Anyone with a brand and a website trying to peddle their products or services wants their site to stand out amongst the rest in the complicated and cluttered universe of the World Wide Web. But one of the most common mistakes people are making is prioritising SEO over branding. The trouble is, the internet is so effective as a direct marketing medium that many businesses these days don’t even consider the importance of a brand online. That’s a big no-no.

It’s simple. Both branding and SEO are elements that are as important as the other when ensuring your website’s success. Getting your website ranking well in the search results pages for your target keywords with the use of SEO is essential to getting a stream of visitors to your page. But, at the same time, having an effective brand that is strong and trustworthy is vital to helping your site stand out from the crowd. This is because branding enhances and supports your online presence and can also help your performance in search engines.

Don’t just think that because you are ranking well for SEO in Google that people are just going to choose your site over others. If users recognise a reputable market leading brand a few notches below your listing, the obvious choice for the user is to click on what they believe to be a stronger and more trusted brand.

Increase the trust

Suppose you were using Google to search for banks, would you ever request a new savings bank account from an unfamiliar little bank you’d never heard of? Even if it came up first in the Google search results? Most people with half a brain wouldn’t. This is because an unknown brand, with a lack of branding, tells the user that website is from a less reputable company, and handing over your life savings to an unknown is taking a lot of big risks.

By having a well-branded and well-designed website you will keep visitors on your site longer and lessen your bounce rate because the site satisfies their needs. These two factors are a part of what helps Google decide where to rank your site in the results.

It’s all a balancing act

The moral of the story is, if you have a website then you must have synergy and balance between your SEO and branding. Most websites will find that a balance between SEO and branding works best in terms of picking up visitors in the short-term and generating business stability in the long-term.

Tips

  • Utilise branding to make yourself a market leader and don’t just rely purely on SEO to bring in the leads and push sales, because chances are, if you have great branding, people will often choose you over a competitors search engine listing.
  • Keep a good balance between your brand and SEO programme and by doing so you won’t let your SEO and branding fight against one another.

At Bambrick in Brisbane, we recognise that achieving the right balance between SEO and branding is essential for success in any sector or industry. If you’d like to speak to one of our SEO experts about your digital marketing goals, please don’t hesitate to contact us by completing our online contact form or by calling (07) 3216 1151. We look forward to hearing from you.