Introduction to Brand Bias
The search experience is changing more than it has in the last 25 years, and many SEOs are citing that brand is the critical focus for survival. Stephen Kenwright, the founder of Rise at Seven, recently spoke at a small Sistrix event in Leeds about strategies for exploiting Google’s brand bias. His talk highlighted the importance of brand building in search engine optimization (SEO).
What is Brand Bias?
Brand bias isn’t a recent development. Stephen was already writing about it in 2016 during his time at Branded3. What underlines this bias is the trust users have in brands. Google wants to give a good experience to its users, which means surfacing the results they expect to see. Often, that’s a brand they already know. When users search, they’re often subconsciously looking to reconnect with a mental shortcut that brands provide. It’s not about discovery; it’s about recognition.
Traditional Marketing Influences Search Behavior
When brands invest in traditional marketing channels, they influence user behavior in ways that create cascading effects across digital platforms. Television advertising, for example, makes viewers significantly more likely to click on branded results even when searching for generic terms. Research demonstrates that television advertising creates measurable impacts on search behavior, with viewers 33% more likely to click on advertised brands in search results. People are about a third more likely to click on a result after seeing a TV ad, and they convert better too.
The Impact of Brand Building on SEO
Having the trust from the user comes from brand building activity, not from having an exact match domain that happens to rank first for a keyword. That’s just not how the real world works. By shifting focus toward brand-building activities that impact search visibility, SEOs can better align with broader marketing objectives. Just by switching that mindset and asking, ‘What’s the impact on brand of our SEO activity?’ we get more buy-in, bigger budgets, and better results.
The Importance of Choosing the Right Search Engine
While Google’s dominance remains statistically intact, user behavior tells us that there has always existed a fractured search journey. Half of UK adults use Bing monthly, a quarter is on Quora, and Pinterest and Reddit are seeing massive engagement, especially with younger users. Nearly everyone uses YouTube, and they spend significantly more time on it than on Google. This fragmentation means that conscious decisions about platform optimization become increasingly important. Different platforms serve different demographics and purposes, requiring strategic choices about where to invest optimization efforts.
The Future of Search: LLM Optimization
Looking toward AI-driven search platforms, Stephen believes the same brand-building tactics that work for Google will prove effective across LLM platforms. These new platforms don’t necessarily demand new rules; they reinforce old ones. What works in Google now, broadly speaking, is good marketing, and that also applies to LLMs. While we’re still learning how LLMs surface content and determine authority, early indicators suggest trust signals, brand presence, and real-world engagement all play pivotal roles.
Building a New Brand
If Stephen were to launch a new brand, he would focus on building a transactional website and spending millions on TV advertising. If he did more marketing, he would add PR. This recommendation reflects his belief that traditional marketing channels create a significant impact. The combination of a functional ecommerce website with substantial television advertising investment, supplemented by PR activities, provides the foundation for rapid brand recognition and search visibility.
Conclusion
The future of search requires a return to classical marketing principles that prioritize audience understanding and brand building over technical optimization tactics. Success in both search and LLM platforms increasingly depends on building genuine brand recognition and trust through consistent, audience-focused marketing activities across multiple channels. Whether it’s Google, Bing, an LLM, or something we haven’t seen yet, brand is the one constant that wins. By focusing on brand building and traditional marketing channels, businesses can create a strong foundation for success in the ever-changing search landscape.