Research on SEO/SEM Effects on Brand Equity

Andrew

I remember reading a study a few years ago that said ranking in organic results does have a positive impact on brand because it is perceived as a sign of approval by Google, but don't ask me where that was now.

Mostly for big existing brands with good offline exposure I see SEO protecting the brand rather than developing it:

- Protecting from technical issues

- Making sure navigational queries resolve properly

- Making sure they rank for the brand name terms...

Though it pains me to say it, if we look beyond the SERP, it is possible to argue that the company that got the best 'overall' brand exposure out of search recently was BMW, and they did that by getting kicked out. Most brands couldn't get away with it, but lets look at it logically, it's BMW, a brand a lot of people love to hate, did getting their wrists slapped by Google do any harm to the brand not at all. As far as your average Jo in the street is now concerned BMW is at the cutting edge of online marketing, and all most can remember is the words BMW and Google in the same sentence.

 Teddie

http://www.neutralize.com