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5 Tips to Boost Your Brand SEO

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The rules of SEO are always changing. What worked a couple years ago may not work today. To take your brand SEO to the next level, follow these tips.

Design for Mobile

In most industries, most searches are now done on mobile devices. Responding to this, Google switched to mobile-first indexing in 2020. Now the mobile version of your website, not the desktop version, is indexed and used to determine search rank.

To optimize for mobile indexing, evaluate your mobile site for things like loading times and navigation. Also make sure the structural elements of your mobile site are identical to those of your desktop site.

Use Keywords Wisely

Just using a keyword isn’t always helpful. Repeating keywords too often will cause Google’s algorithm to penalize you for “keyword stuffing,” so you want to use keywords carefully.

Use keywords where they fit naturally. Content should flow for the reader and not appear stilted to use the right keywords.

Where you put keywords matters, too. Keywords in meta titles, descriptions and image tags as well as page titles, and subheadings carry more weight than keywords in the body text.

Think Q&A

More searches are questions. So, Google now offers Q&A type search results. When you type a question into a Google search, you sometimes see a box with a snippet of text answering the question. This is the answer box, and it’s becoming increasingly important.

Google’s algorithm populates answer boxes with text that directly answers a specific question. Write out the question you want to target in your content, and then provide an answer in a way that’s concise and accurate.

Keep Brand Content Fresh

Search engines still like “new” content. So, focus on making your old content new again.

Look for relevant content published in the last few years. Add new links, remove old ones, update any outdated information, and publish. This gets valuable content in front of new readers and gives it an SEO boost.

Provide Content for People

Search engines are machines, but they try to be like people. The goal is to rank highly those websites that serve user needs and interests. Google’s algorithm is designed to prioritize pages with the best user experience. If you can focus on this first, many aspects of SEO for your brand will fall into place as a result.

A Brand Audit Provides Marketing Insight

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Your most valuable marketing asset is your brand. A brand audit can give you a read on the value of that asset, as well as any areas in need of attention.

A brand audit is an in-depth examination of your brand to identify what you’re doing well, areas for potential improvement and your current position in the market. Your brand is constantly evolving so a periodic audit ensures it’s evolving in the most valuable ways.

A brand audit consists of looking at your external and your internal branding.

External branding includes:

  • Visual identity (logo, colors, etc.)
  • Marketing presence
  • Website

Internal branding includes:

  • Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
  • Company values and culture

By looking at internal and external branding, as well as the same for your competitors, you can identify where you are performing well and where you can improve.

Benefits of a Brand Audit

Conducting a brand audit can better help you understand where you stand within your market and in the minds of consumers.

Doing a brand analysis will help you:

  • Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to your brand
  • Discover consumer perceptions of your business
  • Understand and align your offerings with customer needs
  • Determine where you stand next to your competition

How to Conduct a Brand Audit

1. Set Up a Framework

The first step to take is to build a framework for your brand audit. Decide what’s to be examined and the methods you will use. Organize your list to incorporate both internal and external brand elements.

2.  Examine Your Website Analytics

Google Analytics provides rich website performance data. Look at:

  • Traffic: How many people are visiting your website, and where are they coming from?
  • Page views: How many times are pages being viewed?
  • Conversion rate: How many goals are being achieved on your website? (Sales, leads, etc.)

3. Survey Customers

Find out what your customers think and say about your brand. You want to know what motivates them, what influences their decisions and what they value most about your brand. Polls and surveys can help you get this insight.

Also, learn how your target audience uses your website. You can do informal or formal testing or a survey. There are tools that allow you to conduct free tests and others that have a low cost.

The goal is to get insight into pages and sections of your website that may be affecting your brand (and your bottom line). This data can help you optimize your website to ensure proper brand positioning.

4. Review Social and Other Online Data

Social media data helps you better understand your audience and how they are engaging with your brand. You want to learn where and how you are mentioned, conversations around valuable keywords, and who is talking about your brand. Be sure to check the data available any place your brand is online.

5. Analyze Competitors

Look at how your competitors are performing from a brand perspective. Where are they mentioned and in what way? What content are they writing about? Is their brand getting noticed?

Observe the use of competitor brand visuals and online presence. What’s working and where are the weak spots. Learn what you want to do and what to avoid.

Next Steps

Document your findings and then look for the intelligence you have gained. Document strengths as well as areas for improvement.

Set goals and strategies for improvement. Make sure you set some measures so you know when you have achieved your goals. Be sure to plan the next brand audit.

Build Your Online Brand in 7 Easy Steps

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Ignoring or not actively managing your brand online doesn’t mean you won’t have one. It’s worse – it means that your brand will be defined by others. You may not like the results!
Here are the steps to take to actively manage your brand online:

Google yourself.

Find out where you are online and assess what your brand looks like already. What do you like? What needs to be changed? Make an assessment of the current landscape so you can factor your research in as you move forward.

Define your goal.

What do you want to achieve? How do you want to be perceived? Take time to answer these questions before you proceed.

Flesh out your brand.

Write about who you are and what you do. Note what makes you different from others in the same field or industry. Define the things that people want to know about you.

Make your website a worthy home base.

Create a website or edit your current site to reflect your brand. Pay attention to words and images. Have others look at your website and tell you who you are and what differentiates you. If the responses match the brand you have defined, great! If not, work on your website some more.

Expand your brand.

Optimize your social media profiles and other profiles online so they are consistent with your brand and goals. Use consistent words and images. Make it easy for people to connect the dots from one online location to another. Your consistent brand across multiple locations strengthens your brand and your visibility online.

Connect with your target audience.

Once you have a solid foundation for your brand online, you are ready to start connecting with others. Create and post content. Invite people to follow you. Follow people who matter to you. Comment on posts from people and about subjects that are relevant to your goals and brand.

Tell your brand story.

You are never done telling your brand story. Tell it in posts, in images, in videos. Share your story many ways and on many platforms. Whether you have connected with someone long ago or just now, no one has your brand memorized. Make it easy for them to know you and what you do. Stay relevant.

This effort isn’t done when you get to step 7. Your brand needs constant tending. You are only relevant online if you keep everything fresh and current.

Pace yourself. Develop a plan of activities that you can live with for the long-term. Success is found over months and years of consistent presentation of your brand. You are worth the investment.