3 Ways To Differentiate Your Brand in Search Engine Results

B2B marketers are constantly tasked with the challenge of driving lead growth, increasing web traffic, and improving brand differentiation. Organic search visibility is an important component and differentiation in search engine results can be a critical factor in traffic and lead growth. In the following examples I will outline useful ways in which an organization can optimize their website, distinguish their keyword visibility from others, and aim to increase organic visits.

Optimizing Existing HTML Title Tags

With the assistance of the Screaming Frog SEO Spider you can scan key SEO elements of a website, including HTML title tags. Understanding and optimizing your HTML Title Tags is important because it is one of the first components of a web page the search engine spider will evaluate when it arrives at your website. The HTML Title Tag will inform the spider of what it should expect to see on each individual page of the site.

I audited a company called Zmags, a company that produces digital publishing software. In the below image you can see an example of a Zmags HTML Title Tag. Zmags could do a better job at keeping the HTML title text to under 70 characters (a best practice recommended by Google). Keeping your HTML Title Tag under 70 characters will prevent Google from listing your pages in its results with ellipses.

improving search results and brand differentiation

Zmags.com could also potentially benefit from moving their keyword targets to beginning of the  HTML tag. This way, there is a more distinguishable match when the page ranks well for the specific keyword searched. Remember that Google will bold search result text that is the same as the search query. Here are a few examples of Title Tags that could be improved.

“News – Zmags”  change to  ”Digital Publishing News – Zmags
“Marketing – Zmags change to “Digital Marketing – Zmags
“Showcase – Zmags” change to “Digital Magazine Examples – Zmags

The goal of making these changes would be to reach people who were searching for “digital” marketing news and related information. The best part of my above examples is that each keyword is specific, and they all have search volume (see below) according to the Google Keyword Tool (exact search). By making these adjustments you can hopefully target individuals who are searching for “digital” information.

Keyword research and brand differentiation

Below is an example of what a precise and targeted HTML title looks like. This Tag has a targeted keyword, is easy to read, and has search volume according to Google.

Good HTML title

Keyword tool reporting

The following is a summary of some key tips for creating your HTML Title Tags.

  • Suggested Order for Product-Based Pages: Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword | Brand Name
  • Make the HTML Title 70characters or less, as this is the limit Google displays in search results.
  • Place important keywords at the beginning of the title tag
  • We recommend using the brand name at the end of a title tag
  • Creating a compelling title tag could pull in more visits from the search results

Rich Snippets

Another way to potentially increase website traffic is to employ the use of Rich Snippets. Rich Snippets can supply Google and your prospects with more information regarding your site and more real estate in search results.

About Rich Snippets:

If Google understands the content on your pages, we can create rich snippets—detailed information intended to help users with specific queries. For example, the snippet for a restaurant might show the average review and price range; the snippet for a recipe page might show the total preparation time, a photo, and the recipe’s review rating; and the snippet for a music album could list songs along with a link to play each song. 

The following video provides detailed information of the purpose and benefits of using Rich Snippets.

The following is a list of rich snippets (microdata) which Google allows to be displayed in search results along with your organic result. If you optimize any of the following fields Google may choose to use this information if they believe it enhances the user experience.

If you have the correct microdata formatting, your site stands a better chance for displaying Rich Snippets in results. The below example is a site with is ranking on the first page of Google results for the term “digital publishing events”. Below is an example of this organization taking advantage of the “events” Rich Snippet (a key initiative for B2B marketers).

Using microdata for brand differentiation

Bottom-line; get more impact from search results if your B2B organization is leveraging content marketing assets that can benefit from rich snippet microdata.

Google Authorship

The search benefits of Google Authorship are becoming much more commonplace. Nowadays when we search for almost any informational search query, we are presented with results that show faces and author information of potential thought leaders in search results.

This is particularly valuable for B2B marketers who are attempting to reach a larger client base and establishing thought leadership. On one end, the Authorship program is similar to real life networking. The more connections you make in the web with your social networking profiles (starting with your Google Plus account) the more often you may be displayed in search results for your network to see providing they conduct Google searches that are similar to your organization or personal brand. Also imagine how many more people you may be able to influence if you’re colleagues connect themselves to Authorship . This would ideally allow your organization to distinguish its message in results.

Here is an example from our industry. Jill Whalen of High Rankings is a proven SEO that I follow on Google Plus, and Twitter. Because I am connected to Jill Whalen in social media its reasonable to assume that I would be more likely to click a result where her picture is displayed. She is someone I already trust professionally. Google is also making this assumption.

Sign up for Google Authorship

How do you sign up for Authorship? Follow the instructions below. Be sure to add all of your social profiles into the “contributor” section of your Google Plus profile as well. The more people in your company that connect themselves to your business brand, the larger your web of connections will spread.

Google Authorship for brand differentiation

The following is another example of how Google Authorship can attract visitors to your website. Although paidcontent.org is not ranking in an optimal position, my eyes are drawn to it because of the image.

Screen shots of keyword rankings

Final Thoughts

The following is a great example of how all of these ideas combine for a much more comprehensive search experience; much different today than search results were 3 years ago. Notice concise titling, images (blended search), Rich Snippet detail, and authorship.

interesting search results - properly branding results

We can expect search results to continually change. Taking advantage of tips provided this post may be able to help you attract more visitors and increase leads.

By leveraging the above ideas the B2B marketer has a better opportunity to increase web traffic, improve and differentiate brand messaging, and influence leads & sales. If you have any questions about the above information, be sure to connect with KoMarketing to learn more.

“We have a successful online business, and wanted to take the next step. We approached KoMarketing with the notion of leveraging its expertise in building better search rankings. Both in our defined critical areas and across the board, KoMarketing has helped us grow our presence. They were hired to expand our visibility, but took extra steps to provide many useful recommendations for other areas of our online presence that have had positive impacts. Derek and his staff work hard and take extra steps to ensure you succeed. They are an outstanding partner.”

Scott Stone — Scott Stone, Advertising & E-Business Manager, Cisco Eagle

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