We know SEO brings many benefits. Part of the reason SEO is so beneficial to your website is that it is related to so many other facets of digital marketing, including branding. But did you know that great branding helps your SEO? Just like on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO, branding also figures into Google’s criteria in ranking well on search engine results. Focusing your branding on aspects like your brand following, brand recognition, and brand identity can directly figure into SEO success. How can you leverage branding for SEO success? We can explore that – but first, let’s review what makes great branding.
What Makes Great Branding:
For any good marketing strategy, the base of it is branding. The power of presenting a strong brand through an integrated marketing strategy should not be overlooked! Below are the factors of what makes great branding, according to Douglas Spencer:
- Consistent messaging across all forms of representation from the logo to printed materials use in ads
- Has a clear identity a positive emotional response from your audience
- Credibility
- Reflects your corporate culture, mission, and values
- Encourage customer loyalty through recognition
How A Great Branding Strategy Helps SEO:
In marketing, it’s always encouraged to know how your brand is perceived. Those who search for a specific service or product online, companies with better brand perception and awareness will often see better results in organic search. In this regard, SEO is no different from Email Marketing, Paid Search or any other marketing channel.
Here are the benefits that great branding can bring for organic search:
Higher Amount of Branded Searches
This one may seem obvious, but it’s actually something that can be very useful. The users typing in your company name into Google are much more likely to engage with your site and purchase something. Google wants to show great results in search engines, and a high number of branded searches helps determine sites that are worthy.
Increased Click-through Rates
Great branding can increase click-through rates in searches on keywords you want your site to appear on. Search engine results with unique titles and meta descriptions that fit your brand and appeal to your audience are more likely to be clicked on over other listings that do not have as good branding.
More Engaged Users
When users are more engaged with your website, it can lead to better SEO results like keyword rankings – particularly if that user engagement ends in a conversion – whether it’s a form fill or something else. In terms of tangible numbers, these are things like time on site, bounce rate, pages per session – even the number of conversions on your website! Yes, these are all things Google takes into account in its algorithm and having a great brand helps!
Better Link Building Prospects
For bloggers and influencers that are familiar with your brand may find your brand more desirable to work with, and making getting backlinks to your site more likely. Even if they do not know your brand, good branding can still attract bloggers and influencers to work with you to increase exposure and get backlinks to your website.
Greater Content Amplification
If you have large social media following that is engaging with content, you’ll see an increase in the amplification of content. Concerning SEO, this can also increase the likelihood of someone linking to your content.
The takeaway is – your brand matters! So in addition to SEO, be sure to work on your brand and take the necessary steps to improve your brand presence.
