Mentions if domain slightly different to brand name

[Brian_Dowd]

Hi,

Just a question/discussion regarding mentions. I have read for the last few years that Google is able to give credit to websites who get mentioned without a link. Even a few months ago there was a big article on the Google update at the end of last year saying how mentions would become an even stronger signal than a link. My question is, if anyone knows, is there any evidence that Google and other search engines are able to give ranking credit to websites whose brand name is slightly different from the domain? Can the search engines figure out that it is the same thing? If not, then there must be a lot of brands missing out.

Thanks.

[paints-n-design]

I only would guess that google can figure it out.

Google has to figure out missspelling, that a "mention"-theory could work. I mean, with my domain intenseo.de I get a lot of mentions from people wich ment intenso. I don't sell USB-Sticks, sorry. So google has to figure out whats the topic arround the mention and the brands shouldn't do the same thing. So if (and I don't believe that) google counts each and every mention (whenever in future) and handle it like a link, google has bigger tasks than brands with slidely or complete different Domain-names.

Nearly the same thing - I work in an agency named bitskin - do you know _bitskins_for CS:GO? Bitskin gets a lot (thousends) of mentions from people wich meant bitskins - not bitskin. In both cases it's just one letter...

The point is: "Google is able to" doesn't mean: "Google will treat each mention...." 
If Google (will) work(s) with mentions, they will now the fine differences, they know missspelling, what people mean and wich brand is ment. If they wouldn't be sure 200% they won't count - Thats what I think.

[Paddy_Moogan]

Hi Brian,

To follow on from what Andreas has said, I think that Google certainly can figure out this kind of thing. The question then, as you point out is whether Google give credit for them. I think that if Google can figure it out, then they would give credit for that brand mention. It won't have the same effect as a solid link, but I can still see it helping in some form.

As to whether Google give credit or not, I don't have any evidence but I'd imagine it's dependant on a few things:

• If there are any other similar brand names / domains out there. So if there are a few different companies with similar names or domains, Google may not be able to figure out which one to attribute the mention to. Therefore they may not credit anyone or they may credit the wrong brand.
• The context in which the mention is given. If the mention is given in a piece of content which is the same topic as the domain, then it may be easier for Google to figure out and assign credit. If the content isn't the same topic, again it may be harder for them to attribute credit.

Ultimately, I guess the test is how the domain in question ranks for the brand name. If you rank number 1 and dominate, then it's pretty clear that Google have figured out that the two are connected. If the results are a little more mixed or you rank number 1 but not with a six pack of sub-page results, then again, Google may not know for sure.

I hope that helps!

Paddy

[paints-n-design]

agreed -> that could be a way to check.
BTW: I think it is also a question for "brand searches" not only brand mentions. I mean, when people search the brand + Keyword its also needed that google knows the brand

[Brian_Dowd]

Thanks guys. That makes sense. I guess a good test is to also check and see if you dominate not only for the branded keyword but also all the common misspellings, etc. That might be harder for some brands such as bitskin and bitskins or intenso and intenseo. But i guess if you have a unique enough name and you rank for those too, then you know search engines really do understand.