---
title: "Imperial College London vs UCL: Which is more popular by branded search?"
description: "Which is more popular in search, Imperial College London or UCL? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Globally sought UK universities set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/imperial-college-london-vs-ucl"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Imperial College London vs UCL: Which is more popular by branded search?

Which is more popular in search, Imperial College London or UCL? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Globally sought UK universities set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Compared**: Imperial College London and UCL
- **Competitive set**: Globally sought UK universities
- **Market**: Global
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Imperial College London Share of Search**: 0.91%
- **UCL Share of Search**: 6.8%

## Which is more popular in search, Imperial College London or UCL?

- In August 2026, UCL had more branded searches than Imperial College London among globally sought UK universities worldwide. UCL was estimated to have 101K branded searches compared to Imperial College London’s 13.5K, and held a 6.8% Share of Search versus Imperial College London’s 0.91%.
- UCL was ahead of Imperial College London in every measured month of the 11 months ending August 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Imperial College London’s estimated Share of Search among globally sought UK universities worldwide moved from 0.74% to 0.91%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 12.8K to 13.5K.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, UCL’s estimated Share of Search among globally sought UK universities worldwide moved from 5.8% to 6.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 101K.

## How did search popularity change for globally sought UK universities worldwide in August 2026?

- In August 2026, UCL gained estimated Share of Search among globally sought UK universities worldwide, from 6.3% to 6.8%.

## Month by month

| Month | Imperial College London estimated searches | Imperial College London Share of Search | Imperial College London rank | UCL estimated searches | UCL Share of Search | UCL rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | 12.8K | 0.74% | 9 | 101K | 5.8% | 8 |
| Nov 2025 | 11K | 0.73% | 10 | 82.6K | 5.5% | 8 |
| Dec 2025 | 12.3K | 1% | 9 | 73.6K | 6% | 8 |
| Jan 2026 | 12.8K | 0.88% | 9 | 90K | 6.2% | 8 |
| Feb 2026 | 11K | 0.82% | 9 | 82.6K | 6.2% | 8 |
| Mar 2026 | 13.5K | 0.97% | 9 | 101K | 7.2% | 8 |
| Apr 2026 | 11K | 0.82% | 9 | 101K | 7.5% | 7 |
| May 2026 | 11K | 0.79% | 9 | 101K | 7.3% | 7 |
| Jun 2026 | 12.8K | 0.93% | 9 | 82.6K | 6% | 8 |
| Jul 2026 | 11K | 0.83% | 9 | 82.6K | 6.3% | 8 |
| Aug 2026 | 13.5K | 0.91% | 9 | 101K | 6.8% | 8 |
| Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## How each brand is measured

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Imperial College London’s and UCL’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

- **Imperial College London**: Measured on the search terms “imperial college london”, “imperial london” and “imperial university”, summed into one figure.
- **UCL**: Measured on the search terms “ucl london”, “ucl university” and “university college london”, summed into one figure.

- [Imperial College London profile](/demand/global-en/brands/imperial-college-london)
- [UCL profile](/demand/global-en/brands/ucl)
- [All globally sought UK universities worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/globally-sought-uk-universities): The set both shares are measured inside, 10 brands.

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which is more popular in search, Imperial College London or UCL?

In August 2026, UCL had more branded searches than Imperial College London among globally sought UK universities worldwide. UCL was estimated to have 101K branded searches compared to Imperial College London’s 13.5K, and held a 6.8% Share of Search versus Imperial College London’s 0.91%.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Imperial College London vs UCL: Which is more popular by branded search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/imperial-college-london-vs-ucl

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/imperial-college-london-vs-ucl. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.