Basic Branding Tips for SEO

29 Apr 2016

BRANDING is an incredibly important, and somewhat elusive, aspect to get right for a successful business. This is no less true in an online marketing environment. By evolving a brand, you can develop it into a focused message that can be conveyed online much more easily. This, ultimately, lets you as a business connect with more customers on a more meaningful (and profitable) level.

So what does a brand encapsulate? It is not an exhaustive list, but your brand is your logo – including colours, images and fonts – an overall aesthetic and an ethos. Defining these things helps you understand your business image in a much more transparent way, and as a result will become more appealing to customers. Every interaction they have with your brand, from the logo to the website to the customer service, influences the brand.

From an SEO standpoint, brand itself may not be deemed a ranking factor, but it does bring a lot of utility to an online business. For example, Google acknowledges that a popular brand will see a higher page ranking in a search based solely on reputation. This, along with improved click through rates as a result of Google’s acknowledgement, help garner a lot more revenue from brand reputation.

Although the art of defining a brand is almost a field in its own right, you can get by with the basics. As a brand, you will need to have some unique selling point to stand out from the crowd, as well as your own unique values and ethos. Knowing your target audience is crucial when defining your brand, as it helps you focus on how to best serve a specific customer. Finally, be sure to look at your brand with as little bias as possible. Own any flaws, shortfalls or setbacks as this will, ultimately, strengthen your brand identity.

Once you have established your brand and know your audience, you can focus your efforts on them. This involves a lot of living in your target demographics shoes. Understand their buying habits, feel their pain and figure out how your business and brand can help. After you have decided how best to do this, you need to get your brand to them. Finally, keep a good rapport with all of your customers to boost your brand image. By treating your customers well, they will hopefully reward you with good custom.