Brand matters more now — Kelford Labs Daily
Building a credible brand.
“Brand matters more than anything else.
…
If there was one universal piece of advice I had for marketers seeking to broadly improve their organic search rankings and traffic, it would be: ‘Build a notable, popular, well-recognized brand in your space, outside of Google search.’”
— Rand Fishkin of Sparktoro
From the proclamations of Google Zero (the end of organic search traffic) to the analysis of last week’s massive Google leak, there’s been a crucial message repeatedly given to marketers and entrepreneurs lately:
Build a credible brand.
How? By demonstrating your values over time to a narrowly focused group of ideal customers who will spread the word about your business on your behalf.
Gone are the days of shoving commoditized content online and assuming Google will do the rest.
And gone are the days of assuming that merely “being the best” is enough to accumulate customers.
No, we’ve got to demonstrate that we’re the best. That we’re the most credible. That we’re the most reliable.
And the best way to do that is to narrowly define your target audience and align your process—your position—to what they value most.
So you can become their go-to choice—and recommendation—for products or services in your space.
If you’re lucky, Google might notice your appeal to that audience and rank your content in search results.
But even if they don’t, you’ve still built a sustainable brand by focusing on what you do best, for the people who need it and value it most.
That’s the essence of brand building—not empty promises or vague aspirations or banal advertisements.
But consistent, focused, demonstrations of credibility over time.
