In every industry there are certain brands that set the standards for trust and reliability. On the web, Google is that brand.
Google is raking in billions of dollars every year because they built a plain, easy to use product that customers trust. They’ve never succumbed to Internet fads and drive traffic like no other company in the history of the World Wide Web.
Affiliate marketers may grind their teeth at Google’s fickle attitude towards gambling ads on their GoogleAdsense network, but there’s no denying that the company has its merits, especially when it comes to brand building. If you’re trying to build a better online brand, there are plenty of lessons to be learned from the search engine giant.
Take a Lesson from Google
The next time you set out make your site name into a verb, consider these branding tips from Google.
- Reliability is essential: A Google search is something you can always rely on. That’s why a front page Google ranking is like money in the bank for most businesses. If your sites set the standard for honest, reliable business practices, converting visitors to customers will be a lot easier.
- Never be evil: Internet purists may argue about whether Google is evil or not, but consumers vote with their computers. Google wouldn’t control two of the top three sites on the Internet (Google and YouTube) if their customers were worried about uploading viruses from their products. Prospective casino customers are smarter than you think; they know when things don’t look right on a site and move on.
- People judge you by the company you keep: Google hasn’t ever sold advertising on its main page and probably never will. Your customers need to know that your content leads them to reliable sports books and casinos. Keep track of rogue affiliate programs and online casinos with shady reputations by keeping up on industry forums and news sites.
- Synergy isn’t just a buzzword: Google delivers its main product, search results, across a number of different platforms like Gmail and AdSense and no one really notices. That’s because every line of code in the Google universe works together seamlessly. When driving traffic to affiliate casinos, make certain that their banners, graphics and links work well with your site. Clicking on a link to a gaming site should be a quick and easy experience for customers.
- Make it easy: Google’s minimalist graphic style makes Google and Gmail quick loads for almost any computer. You’re never bogged down with slow load times when visiting Google sites and that makes customers return time and time again. If your site is loading slowly try taking it easy on the graphics. You might also think about utilizing a plug-in like W3 Total Cache to help speed up load times.
- Be relevant and timely: Google content is the industry standard for current and relevant information because they draw from up to the minute resources. If you’re asking site visitors to give someone money based on your recommendations, you’d better be up to the minute, too. Gaming enthusiasts aren’t likely to do business with sports betting site that’s featuring two week old game previews on its front page. So K.I.C. Keep It Current.
- Re-use and re-tool: Google search results are reused for a variety purposes at no extra cost. If content is at a premium on your sites, learn how to re-brand and re-tool it in a variety of different formats. When used correctly, quality content can be re-purposed as blog posts, series, quizzes or e-books.
Love them or hate them, the Google brands have earned customer trust and that is how they’ve been able to corner a huge chunk of the planet’s Internet traffic. Your brands can earn that same kind of trust with just a few minor tweaks. Building a trusted brand like Google doesn’t require a huge marketing budget, and can pay off big time with satisfied customers.
What are some of your tips and tricks for building a reliable brand? Let us know in our General Discussion Forum.