Reach and Frequency: SEO Secret to Brand Building on Google?
For those of us who have been in search engine
optimization (SEO) for a number of years, we can recall the
days when SEO efforts were measured by a ranking report, alone.
That is to say, you might pick your top 50 keywords, dump these
into a rank checker, run a report monthly, and determine
whether these 50 keywords moved up successfully or fell in the
search rankings.
SEO Evolution
We evolved. We:
Incorporated reports on link building efforts.
Started to incorporate increases in natural/organic search
traffic from our web analytics reports.
Started breaking out branded versus non-branded keyword
traffic.
Started looking at conversion rates (what percentage of our
organic search visitors were completing lead forms and/or
buying products from our site).
Incorporated call-tracking and looked at conversion path,
to include
multi-channel conversion tracking.
What’s Next?
As someone who came into the SEO/digital marketing space from a
traditional marketing background (radio/television/print), it’s
fun to think about where we’re heading next.
It’s been my belief, since
Google’s Vince update of February 2009, that Google
was going to begin to figure out how to fix the “cesspool” of
search results (as Google’s Eric Schmidt called it) by placing
heavy emphasis on “brand”. How, then, does one build a brand in
today’s digital marketing marketplace?
Back in the day, building a brand came down to a formula I
learned while studying advertising:
Reach (number of people who received your message) X Frequency
(number of times those people received/were exposed to your
message) = Gross Rating Points (GRPs), or otherwise the
“effectiveness”/value of the marketing campaign.
Has the practice of SEO evolved to the point where we need to
start looking at reach and frequency, again?
Reach & Frequency is Dead, Long Live Reach & Frequency!
There are many who have said that reach and frequency is an
outdated measurement of marketing success. Until recently, I
was one of them.
Google AdWords used to promote reach and frequency metrics for
CPM-based ad buys. As my colleague
Josh McCoy will often say, if Google’s reporting on
it, chances are it means “something” in their algorithm.
Well, Google is reporting on it:
Perhaps we’re evolving to a point where we should consider
reach and frequency metrics – not as a replacement, but as an
additional metric to show value of our SEO efforts.
Brand Building & Measuring Modern SEO Success
Today’s SEO incorporates many methods of creating and promoting
content. Some content is
Video – perhaps views on YouTube is an SEO metric?
PR/public relations – should we incorporate number of
mentions in the press? We certainly try to measure the
backlinks produced from such efforts.
Blog content that goes viral.
Infographics.
There are loads of tools available to SEOs nowadays to help to
measure “success”, but I don’t think we’ve gotten to the point
where there is a super-tool that can bring all of this together
(if you guys know of one, I want you to comment below so that I
can check it out).
When we develop an infographic, and promote it through
social channels, if it’s done well, we can earn quite a few
good links. Aside from the links, there are some instances in
which the link was removed, but the brand value of the
infographic can remain.
If you’re exposing your brand to a mass audience, there must be
some (SEO?) value in that, right? It’s building your
brand.
I believe that SEO has reached a point where you could make an
argument that some traditional metrics of building a brand
should be incorporated into reporting of “success” for
SEO. If you can build the brand, shouldn’t it help natural
search engine rankings?
If more people are searching for your company’s name, because
you’ve created great content, promoted it, earned
links/mentions/retweets, etc., shouldn’t that help SEO? Should
SEO be given any credit for an increase in branded searches, or
even increases in direct traffic?
What Was (is?) Old is New Again?
Perhaps we’re evolving toward a model that factors reach and
frequency. If we can compile all of the information on exposure
of the brand and how these efforts lead to higher rankings
and/or more traffic (organic/direct or otherwise) and how –
through multi-channel analysis – these efforts are leading to
conversions, then perhaps we'll help position SEO as more
than “just” a direct response marketing effort?
Please share your thoughts!
Register
now for SES London 2012, the
Leading Search & Social Marketing Event, taking place 20-24
February, 2012. SES Conference & Expo features presentations
and panel discussions that cover all aspects of search
engine-related promotion. Hurry, early bird rate expires February
3!
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Reach and Frequency: SEO Secret to Brand Building on Google?