Personality matters.

Brand personality: Does it have a place in SEO?

You’ve figured out the keywords you’re trying to rank for. You know what the competition is doing. You have a strategy that is based on relevance and tunes into user-intent, to answer their search in their time of need. You have a plan: from desired length and meta tags to link-building and optimized images, you’re ready to go.

And now it’s time to start writing all of this strategic content.

On the most fundamental level, it begs the organizational question: ‘What words should we use besides keywords?’

Brand-true, personality-rich ones!

If you’re a tech company who’s ready to make moves in the marketplace, it’s likely:

• Your brand has a well-defined personality.

• You understand your ideal customer.

• You know how you want them to feel. 

• And you know how you stand out from the competition.

But are you using that in your SEO marketing? Should you be? For some types of organizations it matters more than others, but the overarching answer is yes. Giving your content a brand-authentic personality — a story — will get you further in the eyes of Google, and the eyes of your prospective customers. 

When it comes to blog posts or landing pages for your tech product, it’s information that will keep them reading. 

But it’s personality that will help them feel connected, and make them more likely to take next steps.

As a technology company, you want traffic. But beyond that, you want leads and sales.

Our expert opinion? When it comes to search engine optimization, infuse personality. As long as the personality is authentic to your brand, and it’s accompanying strategically-placed keywords, this will be better than bland every day of the week.

With keyword research and SEO strategy that’s on-point, you’ll make gains. Personality within that smart content is yet another way to stand out from the crowd.

Unique, engaging content can improve dwell time, reduce bounce rates, and encourage social sharing, all of which can positively impact search engine rankings. It can also increase connection and fuel next steps — like following, or purchasing. 

Information combined with personality can be the secret sauce for tech companies who want SEO content that doesn’t just generate sales for those who are ready, but also starts relationships for those who aren’t quite ready yet.

Personality in SEO content can also create opportunities for:

• Brand Recognition: Consistent use of brand personality across platforms and content can improve brand recognition. As users become familiar with your brand's personality, they're more likely to search for your specific brand rather than generic industry keywords.

• Improved Engagement: Brand personality can create a stronger connection with your audience, leading to higher engagement levels. Engagement metrics like click-through rates (CTR) and bounce rates can indirectly influence search engine rankings.

• More Targeted Keywords: SEO content with brand personality can give you more clarity on what’s connecting and what isn’t, helping you to identify keywords and topics that align with your brand's values and identity, and giving you further insight into the type of SEO copy that generates sales. 

So, does brand personality have a place in SEO copy? 

YES! If someone shows you how to open a gate, you’ll know how the gate opens. But if someone who is friendly, welcoming, and genuine shows you how to open the gate, you might feel gratitude, loyalty or connection. 

While Google doesn’t (yet) penalize bland content, humans do. Living, breathing people are less likely to read boring content — and less likely to connect to your specific product because of it.

An analysis of over 100 million articles by BuzzSumo discovered that emotional, engaging headlines can generate more shares and higher engagement. (Source: BuzzSumo). Just think about what’s possible with emotional, engaging SEO content throughout all of your landing pages.

Don’t miss an opportunity to connect more deeply. 

If you have a brand personality and an ideal client persona, make sure your SEO agency knows about it, so it can be woven into your SEO content.