Branding Association for SEO, and Google's understanding of a "brand Name"

[tonyr7]

Hey guys. so I currently run my own business here in Queens NY, for Web Design and online marketing, specifically SEO, SMM, SEM, and some inbound marketing that ties to SMM and SEO. When starting I was in a different business, and had kept my old business name.

I plan on re-branding myself January 1st with a brand new name, the name i'm seriously considering is "Media Marketing USA". I was able to purchase MediaMarketingUSA.com. I feel this name is good and bad at the same time, and here are some of the reasons.

The pro: Easy to remember, sounds big, and describes my business well.

The con: Sounds generic, and I worry it will be hard to brand.

I used the mentioning tool provided by Moz and see that nearly everyday 500-1,000 people are naturally mentioning Media Marketing USA, one of my biggest questions is will this give me a competitive advantage in SEO, or will it hurt me in SEO as Google may not see this or understand its a brand name? Do you personally think this is a good name to re-brand myself and use as my main website?

The Website itself will be used as a corporate website, a method of inbound and outbound marketing through content creation, Social Media, and of course SEO, targeting specific locations, and specialty services and industries in the NYC area.

Please share your thoughts with me, THANKS!!!

[JMacSupply]

Hello Tony,

I agree with the below opinion that a unique name (or different variations of your current name) would be best for branding purposes. However, I know that at this stage it may not be a viable option. While having your brand name mentioned frequently can be a positive aspect, that is only the case if it is recognized as your brand. It would be possible to market your brand while leveraging its popularity through brand association and search engine optimization, however it will be difficult and will require much effort.

[ReferralCandy]

Hi Tony,

From the way it looks, your domain name looks like an EMD, and it may not be easy for Google to recognise that it is your brand name. Having exact keywords can help in your SEO, but from a marketing perspective, it doesn't sound like a good brand name.

You should consider giving yourself a unique name instead. It doesn't have to be completely without keywords, but you can consider using portmanteaus, or combining a keyword with an existing word. Moz (used to be SEOmoz) or ReferralCandy (we provide a referral marketing platform for ecommerce retailers) are good examples of how keywords can be used harmoniously as brand names.

This article should be helpful to you: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/how-your-domain-name-will-impact-seo-social-media-marketing/62564/

[David-E-Carey]

Hi Tony,

I see, sorry Tony I thought your concerns may have been around the use of the domain name you purchased and Google's interpretation of it as a legitimate brand site for users searching on that branded query.

I have seen sites where I've tested out generic queries to see if the domain has given them competitive advantage and well many are positioned in the top first page ranks but not all gain that coveted 1st place for that query. Which are taken by more established domains, with higher domain and page authority etc.

Sorry I can't be much more help to you than that Tony.

Best regards,

David

[tonyr7]

Hi david, I am actualy not trying to do an EMD. I am not targeting Media Marketing USA as a potential high level keyphraise. I would doubt many people would even search it. I will be targeting Web Design Location, SEO Location etc.

But what this question is about is not EMD's or there affect, but rather is this name possible to use as a brand?

Can I develop a brand from a generic name like this one?

would Google understand this is a brand, and possibly give me a competitive advantage because it happens to be mentioned 500+ times a day? (found out using the mentioning tool)

[David-E-Carey]

Hi Tony,

Looks like your putting some serious consideration into employing an EMD domain 'Exact Match Domain'. For me most of the last year looking at the MOZ postings and discussions around this practice they seem to want people to be wary of this. See this post for instance by Dr.Pete last September http://moz.com/blog/are-exact-match-domains-in-decline.

Personally, I would prefer the long haul road, build up my valued content on my sites and other properties and gradually through generic searches see people revisit but this time via branded searches. On if my competitors employed an EMD, this year he has done considerably down the ranks.

At the same time I gather you are wanting to rack up some quick wins and get people to your site ASAP. I tend to employ an initial 3-6 month PPC strategy on terms to see what works and then optimised content around successful terms with good conversion rates.

However granted if your legal business is going to be this name, then it might therefore be fine. These are just my thoughts but I hope that helps a little.

David