The Influence of Online Branding in SEO

For the past few months, there have been strong signals that a company’s “brand” is becoming an indicator to Google’s algorithms in determining organic rankings.  There was a great deal of chatter back in late-February about this topic within the SEO industry.  If this concept is news to you and your company, then you need to take some time to consider how your website is impacted.  There is a solid article over at SEW about this very topic and how businesses (small & large) are successfully “branding” themselves online and gaining benefit in higher search engine rankings.

A couple of points web-driven businesses should recognize with SEO-driven branding:

• Offline Branding, as a marketing strategy, is a concept many companies shy away from because it lacks immediate results, is very difficult to measure, and often falls far down the priority list as a “want” and not a “need”
• Online Branding, as it relates to search engine rankings, is a much more justifiable approach when one considers costs, time investment, resources, measurement, and channels to proliferate a brand.
• Practical and proven methods to conduct “Online Branding” include but are not limited to:

+ Blogging
+ Community & Industry Participation
+ Press Release Marketing & Optimization
+ Social Media Content Creation
+ Link Building through Strategic Outreach

“All of these help you gain reach and frequency.  Most importantly, you’ll reach those who are interested in (and searching for) your products and services.”

• Create great content (on-site & off-site) that educates your audience and strategically links back to your most relevant website pages and you’ll see positive progress.  As this content is syndicated and viewed by engaged audiences, you will naturally build “votes” through mentions and natural backlinks.

As we commonly say, Social Media Marketing is converging with Search Engine Optimization.  This is proof positive in the Branding component that continues to influence some of the organic search results.  We are clearly seeing this in the movement of our client’s rankings, campaigns and success.  Those small, mid-size and large brands who embrace the shifting landscape (as is always the case in organic search) and stay ahead of curve, will continue to thrive in ultra-competitive environments.

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