Company Branding or SEO – Which First?

Combining branding and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) into one strategy is something many companies are starting to do.

SEO isn’t exactly a science. Perhaps it isn’t more probable than when a company attempts to integrate SEO and branding into their strategy. A dainty process, for sure. SEO works with keyword placement and phrases while branding focuses on culture and company loyalty. Bringing both sides together as one weakens the importance of each, however subtracting one of them may jeopardize your company’s marketing and/or strategic goals.

Again, rather than being a sure-fire science SEO is more of a series of guidelines. Keep this in mind. Keywords and phrases should still be the main focus of a business in its initial stages while integrating branding into a strategy should follow down the road. This doesn’t have to be followed exactly but rather offers some guidance to those who are unsure of how to approach the strategy.

Why is it recommended that you focus on SEO first and branding second? Because at the start of your business’ life, little to no people know your company name yet but could be looking the products and/or services that you offer. By targeting keywords and phrases you will be shifting focus on the products or services your company is selling rather than your actual company or it’s name. Once you have credibility and a solid base of customers, you can then start to ramp up your brand loyalty. Once you get to this stage you can consider sending a corporate message to help build customer relationships and create trust. Basically, you’re using SEO as a branding tool.

Think of it like this: if someone types your company name into a search engine, they are probably going to land on your website as it is thanks to back-links and anchor text. This means that optimizing your business for your company name has potential for a missed opportunity.  Optimizing for your product or service offerings is an opportunity that should be jumped on instead of letting go to waste.