Search engine optimization (SEO) is a critical form of marketing for any business. The more optimized your client’s website is, the higher it will rank on search results pages where it can easily be found by both existing customers and potential new shoppers, building brand awareness. However, product searches on the internet are not the only way consumers find businesses to shop from. That is why Chris Gregory, writing for Search Engine Land, recommends that your clients spread out their ad spending to additional channels.

How to Build Brand Awareness

“SEO, by its nature, isn’t a good channel to create brand awareness as users need to have awareness of a product or service before they will search for it,” says Gregory. What media does he recommend to raise brand awareness, therefore giving search engine optimization efforts a boost?

For businesses on a budget, Gregory says the top marketing channels to use in order to build brand awareness are digital display, social media and email ads, as well as webinars and speaking events (such as seminars). All of these media channels offer relatively inexpensive advertising that expose consumers to a branded blurb before they even consider conducting a search.

If your client has a higher ad spending budget, the big dogs to build brand awareness are TV, billboard, direct mail and radio ads. According to Gregory, these ads help create more detailed incentive for viewers, recipients and listeners to look up a business online and research their product or service offerings.

Gregory is not saying that these ads are better than SEO to build brand awareness (according to AudienceSCAN, 28% of American adults took action based on a sponsored search result they saw last month). He’s saying that it doesn’t hurt to have a little inspiration driving internet searches, which other media can provide. Want to know what kinds of media are the top drivers of your client’s primary audience? Check out their audience profiles on AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel. Each profile contains marketing information such as which advertising media types lead to the most sales.