming in the financial services category. But this doesn’t help them improve because they need more context. The company isn’t competing against all financial services, only student lenders. It would be helpful to examine direct competitors in more detail. Likewise, comparisons with indirect competitors (i.e., substitutes) may also be valuable.
A SWOT analysis can help companies discover the factors affecting their business. Then, they can set metrics that are aligned with their business type.
Organizations also overlook aspects that could slant the results of an awareness study. For example, within a large demographic audience, there are smaller subsegments. Breaking down the larger audience into smaller groups might yield more accurate results.
Finally, beware of biases and assumptions. To avoid both, use several sources to measure brand awareness. Examples are surveys and interviews. Combine these with existing data to ensure you get a broad view.
How to measure brand awareness with an audit
There are many ways to build awareness, but a brand audit is by far the most effective method. An audit helps you understand your business’s strengths and weaknesses. It also shows you what you must do to beat the competition.
Working with The Brand Auditors, you can develop a better awareness strategy. Your business will be more competitive and attractive to customers.
Ready to learn more? Click on the button below to schedule a free consultation with a strategist.
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