Google loves big brand names, and for good reason. But that doesn't mean smaller companies don't stand a chance when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO).
In regard to natural search results, the better the results Google can deliver, the more people will use its service. To provide the best possible results, Google tries to identify website elements that provide quantifiable proof that users find a given site valuable, as well as to refine its ranking algorithms to ensure that these factors are prioritised. Website branding falls into this category because users tend to trust and engage more with website brands they know than with lesser-known competitors.
Spend time on any SEO news website and you'll likely find dozens of articles about how difficult the world's largest search engine is making it for small-time webmasters to compete with the big brand boys. But instead of moaning about the fact that bigger brands seem to receive advantageous treatment in natural search results, follow these three tips to harness the power of branding for your own site:
Develop your visual brand
Just because your website only has a handful of pages doesn't mean you can't create a strong brand. Not only will developing your own distinctive brand pay off when it comes to SEO, it can also be an effective way to generate business. Consumers are still wary of handing out personal and financial information to potentially unscrupulous sites, but recognisable brands tend to put them at ease, making them more likely to convert into buyers or subscribers for your business.
Think about the elements that you associate with well-known brands:
- An easily recognisable logo - A consistent colour scheme across web and offline properties - Consistent marketing messages, tag-lines and slogans
None of these factors is out of your reach, no matter how small your business. Setting up a consistent colour scheme, for example, can be as simple as choosing a couple of colours that you feel reflect your company's personality and then splashing them across your website.
Creating compelling marketing messages may take some time, but once you settle on some, you can easily incorporate them into different areas of your website, digital marketing and marketing. Encompass your brand's primary features and benefits in as few words as possible. That can help increase the chances that your audience will remember the message and associate your brand with it.
Add branded keywords to your site's SEO.
Because search engines rely on your site's SEO to determine what it's about, make sure your branded keywords are incorporated into your website's content alongside your target keyword phrases. Branded keywords include words that are unique to your company, while traditional SEO keywords target phrases consumers enter into search engines.
One effective place to include your branded keywords is your title tag. Keep your title tags to a maximum of 62 characters to ensure that your branded keywords aren't cut off by the search engine. Don't stuff your title tag with a series of unconnected traditional keywords. Instead, make sure your title tag reads naturally and provides valuable information to your readers. Then, add your branded keywords after a pipe symbol (|) to begin to build search engine recognition for the brand name you've created.
Behave more like bigger brands.
Try to think like a bigger company and make your branding as pervasive as possible. In general, the more places you can incorporate your brand signals, the better. As you integrate these symbols across your web properties and social media, you should see better visitor engagement and increased trust with your consumers.
Additionally, Google will likely continue to roll out algorithm updates that reward well-branded websites over their unbranded competitors. Implementing these techniques now could lower your risk of being affected by future search algorithm penalties.