How To Brand Your Website
By Ramsey | June 6, 2011
The problem with most websites today is that they have problems getting heard above the crowd. This means that more drastic methods need to be taken in order to get attention than have been in the past. At the same time, it is far easier to channel potential visitors towards a website than it ever has been before for someone who is not afraid to take chances. It is merely figuring out which method or methods works for any given website.
Branding a website is much more than merely getting a website to act as the advertising arm of the company. It is establishing that site as the go-to site for whatever it is advertising. Let’s say that I sell fishing rods. With branding I establish that my site is the one to go to when you need advice on which rod will work best for a given situation, and that my site has a lot of industry news on what is happening in the world of rods, as well as some opinion on what that news means. Successfully branding my site means that people know who the best person to buy rods is, and that my site is the one to buy from because I am an expert and what I am selling will help you catch fish.
Establishing a brand can be a lot more than just establishing one’s expertise. It also means that letting people know that your site exists. There are a number of standard ways to do this. Optimizing your site for search engines is the most basic way, and is worth the time and expense. Taking advantage of social networking is another, especially if your company offers coupons and advice; it can provide visitors with a reason to visit your site and at least look at what you are selling. Buying ad space on other sites, especially those in the same general industry or aligned with your business can also help; for my theoretical rod business, buying ad space on a bait site would be a great idea, as would a site that offers specific travel plans, such as those for fishermen. Advertising on a general tourist site, however, would probably be a bad idea.
There are also great non-standard ways. If the logo is particularly striking, placing it on shirts and caps can work, especially as give-away items. I can also hold some sort of contest, with the rules on my site. Although a lot of people will enter the contest, a lot more will look at the site in general. Real-life networking can work as well. An example of this is a convention of like-minded individuals; one can trade information and they may post the meeting to their social networking page. Another option is to sponsor a local sports team; not only will they wear your company name on their shirt but also an ad will be placed in the newsletters for that league, spreading word and interest in your site.
It is not a matter of merely finding a method, but a matter of finding a method that works for any given website. Not all sites can nor should be advertised the same way as another site, and what works for one site may not work for a site that looks and even acts like the same. However, once that method is found, it can act like magic on the site. A successfully branded website can do a lot for its owner, especially when it comes to selling a product or service. It is just a matter of finding that magic solution and taking advantage of it.