Search Engine Rankings & Branding Go Hand in Hand
There are two different outcomes that many websites or businesses strive for when they market themselves online but which is more important: achieving higher search engine rankings or really building out your business brand in the online space? Both are important and crucial for success online but which do you prefer?
Since the spawn of the search engines many people’s mindset has always been to be on page 1. Everything they did online revolved around being on page 1 and we grew with the search engines thinking that the only way a website can succeed is to have high search rankings for their targeted keywords. As a website owner it is important to understand that things have changed, they are changing and they will change even more so it is important to be diverse. For some reason most people are in the mindset of approaching the search engine ranking ranking game with a short term marketing mindset (example: need high rankings by next week). Why is that? Do you plan on keeping your business around for just a short while? Building a brand around your business online will not only help your rankings but it helps you sustain your business well into the future. What is going to happen to your business if you spend all your time simply focused on rankings and all of a sudden Google makes a change where your rankings dip? If you have been simultaneously building your brand online you can weather that storm and keep bringing in new business but if you have been centered on just rankings than you could find yourself knee deep in mud with nowhere to go.
Search engine rankings and brand building should go hand in hand when venturing into the online marketing space. It doesn’t matter what your business is building a brand has become even more important than ever before. Things like social media and the recent economic decline have caused businesses to really strengthen their online image. Purchasing behavior has changed and if you have a hard time acknowledging that you might find your business drying up quickly. Don’t spend all your time on short term efforts because the long term marketing and branding efforts are just as important.
12 Responses to “Search Engine Rankings & Branding Go Hand in Hand”
SEO Journal is Written by
Brick Marketing Founder,
Nick Stamoulis:
Nick Stamoulis - SEO Bio.
Tel. - 877-295-0620
nick@brickmarketing.com
Connect with Nick Stamoulis
Brick Marketing - SEO Company
Great post. I’ve recently been struggling trying to explain this very concept to a colleague who thinks it’s all about getting his page to the top of google with no regard for branding. Sure people might visit your site, but what’s going to convince them to contact you? If you don’t have a professional look and brand, then your no different than the masses.
Hi Peter,
Thanks for the comment and sharing your experience here…
You are exactly correct, it is amazing sometimes how people can be 100% focused on rankings only and they do not consider the search engine branding aspects that are very important as well…
Take Care,
Nick
Very relevant post!
While driving traffic to your website plays a big role in today’s marketing mix, it’s what people find once they enter the site, that’s going to drive revenue and make them come back – and, also important, make them refer others to it!
Katrine
Hi Katrine,
Thanks for reading and adding in your perspective!
It really is about building your brand and reputation in your industry and specific niche…if you build your online brand your search engine rankings typically fall in line as well!
Search Engine Optimization is something that makes many blogger’s heads spin – I know this because every time I write an SEO article I get comments from bloggers telling me that its too big a topic and that they’d rather just write ‘quality content’.
Hi SEO Southampton,
Thanks for reading SEO is indeed a very big topic to cover!
Nick,
As always, great points! it’s always a struggle for us with our clients if we want to build their brand or increase google/serp rankings. that’s why the initial conversation and consultation is so important, which we stress and it seems you do too. thanks for sharing and helping get the word out!
I am an avid reader of your newsletters but what I have noticed is that SEO consultants who respond on here talk about clients not understanding that SEO takes time, that branding takes time, and so on.
Perhaps if SEO Consultants took the time to understand their clients concerns – asking the question ” when will my website be on page one or when will I start making money ?” are not unreasonable questions to ask.
One man who was trying to sell me a SEO campaign on the phone said at the end of his pitch ” and if it doesn’t work you have only lost £195.00 ” , well that is a lot of money for me to lose.
To all SEO consultants – I understand as I am sure most of your clients do, that optimising a website takes time and that nothing happens over night but play along when I ask – when will I see some results !! I pay for your service and I have a right to ask some questions – sorry for the rant – hope you respond
Hi Susann,
Thanks so much for being an avid and loyal reader of our SEO newsletters and this blog.
I think you have brought up some great points about setting expectations up front. When I start working with a new SEO client, I always give a realistic time frame of increase visitors, etc. for our clients. The issue is that often many times SEO consultants are not upfront with clients to tell them realistic expectations for results.
Anyway, thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts and best of luck with your SEO.
Take Care,
Nick
Susann, great point and Nick touched down on it correctly as well. I hope your response wasn’t in response to my prior response, but clients have to understand that SEO isn’t an overnight thing. I read case studies on SEO and SEM and you cannot expect a site’s traffic or Alexa to change in 1 night.
Usually you can see some results within a week (minor change in alexa / traffic up), but an SEO project should be long-term. Rarely can you see results until 21 days if not 30.
To ensure stable growth and an increase in visitors, 6 months is an ideal time. if you just do 1 month, then 90 days later, it will be obsolete as the work the SEO site did can be drowned out by new work, and if google sees an increase for 30 days then sees it stop, it knows you’re trying to manipulate the system
Nick, i’d love your thoughts as well, but I’m sure you;d agree that there is no ideal time for SEO, but it’s a “long- term” task.
Good article Nick. I think you have pointed out the importance of not getting carried away with search engine rankings. My website is pretty new and I am learning a bit about SEO and inderstand a little bit and am trying to generate good backlinks, but I would like to find other ways to become known and respected in my niche. I guess branding could help me although I am not sure how to implement this at this stage. I have tried with articles and will continue until I see the effort paying off as I am on a low budget.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts…
Relevant link building is about building your brand and trust over time. Please take a look at the link building section of this site as well:
http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/category/link-building/
Hi Darren,
Thanks for reading and your comment!
Yes, SEO is a long term and building process and the right time should be right from the start of building your website!
Thanks & Take Care,
Nick