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The Importance of Brand Building in SEO
There are a variety of different ways to improve SEO such as link building, but there is a great method that is often overlooked when it comes to SEO: brand building. Most people will know that a brand is everything when it comes to business. It is how the public recognises a particular business and how they react to them – the brand that Coca-Cola has created is an excellent example of what good brand building can do for a company.
Many will be wondering how brand building can relate to improving SEO, but the answer is relatively simple. Google and virtually every other search engine tend to give higher rankings to big brands, meaning that they can be found easily with fewer links, compared to a smaller brand which will rank much lower. Several other advantages come with having a big brand – having the backing of Google will always come with clear benefits such as more lenient treatment when it comes to inappropriate conduct. This is something that simply does not happen with smaller brands, hence why businesses need to strive to build their brands to compete with other companies in an increasingly competitive world.
Search engine result pages (SERPs) are what companies want to be displayed in, but this notion is true now more than ever. Google is famously known for constantly changing its algorithm many times a year, and this keeps those interested in SEO constantly on their toes as they need to be ready to adapt to new implementations. In recent years, SERPs have changed and become more important than ever. They have a host of new features that give users information without even having to click on links, which include features snippets and knowledge panels on the SERP itself. This is where the importance of brand building comes into play. Google takes information from the biggest players in business and posts them onto the SERP through featured snippets and knowledge panels, subsequently leaving smaller brands in the dust.
This is something that is only going to become more prevalent in the future; in 2017, Moz noted that featured snippets rose from 5.5% to 16% in only two years. It seems apparent that Google and leading businesses have created a kind of circle that benefits the two and the public, but leaves smaller, aspiring businesses wanting. Fortunately, smaller companies can compete and get helpful content to their customers through these innovations on SERPs. They can do this by increasing their brand recognition.
It is no secret that humans inherently seek convenience and routine. We like things that are familiar to us, and this concept is at the heart of brand recognition. If people know and identify with a specific brand due to a specific marketing strategy, then they are more likely to click on that website irrespective of SERPs linking to other rivals. There are many ways that businesses can improve their brand, one popular method is relying on social media. Ever since the digital revolution started, social media has been on a constant upwards trajectory, and nearly every business uses it in some form for marketing allowing them to reach a diverse collection of people. By creating brand advocates, cross-promoting content and reaching out to influencers, businesses can increase the public’s awareness of their brand, which will consequently translate to seeing improved results on SERPs.
Utilising social media is just one of many ways that businesses can build their brand which will help contribute to improves SEO. The commonly held belief in the industry was that great content will result in improved SEO and that is all there is to it. However, in the face of changing SERPs, it seems that brand building has a bigger importance than ever for improving SEO results, which make it one of the best marketing strategies available today. Businesses will do well to remember that improved brand recognition will always result in driving clicks, as people like what is familiar to them.
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