Branding and search engine optimization are two marketing strategies that work towards building a brand’s online presence. Branding ensures that a brand appears consistently across digital platforms, building recognition and trust among their audience. SEO helps present the digital content and services and drive engagement with said audience.
What is the Relationship Between SEO and Branding?
SEO focuses on improving a website’s visibility in organic search results. Branding focuses on building a recognizable image of a business.
The two strategies collaborate as they follow a customer’s journey. SEO may initiate the awareness stage, while branding would strengthen brand loyalty. For example, a customer may find out about a company initially by searching for “plumbers near me”, and visit their website as a result of SEO. Later on, the customer may search for the company by name after they have gained familiarity with the brand. While SEO gains initial impressions, branding helps customers gain loyalty and repeat business.
Customers look for content that is relevant to their needs, so while SEO can get the website to the top of search results, it’s branding that will prompt them to engage, which then goes back to improve SEO. The strategies work best hand in hand.
What is Branded Search?
Branded search is a question or search query that customers look for that includes the specific name of a company. For example, instead of looking up “winter coats”, the search may be “North Face parka”. The search query could also include comparisons, “North Face parka vs. Patagonia parka”, pricing, “North Face parka price”, or location “North Face parka in stock near me”.
When a search query includes a brand name, it signals that the customer is past the awareness stage of the customer journey. They have had experiences with the brand, likely visited their website, and may be more inclined to make a purchase. Branded search is valuable to businesses because it brings in customers who are looking for your product specifically.
How Do I Build a Branded Search Strategy?
To build a strong branded search strategy, it’s important to understand your customers and tailor your strategy towards the content they are searching for. Start with understanding their current search habits by using a tool such as Google Search Console to see how often they are using the brand name and what questions they are asking.
Branded Content
To build branded content, focus on your website. The goal is to provide a positive browsing experience to your audience, so make sure your website is clean with a responsive design, detailed service pages, and FAQ section, and other resources that your customers can access. When it comes to content, it’s important to match your content to your brand. New content should maintain a consistent brand voice and style. Having a strong brand identity is one of the reasons that customers will keep coming back.
Keywords
As you build your branded search strategy, more and more customers will be using branded keywords to find your site. However, it’s important that you still use non-branded keywords in your content and keyword strategy. The goal is still to become an industry leader and attract new audiences to your brand by using a combination of branded and non-branded keywords.
Strengthen Your Brand with Boston Web Marketing
SEO doesn’t only help your website rank, it introduces new audiences to your business, increases brand visibility and makes it easier for existing customers to return. Successful SEO strategies include branding and branded search among other tactics.
If you want to use SEO to strengthen your brand and build long-term growth, contact Boston Web Marketing. Our team of SEO specialists will help you come up with a plan that’s right for your business.