Small businesses are obsessed with SEO. We can’t tell you the amount of business owners who reach out to us and say, “I need SEO. I want to be #1 in Google.”
Sound like something you may have said?
Search engine optimization is important, but before putting all your eggs in the SEO basket, let’s back it up for a second and talk about your ultimate goal: generating more business. You want more exposure, more leads, more clients, and more money.
We hate to be the ones to break it to you, but SEO alone will not accomplish that.
SEO will help you get more exposure. It will help you get found, and be seen. But…
…without strong branding, compelling calls-to-action, and a killer sales funnel, your SEO strategy is likely to fall flat (and cost you a ton of money in the process).
Showing up first in Google is great, but if people click to your website, and it’s a branding nightmare, they’re as good as gone. Branding isn’t just your logo—it’s the whole vibe of your business. It shows consumers that you’re professional, credible, and knowledgable, while giving your business a personality they can relate to.
Take a look at your website, and audit these branding elements:
You may also want to look at your competitors’ websites—not to copy them (PSA: just because a competitor is doing something, doesn’t mean it’s successful for them), but to see if the general professionalism of your website is on par with the companies you’re up against. Ask your team how they feel about your website—are they proud to show it off? Or, reach out to a select few colleagues to see how they feel about your website.
The bottom line is that branding is incredibly important for SEO—your website has to look good to convert. It can’t just be a wall of SEO content. While that might look good to Google, it doesn’t to your target audience…and, last we checked, they’re the ones writing the checks.
These days, it takes consumers an average of 5–8 touchpoints with a brand before they make a purchase decision. Ideally, you want to have control over some of those touchpoints, and by having compelling, measurable calls-to-action (a.k.a. lead magnets) on your website, you can collect user data, and continue marketing to these leads via other avenues.
Some proven lead magnets include:
Including compelling calls-to-action amplifies your SEO strategy by giving people meaningful and measurable ways to interact with your brand once they land on your website.
Once again, a website loaded with pages of search engine optimized content might bring in a lot of organic traffic…but if you aren’t giving visitors multiple opportunities to act, you’re missing the mark. Remember: not everyone who lands on your website is going to be ready to pick up the phone and call you…but they may be ready to subscribe to your blog, or download a free resource. Use calls-to-action that meet your consumers wherever they are in the decision-making process.
Let’s imagine you scored that top spot in Google search results, and that your website is well-designed, well-branded, and rich with a variety of calls-to-action.
That’s great!
But, what’s your follow-up?
Remember the 5–8 touchpoints that consumers need with a brand before they make a purchase decision? This is where they come into play. There are a few key follow-up strategies that we suggest you implement in your own marketing program:
Branding is extremely important for SEO because it influences the signals Google cares about most: trust, credibility, and user behavior. A strong brand earns more clicks in search results, keeps people on your site longer, and increases the chances they’ll return or search for you again—all of which support better performance over time. Branding also helps you stand out in competitive searches where multiple businesses offer similar services.
Not in the “logo = rankings” sense, but branding affects many ranking-adjacent signals. Strong branding can increase click-through rates, reduce bounce rates, and drive more branded searches (people searching your business name). It also helps earn backlinks and mentions more naturally because your business feels credible and memorable.
Branded keywords include your business name (like “Birdhouse Marketing branding”), while non-branded keywords are general searches (like “branding agency” or “branding for small businesses”). Branded keywords are usually easier to rank for and convert at a higher rate because the searcher already knows you. Non-branded keywords are more competitive, but branding helps you win them by increasing trust and recognition.
When people recognize your name, messaging, or values, they’re more likely to click your result—even if it isn’t in position #1. Clear positioning, a consistent tone, and recognizable brand cues (like a strong headline style or brand promise) make your listing feel safer and more relevant. Over time, stronger click-through performance can help your pages compete more effectively.
Yes. Inconsistent branding can confuse visitors and lower trust, which often leads to quick exits, fewer conversions, and fewer people returning to your site. It can also reduce the likelihood of backlinks and referrals, since people are less likely to share or cite a brand that feels unclear. Consistency across your website, content, and online profiles supports stronger authority signals.
The most SEO-relevant branding elements are the ones that shape trust and clarity: positioning (who you help and how), messaging hierarchy (what you want people to understand first), tone of voice, and a consistent visual system. These elements make your content easier to scan, your offer easier to understand, and your business easier to remember—all of which supports stronger organic performance.
Before we have an angry tirade of SEO experts pounding on our door, we’re not saying that SEO isn’t important or worth investing in. It absolutely is. It’s just that it’s not a standalone strategy. If your business only invests in SEO, yeah, you might land that top spot in Google…but you won’t generate a positive return on that investment.
The small businesses we work with have finite budgets, and SEO consulting is expensive. For a small business to target the top spot in Google for a highly competitive keyword, it’s going to cost a lot of money. Without other marketing strategies in the mix to support your SEO efforts, you’re just not going to see the results you want.
At Birdhouse Marketing & Design, we develop and implement comprehensive, integrated marketing strategies that check all the boxes—not just the SEO box. If you’d like to brainstorm some marketing strategies to implement at your company, get in touch with us today. You can reach us using the brief form below, or by calling (617) 433-8026.
Consumers are exposed to somewhere between 4,000 and 10,000 marketing messages a day, and yet business owners still expect them to travel neatly down a well-defined marketing funnel. Awareness, consideration, decision…right? Well, the truth is: the marketing funnel is dead, and it has been for some time now.
Branding is especially important for estate planning law firms. If your firm doesn’t LOOK credible, professional, and trustworthy, there’s a good chance your potential clients won’t give you as much as a second glance. Many firms have all the right marketing tools in place, but marketing will only get you so far. If you want to take your firm to the next level, you need to level up your branding.
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