Concept of coworking

By: Angela Caban, MHRM

When I started building my business online six years ago, I hustled to get my Google ranking up. Consequently, I was so focused on bringing up my search engine rank (and crushing it) that I was neglecting my brand and what potential clients would think of me. In many instances, potential clients care more about the reputation of your brand rather than seeing you rank higher in search results. This doesn’t mean you should give up on raising that ranking; rather, you should focus on both. The two actually complement each other.

What is SEO and why is it important?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a site or page in a search engine’s results. In other words, you didn’t promote or pay for advertisements. Visitors find your site based off of the keywords typed in a search engine. And, as tedious as the process of working SEO can be, this is a vital step in any brand building. You have a golden opportunity to market your brand and build your ranking, especially for those niche brands.

So how does your brand affect your SEO?

Search engines are crowded with the big brands out there; this is one of the biggest reasons why you should put more time into brand reputation. Potential clients will want to see a history and an on-the-move brand. Just because you don’t rank number one doesn’t mean your brand isn’t important. Your brand could have the potential to stand out, and clients will remember what differentiates you from the big brands.

What are three quick ways to help build your brand reputation?

So even though spending time on SEO is important, smaller brands should focus more on brand reputation:

  1. Products/Services: Have you spent time looking at what you are offering? Without great products or services, all that money you are spending on ads and the time on SEO are really pointless. Think about what you have to offer and how you can offer it differently than others.
  2. Content: What are you putting out there to show potential clients what is most important to you? Focus on your niche; create useful content that clients can actually use and share with others.
  3. Engagement: Talking to yourself on your site isn’t fun. This is why engagement is so important across social media. Focus on building a relationship with potential clients. Worry less on selling, and place emphasis on showing clients that you really do value them. Why would they want to invest time and money on you if you don’t demonstrate a commitment to your own brand?

Your brand and SEO work seamlessly together. Staying on top of search result ranks will only happen when clients recognize your brand, and this happens by building up your reputation.