Theres been a common theme lately under discussion in some of the big SEO forums. The concern, in a nutshell, is that there is a major tide of change underway in the SEO world. Many SEO pros are concerned that big brands with huge budgets, reach, and exposure are getting a disproportionate number of the top search results for highly sought-after keywords.
This trend can be disheartening for smaller brands that are working hard to increase their SEO rankings. If youre already outgunned on the selling and marketing front, will the playing field be forever unleveled if the big brands take over the search engine results as well?
Id like to take a closer look at this issue, and then make a suggestion. Instead of lamenting this change, work to understand whats happening and figure out how you can make the system work for you. If you cant compete dollar for dollar or link for link with big brands, is there a way that you can benefit from their success and better position your own company vis-vis their positioning? I think so, and will offer a closer look at this perspective and how Im achieving this very result for my own clients.
The importance of brand
Many of the assumptions behind the idea that Google is prioritizing big brands come from Googles stated position that branding is important. As early as 2008, Google CEO Eric Schmidt is quoted as saying the following:
Brands are how you sort out the cesspool. Brand affinity is clearly hard wired. It is so fundamental to human existence that its not going away. It must have a genetic component.
Its important to understand the context of the quote. Schmidt was addressing magazine publishers that were concerned about the threat from individual and independent publishers. Independent publishers are code for website owners, by the way.
To take a hypothetical scenario, if you have two sites competing for a product-related term, branding plays some role in which one achieves the higher rank in search results. A site like Amazon may come up higher than a regional player for queries like picnic tables, roofing services, or red sneakers. The question is how brands are accounted for in the algorithm, and whether this is a simple generalization or indicative of a specific factor thats gaining more traction in the algorithm over time.
In the marketing world, the idea of brands is simple: brands are trusted sources for a specific type of product or service. The quote above seems to indicate that the same general concept that brands equal trust on some level is at play at least in a general way in the search engines as well. Tactically speaking, building your brand and building your SEO profile are similar in that the end result is your company being associated with a specific set of values.
The natural SEO benefits of brand
There are several natural SEO benefits that follow a strong brand:
Loyal customers that follow and engage with your materials
A site with a strong focus thats easy to optimize around a single set of priority keywords
Well-funded content budgets, leading to strong content and natural, organic and relevant inbound links
An easier path to landing guest posts and other features in topical publications and websites
A strong social media component through your fan base and your overall focus
Authority and trust when you speak on brand and on message
Recognition of names, visual identity and topical framing
Naturally high occurrence of non-link citations, e.g. people discussing your brand even when they dont link to it
Co-citations mentioning that you write about or offer X service at Y location, and both brands relating back to each other
Even without a strong focus from Google, its easy to see why these aspects provide a natural advantage for a strong or well-known brand. It creates a context where the three pillars of SEO great content, strong links, and an active social media presence function naturally.
An unbranded site is starting from scratch, working these three angles deliberately while trying to attract a following, in the hopes that eventually it will lead to becoming a recognized brand. A strong brand may very well find that they have a head start on the SEO front, without making an explicit investment in that area.
With this in mind, and combined with the realities of big budgets and access to top marketing talent, its easier to understand why big brands are getting ahead.
Whats really happening out there?
As with every topic in the SEO world, the question of big brand versus small brand is a controversial one. There doesnt seem to be a definitive answer, and the results vary from query to query. Some people swear that big brands are taking the lead, and others argue that its a persistent SEO myth. Yet its a big enough issue that its been raised to Matt Cutts in public forums such as conferences and online discussions.
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