The Branding Power of Search Engine Optimization

When people think of search engine optimization (SEO) - the art and science of making your web pages rank highly on search engines - they usually think of precise, tactical activities aimed at specific sets of keyword phrases. SEO is all that, but it can serve another purpose, one that may be more significant than driving traffic to a web page to sell a particular product or service.

I’m talking about branding.

What is the cumulative effect of having customers in your niche see your company’s name over and over again when they search for anything…

Should Consultants Call Themselves Consultants?

Trigger Words - When Branding and SEO Collide

Many consultants I work with dislike referring to themselves as consultants. They think the word consultant has a bad connotation and furthermore, does not accurately describe their services or methodology.

In terms of consultant being a trigger word, they are absolutely correct, at least in my experience. When I was in the corporate world and a consultant contacted me, I thought -

• Expensive
• Unfamiliar with our needs
• Theoretical
• Long meetings
• Loss of control
• No results

Not exactly the kind of thoughts that would warm me up to hiring this person. But here’s the rub. Whenever I was looking for outside assistance, what word do…

What Can John McCain Teach Us about Branding?

Image via WikipediaWe live in turbulent times. One advantage is there are lessons to be learned everywhere. What’s happening in U.S. politics these days is instructive from a marketing and branding point of view. Here’s my take, along with a little branding self-quiz.

Be consistent. Maverick one day, elder statesman the next … underdog, war hero, bridge builder, champion of the average Joe … who can keep track? Big danger in test marketing on a national stage. Is your brand clear and consistent? If not, people get confused. No sale.

Have a core message. Obama has one - change. Lame message in my…

Do They Recognize You? - Guest Post by Drew McLellan

Note to Reader - Drew McLellan’s blog, Drew’s Marketing Minute, is one of the first I discovered, and I still think it’s one of the best. I’m thrilled to have Drew writing a guest post on Word Sell. Enjoy!

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When someone pulls up to the Longaberger Co headquarters in Newark, Ohio there is no doubt what the company sells. The building is a giant picnic basket. Literally. Talk about branding.

Now, I’m not suggesting that you re-design the front of your building into the shape of a giant adding machine or 2-way radio. But no matter what you sell or what you…

Email - When Branding and Efficiency Collide

Image via WikipediaI’m jumping to gmail. Plain, vanilla, no bells and whistles gmail. As a marketer and writer, I hate giving up the my “wordsell.com” email address, but for me, the need for efficiency has finally trumped the desire for consistent branding.

My wordsell.com email was hosted on AT&T and ran on Outlook. I started having major service interruptions about two months ago when AT&T started changing servers and never let me know. All of a sudden my email stopped working — a major problem when your business runs on email.

Descent into email hell

Getting help from the AT&T service desk proved…

A Logo Makeover Achieves Results

We all know a picture tells a thousand words. That’s why your company logo can make you or break you. A logo needs to work quickly and powerfully. It needs to create a positive first impression so that the customer feels comfortable exploring the possibility of doing business with you.

My client Salazar Packaging, Inc. had a logo that just wasn’t working. It looked like this -

There were several issues -

• The roll in the drawing is supposed to be a roll of industrial plastic film, but it could be a roll of anything.
• The red lettering in the company name is distracting.…

You Must Stay on the Customer’s Radar!

Out of sight, out of mind. Here’s a scene that’s played over and over across the B2B world.

Bob - Hi Phil, take a look at the new features on our underground storage tanks. They’ve made some fantastic improvements.

Phil - Oh, wow. I just bought a 15,000 gallon water tank last week.

Bob - (jaw drops) What? Phil, why didn’t you call? Underground tanks are a core part of our line!

Phil - Geez, Bob. I didn’t know you had tanks. I thought you guys sold fire pumps.

• Do your customers know what you sell?
• Will your customers remember what you sell when they need what you sell?

Sales people are so immersed…

Marketing Madness - Is Target Stealing Best Buy’s Thunder?

My wife discovered this baffling advertisement in our local paper. Take a look -

The red credit card clearly represents Target. This is exemplary branding - you don’t even need to see the word, TARGET. But the headline at the right says Best Buy. So which is it?

Perhaps the body copy will clarify.

“…We’ll give you a $100 Best Buy® Gift Card with any qualifying purchase…”

Nope, I’m still confused. Why the huge Target “giftcard” and no Best Buy logo at all? Perhaps the microscopic copy underneath will clarify.

“The Bullseye Design and Target are registered trademarks of Target Brands, Inc. Target is…

How a Brown Box Can Destroy Your Business

Having come from the packaging industry, I know that for many companies, the corrugated boxes they use for shipping are low on the priority totem pole.

But companies that overlook their external packaging do so at their own peril. Here’s an example of how a fine brand can be crushed - along with their boxes.

I’ve used Cafepress for a couple years. Good products. Fast delivery. Slick website. Innovative business model. And after all the blood, sweat, and tears they put into making all that happen, here’s the lasting impression they make on a customer -

That’s not the look you want from…

Let’s Play a Branding Game

Every company should have a signature. Something it’s known for. A quality that comes to mind the instant a person thinks of you.

Let’s play Branding Word Association…

What’s the first company that comes to mind when you think of the following words/phrases? (If you click on the links, you’ll see my responses.)

Whatever companies come to mind have strong brands. Most likely they are excellent in most every respect. Yet they have one signature benefit that stands out.

Does your company have a signature benefit? Do your customers know what it is?

Word Sell … Scrambled Toast

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