Search Engine Land reported that Google revised its Branded Searches documentation, introducing a shift in how the conversion type flags brand-name lookups that follow a YouTube or Demand Gen ad impression. The default attribution window now runs seven days, down from the thirty-day view-through period described when the metric launched in 2025. Advertisers can still widen or narrow that window, choosing any span between one and thirty days.
The campaign eligibility list also changed. Performance Max was part of the original 2025 announcement; it is missing from Google’s current guidance, leaving Demand Gen and YouTube among the supported types. Google now files Branded Searches under its Consideration goal category.
The metric remains reporting only. It still functions as a primary conversion signal inside the Results and All Conversions columns, but advertisers cannot bid to it directly, and brand mapping still has to be configured before the numbers will register.
A shorter window compresses the same branded search activity into fewer days, so month-over-month comparisons of this metric will show a decline that reflects the new definition, not weaker campaign performance.
Search Engine Land’s Anu Adegbola reported the documentation update on August 18, 2026.
