When your brand becomes a verb

I just got back from Pubcon in Vegas and one thing everybody is talking about right now is backlinks.

I get it. I mean, they’re meant to generate more traffic, right? That’s their main purpose.

So the pitch in my presentation was basically: if they’re meant to generate more traffic, where is it? Plus, are there better ways of generating that traffic more quickly?

Because let’s be honest, I want to get away from worrying about Google all the time. That’s why the name of my upcoming book is Get Stuffed, Google! It’s coming out before Christmas, for those who have asked.

Some people got a little bit confused about that presentation. What we’re basically saying is when you see your brand being searched naturally, that’s a sign that you’re on the right track. Going and buying backlinks to get that traffic creates a false signal.

You want real signals, and the only way to do this is to stop being so dependent on Google results exclusively. Instead, start concentrating on making your brand synonymous with the keywords in your search category.

One of the big talks going on at the con was about SEMrush, and how their name has become a verb. Sort of like Google, right?

So when you’re thinking of building your brand long term, what verb do you think about coming right after your name? That’s where your focus should be, and that’s what you need to start trying to grow.

Your goal should be to get more branded search phrases in your search analytics, and that means popularity, not backlinks. If you’re already popular, you don’t need outside links to legitimise your brand. Your customers will search for you by name.

This article originally published on stewartmedia.com.au.

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