Branded Searches -- Should I Name My Products Differently?

[nicole.healthline]

I know that branded searches are a large component of whether sites were hit by Panda or not, and I wonder if moving forward, I should always include the name of my site (domain) in the name of the product.

For example, if I have a product with a unique name such as 'history maps' should I change the name to include my brand name, i.e '[domain] history maps'? Or, if users search for the  unique product name, is that sufficient?

[ClassifiedsKing]

I would love to know too. My thinking is that adding any non keyword related words to your title will decrease your % of accuracy towards the search query. So technically I think "history maps" is better than "'history maps [name]" for the search query "history maps". *Not sure though.

[Dr-Pete]

Can you clarify what you mean regarding branded searches and Panda? I'm not aware of any Panda issues involving brand vs. non-brand searches.

[nicole.healthline]

Basically, if you were a brand, you weren't really affected by Panda. There is quite a bit of discussion around 'branded searches' as a main indicator of whether a site is a brand or not.

For example, if you look in adwords keyword tool for searches around macy's, youll see people are looking for 'macys home' 'macy's boots,' 'macys furniture.'

[Dr-Pete]

While it's true that big brands get away with more than other sites, I think it's a lot more complex than that. Big brands also have massive link profiles and high authority, which cushions a lot of other problems. Some big brands actually were hit by Panda, although to varying degrees.

Driving brand searches alone isn't going to work for most sites. Google is taking more offline factors into account for what constitutes a brand, I'm willing to bet. They're also looking at overall volume, authority, social activity, etc. It's not going to be easy to make yourself look like a big brand online if you aren't in "real" life.

If you want to build your brand, that's fine, and I think it's certainly good to do things like use some branded terms in anchor text (just for diversity). It's also, of course, a business decision as much (or more) than an SEO one. There's value to brand-building. I just wouldn't treat it as a cure for SEO problems. There are plenty of easier and more effective ways to prevent algo-related issues. A lot of Panda comes down to content quality, aggressive advertising, and site architecture.