SEO is more critical than ever before in today’s dynamic online world for brands. But it’s not enough to create a website and get a few links and call it a day. It’s not enough to concentrate solely on SEO tactics. All you have to do now is bring it all together to create an online brand that is both trustworthy and authoritative.
Apart from providing useful information to consumers, Google favours business websites with a clear brand presence. With fewer ties, they achieve higher rankings. If you want to rank well in organic search results, your marketing plan should include branding and SEO.
Without each other, branding and SEO are ineffective. Consider this: 1 in every 2 millennials has discovered and purchased a new brand they were unfamiliar with by simply searching on their mobile devices. You will increase brand recognition by catering to your customers’ needs at the right time. You have the opportunity to become their favourite brand.
For this to happen, you must recognise the true value of an SEO branding strategy, which is much more comprehensive and invaluable than you can believe. Let’s take a look at some of the building blocks you can use to develop a long-term SEO branding strategy and increase branded traffic to your website.
1. Find and organize your branded keywords
A branded search is when a user types in your brand’s name, or a combination of it, into a search engine. Users who look up advertised keywords are already familiar with your company and may be interested in making a purchase.
Getting a lot of advertised searches will help your company expand in a lot of ways. You will improve your non-branded keyword rankings by increasing your branded search volume. To put it another way, if your brand appears in a large number of searches alongside unbranded queries, Google will associate your brand with these keywords and consider them highly important.
When it comes to branded search, the customers look for you in a variety of ways online. Here are a few that you can concentrate on:
Competitors’ branded keywords.
You can equate your brand to that of your competitors.
Navigational queries.
Your website should appear in the top organic and paid search results for your brand name, ideally. It’s easier if you buy these keywords even if you rate organically for them, according to Maria Monroy of Mirman, Markovits & Landau, P.C, because they want both clicks and conversions.”
High intent keywords.
Include your brand name, as well as your feature or product, in this section.
Be sure to include the brand’s full name, including any typos. If you’re searching for Airbnb, for example, you can use “airb”, “bnb”, or other variations – just be imaginative.
Pay attention to blended search results, such as product results, videos, photos, local pack, and others, if you want to rank No. 1 on Google for any of these branded queries. Be sure to create a separate plan for such branded variants once you’ve been featured for your branded keywords. “Your brand name vs. your competitor’s name,” for example, “requires a video.”
2. Implement local SEO
Because of the specific location targeting, local SEO plays a significant role in local brands. It’s one of the most effective methods for attracting advertised traffic to your website. Furthermore, local purpose is present in 46% of all Google search queries. Customers who are looking for knowledge about your brand may have a strong commercial motive because they are familiar with it or have recently purchased it.
It’s critical to use the best SEO techniques possible, with a particular emphasis on geo-targeting. Make sure you understand that local SEO is a long-term process that necessitates constant testing and optimization. Conducting a thorough SEO website audit for your branded quest will assist you in sticking to your SEO strategy and increasing traffic and conversions.
To develop a good local SEO strategy, pay attention to the following:
- Include the brand name and the name of your product or service in the Alt tags and filenames for your brand photos. You may add characteristics like model, age, colour, or gender to make it more important.
- To drive traffic from local and map searches, verify and optimise your local business listing on Google (including the newer sections like Google Local Posts, the Booking button feature, and the Services list).
- Create a website that is mobile-friendly.
- Local schema should be added to your website.
- Improve the pace at which your pages load in order to improve your performance and sales.
- Use branded keywords in your landing pages, Google local business descriptions, business reviews, and localised content.
- Building links with high-quality websites in your niche and local area.
- Make online feedback beneficial to your business. Local businesses that appear in the local three-pack have an average of 47 Google ratings, according to Bright Local.
The measures outlined above should suffice to optimise your Local SEO. Keep based on what your local market needs and what your potential customers are looking for in search engines to get the best results.
3. Bid on branded terms
It may seem counterintuitive to pay for advertised keywords rather than obtain them organically, but you already know that paid search ad clicks are 2x more likely to result in buyer-intent keywords. When looking for something on the internet, 65 percent of users click on Google ads. Through the middle and bottom of the funnel traffic, branded searchers have a lot of purpose.
The most compelling reason to bid on branded terms is to keep up with your rivals. They usually target your audience by using your advertised keywords and redirecting traffic to your competitors’ welcome pages. Check out the following search results if you’re looking for a brand like Hootsuite.
The Hootsuite ad is in first place, while a rival of Hootsuite is in second place. You will thwart any attempts by your rivals to steal your leads and threaten your territories by paying for your branded keywords.
Paid advertising will help you keep track of your messaging and encourage more people to visit your website. You’re well aware that organic listings can not guide your target audience to the best landing pages. Make the most of your paid advertisements by directing visitors to your high-converting landing pages. Use separate, engaging ad formats such as Product Listing Ads, sitelinks, and so on.
Many marketers, I’m sure, are suspicious of this approach. Giving it a shot is the only way to dispel your suspicions. You’ll never know what works best for you until you put your skills to the test.
4. Publish content on quality websites
According to Todd Lasky of Zavodnick, Zavodnick & Lasky, LLC, “contributing your views, ideas, and content on high-quality websites is a perfect way to develop your brand recognition, reach wider audiences, and increase traffic and conversions.” “Content contribution is about placing yourself as an authoritative source of knowledge and building reputation, not just about building links.”
The fundamental concept behind contributing is to add value to the website’s content while also demonstrating your knowledge. Guest submissions on authoritative websites, such as Fortune, which accepts some guest posts, will encourage readers to learn more about the brand or product you discuss in your article. In one of my blogs, I listed SE Ranking, who made over $10,523 from a single guest post on Business 2 Group.
Before uploading your content, do some research on the website to make sure it has a lot of traffic, aligns with your brand values, and has an audience that is interested in what you have to offer. You will create new traffic to your brand, not just one type of traffic, if you do it correctly.
5. Measure branded search traffic
Knowing what percentage of your advertised traffic comes from Google will help you find out what works and what doesn’t for your company, how much effort you can put into brand reputation management, and whether you’re going in the right direction.
For a given timeframe, Google Analytics helps you to monitor the number of people who visit your landing pages using brand keywords, a browser bookmark, SEO clicks, and conversions per landing page. Track the number of searches for your brand keywords with Google Keyword Planner, and see if they’re increasing over time.
Finteza is a great alternative to Google Analytics for advanced website analytics, with a strong emphasis on conversion optimization and monetization. Its ability to analyse which keywords drive the most clicks to your website, visualise tracked events, and identify lucrative traffic sources is one of its best features. Monitoring all product traffic over time will show you how your brand recognition has changed.
Conclusion
Branded searches are necessary but often overlooked. Whatever side you take on this, you’ll lose a lot of potential traffic and conversions if you don’t optimise your organic and paid SEO to get advertised searches. Furthermore, branded searches will serve as the final point of contact for consumers who are ready to buy your product or service. You will rapidly boost your brand image and provide a better experience to your target audience once you begin optimising for your brand. Let us know if you have any other suggestions for increasing branded traffic.
Need help with getting your business found online? Stridec is a top SEO agency in Singapore that can help you achieve your objectives with a structured and effective SEO programme that will get your more customers and sales. Contact us for a discussion now.