Brand Awareness and why it is important for Google SGE

Hopefully you will understand what Brand Awareness is, but possibly not what it has to do with Google Search Generative Experience.

For those who are not quite sure though, let's quickly review what Brand Awareness is and why it is different to Brand Recognition.

The Oxford Dictionary definition of Brand Awareness is:-

the extent to which consumers are familiar with the qualities or image of a particular brand of goods or services.

There is more to this statement than meets the eye (according to many a marketing expert) in that Awareness of a Brand means more than simply recognising it. That is known as Brand Recognition, which while still all about the Brand in question is different.

In a nutshell, Brand Recognition means that when you see those huge golden ‘M’s you instantly say ‘MacDonalds’ in your mind, whereas Brand Awareness would mean you know all about their menus and what a McFlurry is. In short, you know what the brand represents, what it does or offers, and what it stands for, like World Peace etc etc.

Brands and SEO

It has always been true that having a brand that people recognise (and like/understand) increases the likelihood of someone clicking on a link in the Google results (the same being true for Adwords, Social Media posts, and just about anywhere they can react).

If that was not a good enough reason to ensure that your brand is well known (and thought of), Google are just about to give you another one.

And that is that when SGE is launched, they say that ‘Brand Awareness’ is going to be taken into account when deciding who to list for any given search phrase.

As I have mentioned in my other posts, there are several changes in the pipeline. One I understand is that Google is going to reduce the power of the backlink, whilst introducing this new one (or beefing it up).

Social Media To Become More Important

Now, how they are going to gauge it is an interesting subject, as no one really knows. All the ‘experts’ I have asked have refused to comment, but if we apply some common sense, I think we can deduce that the more times a brand is mentioned in Social Media, Press Releases and Forums, the better.

In reality, this is measuring the extent Brands are trying to get themselves Recognised, rather than Awareness, but it is good enough for us to say that increased activity on these channels is bound to help.

A Different Approach to Social Media and Brand Awareness

I am not a Social Media expert, but I understand that normally, the posts that are created cover a whole range of topics, like the office cat, what charity work the team has done, as well as information about their products or services. The aim here is to make people ‘like’ the Brand enough to do business with it, which is all well and good.

For my part, I have a different use for Brand Awareness, as I want to tie this in with telling people about the ways that a brand can help them, by showing that the Brand I can answer some of the many questions they have (you only have to look at Also Asked to know that is true), the details being held on the website in an FAQ or ‘Your Questions Answered’ section.

I believe that this will provide the Social Signal that Google wants whilst also covering the ‘They Ask You Answer’ angle that is so important when you are trying to gain the TRUST of a potential client.

An SEO Strategy for SGE

I will be providing a full SEO strategy in my next post, so please do check it out, and should you want to know even more about SGE, I have published a number of articles, so do seek out Posts, together they should give you a much better idea as to what is going on, and, more importantly what you have to do now so you are ready.