Branded vs non-branded AI queries - which should I prioritize? Seeing different results for each

This gap is very common. Let me explain why it exists and how to think about it.

Why the gap exists:

For branded queries:

AI needs to know what YOU are. You have inherent advantages:

• Your website is the primary source
• Your Wikipedia (if exists)
• Your press coverage

For non-branded queries:

AI needs to recommend within a category. You compete with:

• All alternatives in the category
• Third-party comparison content
• Category publications and reviews

Which to prioritize:

It depends on your growth model:

Your 85%/25% split suggests strong brand but weak category presence. Focus on non-branded.

Non-branded visibility requires different content.

Content types that drive non-branded visibility:

1. Category overviews - “Complete Guide to [Category]”
2. Comparison content - “[Solution A] vs [Solution B]”
3. Best-of lists - “Best [Category] Tools for [Use Case]”
4. Problem-solution - “How to Solve [Problem]”
5. Industry analysis - “[Category] Trends and Insights”

Why this works:

These are the content formats that:

• Match non-branded query patterns
• Demonstrate category expertise
• Get linked/cited by others
• AI references for recommendations

What doesn’t work:

Product pages alone. “Buy our CRM” doesn’t answer “Best CRM software.”

You need content that:

• Addresses the category question
• Includes your solution as part of the answer
• Demonstrates you understand the whole space

Our approach:

We create category content where we’re the obvious recommendation, not sales content where we’re trying to sell.

Competitive analysis perspective.

What your competitors are probably doing better:

For non-branded queries, they likely have:

• More category-level content
• Third-party mentions in comparisons
• Analyst coverage in the category
• More comprehensive topical authority

How to analyze:

1. Run the non-branded queries
2. Note who appears first
3. Find content sources AI might be using
4. Analyze what they have that you don’t

Common gaps we find:

The competitive intelligence:

Am I Cited shows competitor performance on the same queries. Critical for understanding what to build.

B2B SaaS perspective where this is critical.

Our funnel reality:

• Branded queries: Late stage, they already know us
• Non-branded queries: Early stage, discovering options

If we only win branded:

We only appear when people already know us. We miss the discovery phase entirely.

Our non-branded strategy:

1. Category content hub - Comprehensive resource on our category
2. Comparison content - Fair comparisons with competitors
3. Use case guides - “How to [achieve goal]” with our solution
4. Industry research - Original data in our space
5. Expert contributions - Quoted in industry publications

Results after 8 months:

The growth impact:

Demo requests with “discovered through AI” source increased 300%.

Non-branded is where the growth is.

Startup perspective - we’re all non-branded.

Our situation:

Brand awareness is near zero. No one’s searching for us by name.

100% of our AI strategy is non-branded queries.

What works for startups:

1. Niche down hard - Win specific queries, not broad category
2. Comparison content - Position against known alternatives
3. Problem-first content - Answer the problem, include your solution
4. Expert building - Founder as the expert voice

Example:

Instead of trying to win “best project management software” (impossible), we target:

• “best project management for remote agencies”
• “project management for creative teams under 50”
• “how to manage projects without spreadsheets”

Results:

• Broad category: 5% visibility
• Niche queries: 62% visibility
• Qualified traffic from AI referrals

The lesson:

Non-branded doesn’t mean “broad category.” It means “category without your name.” Find the specific non-branded queries you can actually win.

Enterprise perspective - we have the opposite problem.

Our situation:

Strong brand recognition. Strong category presence. But AI wasn’t connecting them.

The gap:

When people asked “What is [our brand]?” - Great response. When people asked “Best [category] for enterprise?” - We were mentioned but not first.

What we discovered:

Our brand content and our category content weren’t connected. AI saw us as a brand but not as a category leader.

The fix:

1. Bridge content - “[Brand] Guide to [Category]” - Connects brand to category
2. Position content - “Why [Brand] is the Enterprise Choice for [Category]”
3. Analyst coverage - Get positioned as category leader, not just a player
4. Competitive content - “[Brand] vs [Competitor]” for category queries

The insight:

You need explicit content connecting your brand TO the category. Don’t assume AI will make that connection.

Data perspective on branded vs non-branded.

What we track:

For 50+ clients, we monitor:

• Branded mention rate
• Non-branded mention rate
• Position for each
• Correlation between them

Findings:

The insight:

High branded + low non-branded (your situation) is the most common. Your brand content works, category content needs work.

Correlation analysis:

Branded and non-branded performance have only moderate correlation (0.35). They’re somewhat independent signals.

Practical implication:

You can improve non-branded without worrying about branded. And you need specific non-branded strategy - branded success won’t spill over automatically.

Great clarity from this discussion. My takeaways:

Key insights:

1. Branded = reputation, non-branded = discovery
2. They require different strategies and content
3. My 85%/25% split is common - strong brand, weak category
4. Non-branded is where growth comes from for most businesses

My strategy:

Priority 1: Non-branded visibility (growth focus)

• Create category-level content
• Build comparison content
• Pursue third-party category mentions
• Target niche non-branded queries first

Priority 2: Maintain branded visibility (don’t neglect)

• Keep “About” content current
• Monitor for any reputation issues
• Continue PR for brand awareness

Content plan:

Tracking:

Use Am I Cited to monitor both query types separately. Different dashboards for each.

Thanks everyone - clear direction now.