The changing role of brand in SEO
Why is brand important to SEO?
What recent changes have impacted branding and SEO?
When we talk about ‘brand’, what are we actually talking about? Well, the term ‘brand’ itself has a broad meaning, especially regarding SEO. It can relate to everything from brand awareness to reputation to branded search queries. As consumer understanding and relationships to ‘brand’ changes, so must the approach to brand in SEO strategies.
In this article, we go through the changing role of brand in SEO, why it’s arguably become more important than ever, and how to integrate it successfully into your SEO strategy.
Why is brand important to SEO?
If you go back a few years, for some SEOs brand wasn’t that important, that was the job of other marketing channels. Fast forward to now, it’s still not always on the immediate radar for SEO strategies. You could even argue that, up until now, brand isn’t really what SEO is about, we’re focused on non-branded traffic, that’s where SEO excels. Traditionally, SEO introduces brands and improves brand awareness through other avenues – think higher up the content funnel or user journey, through this type of work, brand awareness increases as a by-product..
So, why is brand now important to SEO? And what has led to this point? The search landscape has dramatically changed, prioritising the role of brand like never before. There’s been a significant change in the way that Google delivers results. For instance, SERPs can include social sites that may talk negatively (or positively) about brands. As consumers, we have become very smart regarding brands—brand loyalty isn’t what it used to be, especially in highly competitive markets. As such, more people are willing to learn about new brands, especially smaller companies.
SEO can massively influence what appears in branded searches, impacting what potential customers think about a brand. As such, SEOs need to take more ownership of branded queries. We must extend our brand awareness activities beyond non-branded strategies to make the most of this new SEO channel.
What recent changes have impacted branding and SEO?
As we’ve mentioned, how Google displays content in SERPs continues to change. Recently, there’s been a massive uptick in Reddit appearing in branded search results, which can open up a whole can of reputational worms if not addressed effectively. In cases like this, we need to get clever about how we approach branded SEO, if not just for damage control.
How can branding and SEO work together successfully?
Branding and SEO can absolutely work together effectively, but it takes planning. How they’re able to do this is twofold.
The first approach you can take is using SEO to grow brand awareness. This involves activities that focus on refining top-funnel content, having a consistent presence throughout the user’s journey, building backlinks, developing digital PR strategies, and so on.
The second approach you can take is using SEO to drive brand authority. Elements of your brand can impact EEAT (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness). As such, the brand you build is fundamental to displaying authority and trust. This is important – your brand needs a voice and opinion to succeed at this SEO approach. Google will eventually work out what your brand’s values are and how trustworthy these are, not to mention, other websites are more likely to feature and provide backlinks to your website. This is why having a consistent message across your site is important. Content-based work like tone of voice, clarity, accreditations, having a point of voice, and so on will all work in your favour here.
The best approach of all, though? Merging the two. Brand authority and brand awareness are just as important as each other. Think of them as different sides of the same coin. However, for SEO branding strategies to succeed, you must familiarise yourself with your target audience.
The importance of audience in branded SEO
It’s exceptionally hard, nigh impossible, to have a successful branded SEO strategy without understanding your audience and brand personas. Ultimately, how can you create authoritative and trustworthy content without understanding who you target and want to engage?
Through keyword research, you can start to improve your understanding of audience and brand personas. The same can be achieved by understanding how they navigate your site architecture. Remember, it’s important to take a stance and position with your brand. Being too broad in your approach won’t help you in the long run.
More branded SEO activities to consider
Brand and SEO activities don’t just stop at audience understanding. There’s a long list of approaches to consider when building your strategy. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
- Don’t underestimate the value of brand-specific work. Understandably, SEOs can be worried about spending time and resources on branded work, especially if you work within tight budgets, but it can pay dividends. Take partner pages, discount and review pages – these can rank successfully and strengthen brand reputation.
- Include video and images in long-form content. How content is presented on a page can help build and improve your brand. Different content formats not only improve accessibility, which impacts reputation but can also present a more enjoyable experience to users.
- Branded SEO is great for small brands. Understandably, SEO can be daunting for smaller brands. However, branded SEO presents a unique opportunity for small companies to double down on long-tail niches with high intent levels. You can use this to drive your brand’s message and make yourself stand out against the competition.
- Don’t forget digital PR. The impact of digital PR on branded SEO can’t be overstated. This can drive not only domain authority but also brand authority.
Will a rebrand ‘hurt’ SEO?
Conversations about brand and SEO can frequently turn to rebranding and SEO. If you’re considering a rebranding project, you may be thinking about how this may impact your SEO.
Rebrand efforts will involve some sort of migration , so most of it will hinge on technical SEO when assessing risk. However, regarding brand SEO, you risk losing touch with your current client base and having to build it back up again. Whether this is a disadvantage or a benefit depends on the purpose behind your rebrand – having a fresh start might be a key motivator behind the rebrand. So, like many questions around SEO, the answer to this is ‘it depends’.
Conclusion
Brand is impacting SEO on a new level. Users want to learn more about the ins and outs of brands they interact with, and this is affecting what now appears in SERPs. It’s not just about what you offer these days – the values behind your company drive whether users want to convert into customers. Ignoring the opportunities that branded SEO presents could mean bypassing opportunities to gain a competitive advantage, regardless of the size of your business.
The changing role of brand in SEO also highlights how critical it is to have a holistic approach to your overall marketing strategies. Brand influences other marketing channels, too, and the value that branded SEO efforts can bring to those can have a significant impact overall.