       |
Branding & Search Engine Marketing - Promotion or ProtectionA growing percent of businesses recognize the relationship between search engines and branding, with increased budgets for organic search engine marketing and spending for PPC: Pay Per Click. Studies have shown that users expect top brands to appear at the top of the search results, and therefore many searchers believe those companies found at the top of search results to be top brands in their categories. This can cause lasting negative effects to offline category leaders with little or no search engine visibility; those who have worked tirelessly to build a high-quality, recognizable brand, only to have it dismantled over time as consumers turn to resellers and smaller companies to find what they are seeking for online.Pay now or pay laterIf your company hasn’t considered its brand name in relationship to the search engines, rest assured your competition has. Is your brand name in your hands or in your competitors'?Search Engine Marketing and Branding Case Study Recently, Top Rank Site analyzed a large manufacturing company with over a half-century invested in product branding. For this true story we will call the company ABC Manufacturing. Any expert in ABC Manufacturing field or any of ABC Manufacturing's competitors know them to be in an industry-leading position. ABC Manufacturing has two unique well-established brand names, both with their own web presence and having each brand name represented in the exact Domain name. Top Rank Site identified 20 major key words and/or key word phrases. This wasn’t intended to be an exhaustive list, but a large sample-size that marked ABC Manufacturing's expertise. Industry experts would associate a number of these key words with the ABC Manufacturing brand name as they would associate “tissue” to Kleenex. Tale of Two Cities. Online and Offline BrandingIn the offline world, ABC Manufacturing leveraged these brands for full benefit with defined product lines, each with its own retail market exposure. Offline, all things pointed to an industry leader doing what it was that put it in that top position; in one word, “Lead.” Online painted a different picture for ABC Manufacturing. The very thing that was leveraged for strength offline turned to a confusing mix of crossover products, unclear product lines, and no brand presence for ANY of the industry keywords in the top 3 pages of search engine results, and little or no search engine visibility. This would be equivalent to Kleenex brand not returning in the top pages after searching the internet for “tissue”. Potential consumers would have no reason to consider ABC Manufacturing a leader in its field. By far the most glaring weaknesses were the results the search engines returned when searching for one of ABC Manufacturing's own brand name and signature products. This internet search returned ABC Manufacturing as low as the 2nd page of search engine results. Again, the best example of this search would be the phrase “Kleenex Tissue” not returning Kleenex web site in the highly visible position. Following the brand name and signature product search, the website that was listed at the very top, first page first position, was a large online retailer of ABC Manufacturing-type products. One click on this link took the consumer to the a home page which quickly revealed it also sold not only ABC Manufacturing's products, but competitors products as well. To make matters worse, this large online retailer was having a sale on one of ABC Manufacturing's competitors products. What began as a specific online search for ABC Manufacturing brand name and signature product led the consumer straight to a competitors product at a sale price. These results were duplicated with the retailer in the 1st page 3rd position, while one of ABC Manufacturing's competitors held the 1st page 2nd position.Search Engine Optimization Exponential Benefits – or Exponential HarmThis documented scenario was ONE random search on ONE of the major search engines with ONE key word phrase. With two clear brand names X 10 to 15 search engines X 25 to 30 keyword phrases, it's easy to see the benefits Search Engine Optimization would bring to any company. Search Engine Marketing & Branding - Final WordsOffline, ABC Manufacturing worked tirelessly to build a high-quality, recognizable branding. Online, the ABC Manufacturing brand name will slowly erode over time as consumers turn to competitor companies and products to find what they are seeking for online. Not returning high rankings with industry keywords should be a major concern for the ABC Manufacturing brand name. Searches that included ABC Manufacturing's brand name and their core products returned retail or competitor websites in the highest rankings, clearly showing that ABC Manufacturing is not in control of their own branding. A serious indication that it is necessary to take steps to protect its brand name.
Top Rank Site - Box 600 - Merton - Wisconsin - 53056 |
Brands with the right keywords in their message can generate positive results and feedback, including modifications to the original brand.If users can't find your brand, they will be frustrated. And if they get the wrong message, it can actually be doing your brand harm. If you are not appearing under your major keywords, potential consumers might not consider you a leader in your field The bigger your brand, the more you have to protect it. Click, for a free report on your websites Search Engine Placement OR F or a free keyword research, Web Site Analysis, and quote request:
|
| Home | | Search Engine Branding | | Website Design | | Search Engine Marketing | | Contact Us | | Services | | About Us |