Brand Search Optimization: Owning Every Result for Your Own Name
When someone Googles your business name, what do they see? For most service businesses, the first page is mostly out of their control — review sites, directories, social profiles, and competitors' ads.
Brand search optimization is the discipline of owning as much of that first page as possible. It is one of the highest-leverage SEO investments because brand searchers convert at 5-10x the rate of other traffic.
How to own your brand search results
- Claim and optimize every major directory profile (Google, Bing, Yelp, BBB, Facebook, LinkedIn)
- Run brand-name PPC campaigns to control the top of the page
- Create branded YouTube content for the video carousel
- Build social profiles that rank for your brand name
- Get press mentions from local and industry publications
- Add Organization schema with sameAs links to your social profiles
Why competitors bid on your brand name
Competitors run PPC ads on your brand name because it is cheap, high-converting traffic. Defending the top of your branded SERP is worth the small PPC investment to keep them out.
For agency-grade help across the Dallas, Frisco, and Colorado Springs markets, Fast Hippo Media offers the full range of services this guide describes — from technical SEO to local rankings to conversion-focused web design.
Bottom line
Search your brand name in Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo. Count how many of the first 10 results you control or influence. Anything under 6 is a project for next quarter.
Further reading: Google Business Profile guidelines.