In the world of digital branding, SEO and branding are interconnected and go hand in hand. Although most marketers define them as two separate entities, they rely on the same factors: enhancing your SEO efforts will positively impact your branding, and improving your branding efforts will create new SEO opportunities. Therefore, it’s essential to maintain a strong marketing strategy and understand the relationship between SEO and branding. In this blog, ‘3 Powerful Ways SEO Boosts Your Branding Efforts,’ the experts at ExetonDigital delve into the various ways branding and SEO intertwine and how you can successfully implement SEO branding tips.
The Difference Between SEO and Branding
Before diving into the complexities, let’s clarify the concepts of SEO and branding. In simple terms, SEO is a marketing channel, while branding is not. You can use SEO as a powerful tool to attract customers to your website and present your company, business, products, and services. Essentially, SEO introduces your brand image to potential customers. It serves as a method for communicating your brand’s message to your target audience. On the other hand, branding is achieved through various marketing tactics that build and enhance your brand’s identity and presence.
Does Google Prioritize Brands in SERPs?
There has long been speculation about whether brand awareness is a ranking factor for SEO. Google’s ranking factors are determined by various algorithm inputs that dictate how a website appears in search engine results.
Google has never officially confirmed whether having a strong brand is a direct ranking factor. However, it is likely that Google uses various signals closely associated with reputable brands, whether directly or indirectly. Given Google’s commitment to providing users with trustworthy and informative content, it is reasonable to assume that they may prioritize websites with an established and consistent brand image.
How SEO Boosts Your Branding Efforts
Now, let’s talk about how SEO can help with your branding efforts recommended byExetonDigital, the best SEO Company.
Shaping Your Brand
Most business marketers think they have the final say in how their brand is perceived, but they are mistaken. A brand is actually defined by the customers and their experiences with the services.
For example, you could establish a business named ‘Best Pet Food in the World, Inc.’ and make every effort to build a brand known for high-quality dog and cat foods. However, if customers end up loving your cat food and disliking your dog food, your company will be known as ‘Best Cat Food Company, Inc.’
That being said, marketers can shape the perception of a brand and boost it with a smart SEO strategy. Strategic keyword research and publishing quality content will also help your brand. By deciding on the keywords you want to rank for, you create a connection between your brand and specific search queries.
For instance, if you are a company focusing on dental services, you will want to rank for keywords like ‘Best Dental Clinic’ and ‘Top Dental Clinic.’ Avoid ranking for confusing keywords to prevent sending a mixed branding message. If you are looking for SEO professionals to help with your branding efforts, Exeton Digital is here to assist you.
SEO can significantly influence the public perception of your brand.
Giving Visibility to Your Brand
Recent studies have shown that about 80% of users prefer familiar brands when choosing which result to click on from a search page. Users often exhibit bias, opting for a known brand ranked further down the search results over an unfamiliar website ranked at the top. Therefore, brand recognition is crucial for obtaining organic clicks and traffic.
Consider this: if you plan to get a drink from your nearby convenience store, would you choose a homemade version of Coca-Cola or the original brand of Coca-Cola that you immediately recognize? Most of us would go for the brand we trust and are familiar with.
This same principle applies to search engine results and the importance of brand recognition. Regardless of the product, people are more likely to be attracted to a brand they recognize rather than one they have never heard of before. Brand recognition is essential for increasing a website’s trust, authority, customer connection, and conversion rate.
Therefore, you cannot focus on ‘just SEO’ without boosting your brand awareness. Optimizing your website’s content and structure to align with search engine algorithms ensures that your brand ranks higher in search results. This heightened visibility boosts brand credibility, attracts more visitors, and ultimately leads to increased conversions. SEO fosters a strong online identity, making it an indispensable tool for establishing and promoting your brand effectively in the digital landscape.
Brand stacking
When high brand visibility is achieved, using SEO to rank for branded keywords enhances brand authority. Google’s search algorithm changed years ago to reward branded search queries with multiple first-page listings from the same domain, known as “brand stacking.” Previously, a company would be fortunate to have two listings on the front page of SERP. However, with the implementation of brand stacking, some companies now have 6-8 pages from a single domain listed on the first page. This demonstrates how impressive and strong brand influence can be achieved through quality SEO work.
If you are interested in learning more about how SEO can boost your brand and website, reach out to our professionals at Exeton Digital.