Branded searches are growing but non-brand is flat. Is that bad?

Both, depending on what you want from search.

Growth in branded searches means more people know your name. That usually comes from outside SEO: word of mouth, ads, PR, social posts, events, and plain repeat business. It is a healthy sign for the business, and it converts well because those people already want you.

Flat non-brand searches mean you are not reaching new people who do not know you yet. Non-brand search is how a stranger finds you. If it stays flat while branded grows, your total traffic can look fine while your pipeline of new customers is stuck.

How to separate them

In Search Console, open the Performance report, add a query filter, choose a custom regex, and enter your brand name and its common misspellings, separated by a pipe. Run the report with the filter set to match and again set to exclude. Compare clicks, impressions, and average position for each.

What to check in the non-brand data

1. Which pages and queries bring non-brand clicks, and are they the ones that matter to the business?
2. Are you ranking on page 2 for valuable searches? These are your nearest wins.
3. Are there topics your customers ask about that you have no page for?
4. Are AI answers or map results taking clicks on those queries?

What to report

Show the 2 lines side by side, with a note on where the branded growth came from. If you ran a campaign, say so. Otherwise credit is easy to misplace.

Branded growth does not need fixing. Non-brand growth is a separate goal that needs its own plan, with its own pages and its own measures.