Four Reasons You Can't Afford to Ignore It (Even If Your Brand is Smaller than an Ant's Picnic Basket)
Hey there, SEO superheroes and digital marketing dynamos! 👋 It's time to talk about the elephant in the room – branded SEO. You know, that thing you've been ignoring like that weird smell in your fridge. Well, it's 2025, and ignoring branded SEO is like wearing socks with sandals – it's just not cool anymore.
The Brand New World of SEO (See What We Did There?)
Remember when SEO was all about stuffing keywords like a Thanksgiving turkey? Those days are as gone as MySpace and dial-up internet. In 2025, it's all about brand, baby!
According to the wise words of Rand Fishkin (aka the Wizard of Moz):
"For most small and medium businesses and newer creators/publishers, SEO is likely to show poor results until you've established credibility, navigational demand, and a strong reputation among a sizable audience."
Translation: If you want to climb that sweet, sweet organic traffic mountain, you need to build your brand faster than you can say "Google algorithm update."
Why Branded SEO is the Untapped Keg at the SEO Party
You might be thinking, "But I'm not a big brand! I'm just little ol' me!" Well, buckle up, buttercup, because branded SEO is about to become your new best friend. Here's why:
Users are brand-curious: People use search engines to discover brands like they use dating apps to find love – obsessively and with high hopes.
Google's got a crush on brands: The search engine giant measures brand strength and uses it in rankings. It's like high school all over again, but this time, being popular actually matters.
Middle-of-the-funnel magic: Nail your branded presence, and you could turn those "just browsing" users into long-term brand groupies.
So, if the search engine incorporates brand signals into how it generates search results, then as SEOs we should be looking for a strategic way to influence these signals. It's time to put on your brand-building hat (and maybe a cape, because why not?).
Four Reasons You Can't Ignore Branded SEO (Unless You Want Your Traffic to Be Lonelier Than a Forgotten Taco Bell Sauce Packet)
1. Branded Search Queries: The New Link Building
Remember when link building was all the rage? Well, branded searches are the new black. Every time someone searches for your brand, it's like a little love letter to Google saying, "Hey, this brand's kind of a big deal."
Google's leaked documents (oops, someone's getting coal for Christmas) reveal that the strength of a brand significantly influences its search rankings. This is measured through what we can call the BrandQueryFactor (fancy, right?). The more brand-specific queries a company receives, the higher its likelihood of ranking well in search results.
Pro tip: Run some PPC campaigns. It's like speed dating for your brand – people see your ads, get curious, and Google you faster than you can say "click-through rate."
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| Channel data for greenies.com |
2. Brand Engagement Metrics: Make 'Em Click, Make 'Em Stay
Google's watching how users interact with your brand like a helicopter parent. Click-through rates, time on site, bounce rates – it's all part of the grand equation. It's like Google's playing "The Sims" with your website, and you want to keep those little green diamonds floating above your visitors' heads.
Quick win: Spruce up your site navigation. Make it easier to use than a TV remote with only one button. Your users should be able to find what they're looking for faster than you can say "where's the pizza delivery number?"
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| Screenshot from Similarweb, September 2024 |
3. [Brand] + Modifier Keywords: Answer Those Burning Questions
People are Googling your brand with all sorts of modifiers. "[Brand] pricing," "[Brand] reviews," even "[Brand] vs. the zombie apocalypse" (okay, maybe not that last one). Create content that answers these queries faster than a contestant on Jeopardy!
For example, wildgrain.com nailed it with their "wildgrain reviews" page. They ranked #1, showcased a 4.7-star rating, and satisfied 72% of searchers without a click. That's like winning the SEO lottery and the actual lottery on the same day.
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| Screenshot from search for Wildgrain reviews, Google, September 2024 |
4. Educate Google About Your Brand Entity
Think of Google as the new kid in school. You need to teach it all about your brand. Create a killer "About Us" page, get mentioned across the web, and link it all together like you're weaving the world's most informative spider web.
Here's your brand entity education checklist:
Establish an entity home page: This is your brand's autobiography. Make it juicier than a celebrity tell-all.
Build entity citations: Get your brand mentioned around the web more often than a cat video gets shared.
Link from your entity homepage to your citations: Connect the dots for Google. It's like playing connect-the-dots, but instead of a pretty picture, you get better rankings.
The Final Word (Just Kidding, It's Never Final in SEO)
As an SEO, if you prioritize branded SEO, you're not just a technical specialist anymore. You're a brand architect, a digital identity sculptor, a... okay, I'm running out of fancy titles, but you get the point. You have the power to shape how your brand appears in search results and beyond.
Remember, branded SEO is just one piece of the puzzle in Google's complex maze of ranking systems. It's like the secret sauce in your grandma's famous recipe – it might not be the only ingredient, but it sure makes a difference.
So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and make your brand sparkle brighter than a vampire in sunlight! Your organic traffic (and your future self) will thank you.
P.S. If all else fails, you can always try bribing Google with cookies. (Legal disclaimer: Don't actually do this. Google prefers cake anyway.)
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