I’ve noticed that some big brands rank for high-volume keywords even with mediocre content. Is "Brand Authority" a literal ranking factor in Google’s current E-E-A-T guidelines, and how can we build this through digital marketing to improve our overall SEO performance?
3 answers
Answer 1:=While "brand" isn't a single toggle in the algorithm, Google uses "Entities" to understand authority. When people search for your brand name specifically, it signals to Google that you are an authority in that niche. This is part of the "Trustworthiness" in E-E-A-T. A strong branding strategy increases branded search volume, which indirectly boosts your non-branded rankings. Additionally, a recognizable brand name in the SERPs significantly increases Click-Through Rate (CTR). Even at position #3, a known brand can get more clicks than an unknown site at position #1.
Are you actively monitoring your "Branded vs. Non-Branded" traffic split in Search Console? If your branded traffic is growing, you'll usually see a correlated lift in your ability to rank for difficult industry terms.
Brand mentions on high-authority sites (even without a link) help Google associate your brand with specific topics. This is the essence of building topical authority through branding.
Nancy is spot on. Unlinked brand mentions are becoming a massive signal for entity-based SEO in 2024.
I haven't checked the split recently, but our branded searches have stayed flat while our content output doubled. This suggests we are doing "SEO" but not "Branding." Should I shift some budget into PR or display ads to fix this?