If there has been one major goal in search engine marketing (SEM) within the past few years, it would be brand recognition. Today's consumer wants to identify with brands they deal with and so brand recognition has been a major focus of literally every successful search engine marketing campaign. This has been a major departure from marketing to Boomers because that generation was all about deals and value for dollar. Millennials and Gen Z, however, want something more from the brands they deal with.
The younger generations are all about sustainability and conservation. Therefore, the focus has changed in SEM, with much more emphasis being placed on brands and what brands are doing to promote the common good. In response to this need among consumers, Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has instituted a new algorithm that is quite different from anything that has gone before. It’s called “Brand Mentions” and the concept is amazing when it comes to SEO, Search Engine Optimization.
A Break from Tradition
SEO, Brand Mentions, and Building Rank
“It has always been our goal to use SEO effectively with the intent of moving our clients to page one of the SERPs and as close to the top as possible,” Boris Dzhingarov continues, explaining that the average person searching for a product or service will typically only click through to the first few entries on page one of the SERPs.
It is a rare consumer who will browse through to the second or third pages of results. As Brand Mentions help to build rank alongside the more traditional SEO strategies, you will find that your site will get a higher ranking due to a combination of Brand Mentions and SEO. Both improve rankings and when working together, the results are beyond what most marketers could have hoped for in the past.
Another Look at SEO
It is, for all intents and purposes, a link that is not a link! Every time your brand gets mentioned, especially on social media and within blogs, you gain a point/mention/link. It’s what Google refers to as an ‘implied link.’ So, when is a link not a link? You got it! When it’s a Brand Mention, and this is especially going to come into play when your brand becomes a buzzword.
Get the Town Talking!
He goes on to say that this in no way implies that SEO is dead. On the contrary, those links and backlinks are needed as well. He wants us to understand that the reason Brand Mentions build rank is that they work in the same way as a link, thus an “implied link.” In other words, Brand Mentions work like a link but are not a link. So, when is a link not a link? When it’s a Brand Mention, of course!
The Bottom Line
It really only takes high authority sites talking about your brand and you will see how quickly your own personal Brand Mentions snowball gains momentum as it barrels its way down the mountain, collecting buzz as it goes. Every time a high authority site mentions your brand it will get picked up by the crawlers, but maybe even more importantly, other high authority sites will want to mention your brand as well. It’s a matter of trust and if you earn that trust from one influencer, their audience will trust you as well.
Yes, it’s totally confusing but as long as you remember that no links are necessary as long as you are getting talked about, Brand Mentions have done their job for you.