Creating a recognized brand and differentiating your business from the competition is a priority for most companies.
Therefore, it is critical to fully understand how to develop and maintain brand equity online because the Internet is
the one place where brand-centered buying is commonplace. Online users are making decisions and buying services and
products from websites without having personally handled the products or met the staff behind the services. Brands
have meaning and recall value to your customers. Ensuring that elements of your brand are remembered in the minds of
customers and prospects is a key component of any good branding campaign and it should be a part of your online
marketing strategy.
Search Engine Listings Stimulate Brand Recall
In the online world, research shows that brand recall-the process of seeing a brand and recalling the related
perceptions-is best performed in a search engine environment. In fact, one study shows that search listings stimulate
brand recall by a three to one margin over other online advertising methods such as banner ads or buttons.
The brand recall advantage that search engine marketing offers translates into higher sales. Over half of the purchases
made by study participants came as a result of search listings. By contrast, only 9% of purchases came from banner advertising.
Creating Relevance
Creating brand equity involves more than recall. It is about relevance to the customer. And search engine marketing is a powerful
way to convey salience to your audience. After all, your site is "given" to searchers in response to a keyword phrase that was
queried to answer a question, solve a problem or find a product/service. When your site is returned, it gives your brand added
credibility that it is relevant to the searcher's needs.
As more and more people use search engines to find products, services or information, they find that the brands they would expect
to see in the top search results are often not present, or at least not one of the top listings. Therefore, over time, this lack
of visibility creates brand erosion for some category leaders. By engaging in a comprehensive search engine marketing campaign,
you can either protect your brand's top-of-mind presence, or move it toward a top-of-mind presence if it's not yet there.
