Many elements contribute to the creation of a solid corporate brand. Among the firsts is the company name. When choosing the right name for a company, search engine optimization is the most crucial consideration for many online entrepreneurs and budding business owners. It is challenging to launch a new business on a shoestring budget. This means getting as much marketing support as possible. So, how can you get the awareness of your company and brand name among the world’s Google, Bing, and Yahoo people? Here are the crucial factors to consider.
Think of a Unique Name
Unless you can hire a significant SEO firm, the best and most immediate way to be found on the search engines is to rank high (hopefully first) for your company name. It may seem obvious, but many companies use superlatives like “top” or “premier” to name their company, to compete with thousands of similar companies. Remember that you are competing with others in your industry and with anyone else who uses your name. This is especially true if you use an acronym as your name. To check, you can Google your name choices and see how many results come up. You can go wrong if you get tens of thousands of results.
Clear Your Chosen Name
Netflix found out the hard way that social media can be a game-changer. Its recently announced Qwickster brand brought thousands of followers to the Twitter page of a stoner Sesame Street character. Before naming your business, check websites like namechk.com to find out the social media availability of your business name now rather than later. It’s a good idea to have a unique name for your business. Once your brand is secured, it will appear in more results on Twitter and Facebook. This gives you more virtual space and creates more inbound links.
Use Keywords
Include them in your tagline or web text instead of stuffing your company name with generic industry terms and phrases. You’ll never rank well for keywords with your company name. Big Earth, later renamed Wholesale Landscape Supply, ranked #1 for the company name. “Landscape Supply” became the industry descriptor under the company name. This allowed them to gain both brand awareness and potential keyword placement. Keyword brands are expensive, indistinguishable, and often difficult to market. Hotels.com and Cars.com rely on traditional advertising to supplement their natural traffic.
Create a Digital Footprint
Search engines consume content for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So be sure to feed them every day by maintaining a business blog. WordPress offers an easy-to-use platform with built-in SEO tools. You can communicate your brand with a well-placed keyword and an expert brand voice. A simple ten-page business website can become a sixty-page customer magnet if a keyword-relevant blog post is published weekly. Video is another powerful medium you can use to increase your brand’s reach. A few companies use YouTube videos to generate more traffic, views, and inbound links. A video can say more than a thousand words.
Get and Stay Connected
The more people you connect with, the more relevant your company name will appear in search engines. Make sure you connect all your media channels to make it easy for people to broadcast. Your relevant articles should be tweeted regularly. Consistent, compelling, and creative brand identity will help you attract shoppers as well as search engines’ attention. You don’t have to place all of the branding eggs in one basket. Instead, you can create a brand identity that uses online channels. This approach results in a solid online presence and optimized search results.
