I’ve been thinking about a theory for some time now. Once in a while you’ll see a high-ranking site with terrible SEO, but they have a really strong brand. This really hit me when we were working on a blog site that achieved Google’s featured answer within minutes of being online with a new page. We did no external linking for the page. The only answer was that the client had some very strong branding for their niche. The only linking we did with this blog was internal linking, designed to help the user find more relevant pages within the site.
Domain authority isn’t what it’s cracked up to be; Google ranks pages, not domains. But if your brand is a trusted one within your niche, even if it’s an obscure one, Google will trust that you know what you’re talking about and you’ll end up with a higher ranking for that page.
The point is that in order to achieve the ranking and results you want, focus on your users, not Google. Create a site that is as user-friendly as possible. If your readers can find exactly what they’re looking for without a lot of searching, Google will reward you for that by ranking your site higher. The more brand search you have, the more Google will see you as an authority. And authority is what Google is looking for. You’ll be able to give up the endless quest for ranking. Instead, you can sit back while Google searches for you. As long as your basic details are in place this will protect you from Google update fallout and will help to build your loyal brand fan base, which ultimately helps to grow your business.
This article was originally published on stewartmedia.com.au.
Jim Stewart is a leading expert in search engine optimisation. His business StewArt Media has worked with clients including Mars, M2 and the City of Melbourne.
