Brand Search is Category Driven - Store Locator's are not the only solution

So what in the world does Brand Search is Category Driven mean?

It means that consumers don't normally start their search on a search engine with a brand name, they usually start it with a generic category-like term. Here is an example using the travel industry.

Search 1: Vacation

Search 2: Caribbean (search completed some time after search 1)

Search 3: Carribbean Cruise (search completed some time after search 2)

Search 4: Carnival Cruise (the brand)(search completed some time after search 3)

Here are some real examples using categories and keywords from our green industry using a popular search engine.

Plants - is a top tier "generic" category keyword

"Plant" got 126,007 searches and "Plant Nursery" got 23,194 searches. "Plant" wins.

Shrubs - Another category keyword, but would expect to fall under "Plants" in the scheme of things

"Shrub(s)" got 10,789 searches. The numbers are getting smaller. "Flowering Shrub" even smaller.

KnockOut Roses - Here is the brand. Currently the most popular rose in the marketplace.

"KnockOut Rose" scored a total of 2,203 searches at the same time "Plants" did 126,000

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Just for information purposes, here is the data on "Roses".

Man there are a lot of "Lover's" out there searching for a handful of roses. It is almost IMPOSSIBLE for a local garden center or nursery to buy the keyword "Roses" in the search engines. WAY too expense a keyword.

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So here's my point.

If you are a brand, and you have a store locator. That is great. Keep doing it. There are those who will drill down far enough to find you. When they do, make sure your store locator is really good.

However.....

Don't rely soley on your store locator thinking it is THE answer. Invest in other web publications that move traffic through top tier keywords. They can drive traffic to the points at which your brand is sold, and in some instances, can introduce your brand.

Steve

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BTW, I understand this concept because our Lawn and Garden Search dot com site introduces brands at top tier category levels. We will be serving brands into the local businesses with the keyword "garden center" over 500,000 times this year. Not to blow my own horn here, but show me another web site that does that and I'll buy you a rose.