Search Engine Optimisation - The Low Cost 24 Hour A Day Brand Builder

Before joining the health club and stubbing out that last cigarette, how many company bosses added "To position my company as market leader" to their New Year’s resolutions?

But nobody can position their company themselves. For sure, a company can attempt to influence how it might be seen through focused marketing activity, but ultimately, the viability, credibility and overall perception of any company is down to the views of its customers.

But nobody can position their company themselves. For sure, a company can attempt to influence how it might be seen through focused marketing activity, but ultimately, the viability, credibility and overall perception of any company is down to the views of its customers.


Yes, yes, you sigh, but this is a branding issue and nothing to do with search engine marketing, which is all about getting my website found in the first place. Surely brand building is down to offline channels such as advertising and PR.

Well yes it is, but such marketing is frighteningly expensive and well beyond the realms of most company’s squeezed budgets. But hang on, more and more companies are discovering that their presence in the likes of Google, MSN and Yahoo is a crucial indicator of brand credibility, in addition to increased sales leads.

Think about it. With 85% of web activity being search based (second only to emailing) where your company is found – and in which context is crucial, but also an incredible opportunity. Those ranking results are a unique playing field where your website can be found in context with the best known names in your business sector.

Good ranking positions immediately deliver the perception of that company being the leader in its field and therefore instill trust and confidence. Time and time again new clients give their main reason for signing up to a Vertical Leap SEM campaign as being down to the frustration of seeing inferior competitors basking in page one ranking positions, when their company entry languishes on page five – or worse. And even if that competitor is a genuine cowboy with none of the expertise and experience you offer, there will be no doubt in that potential customer’s mind as to which is the more credible company and more importantly, which will receive their sales enquiry. Searchers rarely look beyond page two of their results.

But what happens when that situation is reversed with you as the winner? Effective search engine marketing has cranked your website steadily up to good rankings and you’re already receiving considerably more enquiries than you were before.

Your well designed website has specific ‘landing’ pages that have been optimised so that visitors click directly there from the search engines and have their questions answered quickly and efficiently. If brand value is measured online by the overall experience customers have on your website in terms of quality of material and the time they choose to spend on it, then surely you’re winning. Chances are they’ll visit again and may well recommend it to their friends and colleagues. Can a brand get any better commendation than a referral by word of mouth?

A strong presence in the search engines will also reinforce your brand strength in other areas. Customers make their enquiry and buying decisions based on many different messages and although the web is becoming more established all the time and widening markets, it is just one of the sales channels available to you.

Perhaps they will have seen one of your press advertisements; maybe they heard a mention on the radio, read an article or happened to drive past your shop. When they search online, finding your site in the first pages of the various search engines can only add to that overall positive selection message they are building mentally.

If the old adage about it being cheaper to maintain existing customers than finding new ones, then existing customers will recognize your name and draw comfort from the fact that they have made the right choice ion selecting you to do business with.

The web environment is all about finding answers: “I need this”, “where can I find suppliers of that?” But even with the explosion in web usage in many ways search engine ranking results are still a viable playing field for brands to make up serious ground against the established old guard in terms of recognition and credibility.

The rules and integrity of effective branding have not changed online, and the recognition of a well known brand name may add significantly to the reasoning behind a sales enquiry or buying decision, but optimised correctly, there is no reason why your entry and summary cannot look every bit as professional as that of “Mega-Corp.” And what is more, because it is appearing in context with the monolith, is it not unreasonable to expect some of the squillions of pounds that has been invested in that giant competitor to rub off on to your brand as being a viable alternative appearing in the right place at the right time snapping at the heels of the old guard?

Indeed, a case could be built in this David and Goliath scenario that the “David” brand already has a head start. The web is still very much about ‘getting a deal; effective search engine marketing is the facilitator in this giving aspiring brands the opportunity to connect with new customers who want their perception of a better deal and service confirmed and rewarded in positive search engine results that turn up ambitious and smarter companies... like yours.

So there you have it. Brand building a hugely expensive project and high profile companies are usually the only ones who can afford it. But once again the connectivity of the web in putting buyer in touch with seller at a fraction of the cost makes search engine marketing a no brainer with it delivering a return on branding investment way over what it costs to implement. And of course, good ranking results keep working for you 24 hours a day, month in and month out.