Brand awareness is one of the stalwarts of marketing. Long before digital marketing became a thing, a Coke bottle was a symbol for a dark-coloured soda drink the world fell in love with. No clever copy needed – even an empty bottle on a rubbish heap would do the trick. That’s brand awareness.

SEO is the equivalent of creating brand awareness in the digital age.

What is brand SEO?

Brand SEO or SEO Branding is the use of search engine optimisation principles to build online awareness of a brand. SEO done right will see your website rank on the first search engine result pages (SERPs) for the keywords that are most relevant to your target audience.

Appearing prominently on SERPs increases brand recognition and develops trust in your brand. Your website doesn’t have to appear at the top of the list every time; if it appears consistently throughout a buyer’s online search for an item, you are building brand awareness.

For instance, if a buyer is looking to book a two-night stay at a guest house and the same guest house appears in multiple searches, that business has gained prominence in the mind of the searcher.

Branding and SEO are closely related. Branding is about building a specific image or perception of a business in the minds of consumers, while SEO is about creating and sustaining online awareness of that image or perception.

How do brand teams and SEO teams work together?

Branding impacts SEO and SEO impacts branding. are interconnected, supporting each other in their efforts to enhance visibility and credibility.

For instance, brand awareness can increase search volume – a well-known brand like Nike is often searched directly with the search term ‘Nike running shoes’. The Nike website automatically gains traffic because of general brand awareness among consumers. Search volume is a good ranking signal for search engines.

On the other hand, successful brand SEO will lead to a higher SERP ranking on the first page of Google, increasing brand exposure and credibility.

Brand teams and SEO teams can work together to ensure messaging is consistent, helping to boost visibility and credibility. Here are some suggested strategies for collaboration that will serve the brand well.

Improving User Experience (UX) & Website Performance

The brand team focuses on designing a visually appealing website complete with branding and storytelling, ensuring visitors will enjoy their time on the site.

The SEO team ensures a good user experience by optimising website loading time and providing a secure connection via hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS).

The brand team creates a sleek homepage and the SEO team ensures all headings are optimised, and that the homepage has image alt texts.

What are brand signals?

Brand signals are signs that communicate your brand’s reason for existing to both search engines and users. The more prolific your brand signals, the more it indicates your brand is prominent or is gaining prominence among consumers. In short, your brand has gained trust.

Some examples of brand signals are:

  • Branded searches.
  • Number of direct website visits.
  • Google Business Profile (GBP) & Local Listings.
  • Brand presence across directories such as Google, Yelp, Trustpilot, and Crunchbase.
  • High ratings and positive reviews.
  • The company has a Wikipedia page.
  • High engagement (likes, shares, comments) on brand-related content.
  • Social media presence.
  • Linked or unlinked brand mentions on authoritative sites, including new sites.
  • Guest posts and thought leadership.

How does SEO impact brand awareness?

SEO and brand awareness go hand in hand. SEO for brand awareness refers to implementing SEO strategies to boost a brand’s placing on SERPs. It also means potential customers are more likely to see what a brand has to offer and what the brand stands for. A high placing in search results means more users will find the website, which helps build recognition and trust in the market.

The right SEO strategy can get your business to the top of search rankings, and that same strategy can increase brand awareness. In fact, increased brand awareness is a natural consequence of ranking high on the first page of a search engine for your chosen keywords. Statistically, users are more likely to click on top-ranking websites, with the top three organic results receiving 68.7% of all clicks. More clicks mean more visitors to your site, and more visitors mean more people aware of your brand.

A top SERP position, or even a position near the top, earns those brands increased recognition as a brand that stands out in a congested field. Ranking near the top or in a featured Google snippet serves as a powerful validation of a brand’s credibility. It boosts credibility and trustworthiness, helping to build brand trust.

It is clear that strategic brand SEO can increase brand awareness. Some specific ways to leverage SEO for brand awareness follow below.

Matching content to brand

The more your content portrays your brand and its values, the more consumers perceive the brand as reliable, which is key to building trust. Website owners can leverage SEO to ensure all content, including blogs, ads, emails, and website copy aligns with the brand’s voice, tone, values, and identity.

This is how:

  • Use keywords that reflect the brand’s tone, values, and positioning. For example, a luxury fragrance brand should focus on keywords like “best high-end perfumes” rather than “affordable colognes.”
  • Ensure SEO-optimised content reflects the brand’s unique voice.
  • Use SEO best practices like header tags (H1, H2, and H3), meta descriptions, and alt text while maintaining brand consistency.
  • Optimise for branded keywords – BH Bikes or Nike running shoes are examples. Branded keywords strengthen SEO brand marketing strategies by increasing visibility, driving high-intent traffic, improving conversion rates, and reinforcing brand authority in search results.
  • Monitor Google Autocomplete & People Also Ask suggestions related to your brand.
  • Create content that educates, inspires, and aligns with the brand’s mission. For example, a sustainable fashion brand can create content about recycling fabric instead of the latest high-fashion trends.
  • Leverage internal linking to reinforce brand messaging.
  • Show consistency on SERPs by using meta titles, descriptions, and rich snippets that reflect brand identity.

Quality content

High-quality content is one of the top three ranking factors of Google search results. Website content that search engines regard as quality content includes the following elements.

  • Content written primarily for humans, not search engines.
  • Content that matches what the title promises.
  • Expert-level content written well.
  • Useful content that acts as a resource for further high-quality content, with links to other high-quality sources.
  • Fresh content published as often as possible. Google is always hungry for new content.
  • Text complemented with images and videos.
  • A focus on long-form content. Lengthy posts and webpages leave room for lots of information and images, accentuating expertise and quality.

All these factors don’t necessarily come into play in all instances, but most of them play a role when search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo! consider the quality of content.

The right keywords

Keywords are vital in SEO for branding because they help a brand to be discovered online. Google’s top SERP positions are earned by site pages that demonstrate the most authority and relevance for the keyword(s) being searched.

A strong SEO brand marketing strategy includes optimising branded keywords and long tail keywords. Branded keywords are excellent for brand awareness because they include a company or product name, meaning users using these search terms already intend to engage with the brand. This high user intent leads to better conversion rates, as these users are actively looking for specific products or services.

Using branded keywords has other benefits as well. Branded keywords:

  • Create a direct association between the search query and the company, reinforcing brand awareness.
  • Are easier to compete for because fewer businesses bid on branded terms compared to generic ones.
  • Make it easier for a brand to rank higher in search results, increasing visibility and credibility.

Using industry-relevant long-tail keywords offers the following benefits.

  • Long-tail keywords are more specific and tailored to a brand’s unique offerings.
  • Long-tail keywords have lower competition, making it easier for a brand to rank higher on SERPs.
  • Users using long-tail keywords are more likely to convert since those searching these search terms have the specific intent expressed in the keyword, such as: “shoes for women with fat feet”.

Measuring organic brand awareness

One way to measure the success of implementing SEO for brand awareness is to monitor how much traffic branded search generates. Branded searches are a good indicator of the general awareness of your brand among consumers. There are many tools online, including Google Analytics that will give you these statistics, including which keywords are driving traffic to your site.

Brand mentions in articles, forums, social media, review sites, and podcasts all contribute to brand recognition. Together, they intensify visibility, boost credibility, and provide invaluable insights into customer needs and demands.

Instances where a user typed your URL in the search engine are also an indication of the number of people aware of your business. Knowing a URL and using it to find information on a business is a clear indication of consumer awareness of your brand.

Social media mentions have also become an indication of brand awareness. Mentions on social media or other platforms show that your brand is being discussed online. Social media mentions can be a double-edged sword, though—it’s good for publicity until it is negative and then the ramifications can be devastating.

Conclusion

SEO can help you reach the top of SERPs, but brand SEO goes a step further by boosting brand awareness and strengthening your online presence. By optimising for branded and industry-relevant keywords and creating high-quality content that aligns with your brand identity, businesses can enhance both recognition and credibility. Leveraging SEO for brand awareness is a long-term strategy that builds trust and keeps your brand top of mind.