Brand Surfing: Dominate Your Niche With This New Blogging Paradigm
A complete explanation with examples
I’ve been secretly testing an approach that I call Brand Surfing — and it’s one of the methods that help me make a full-time living as a blogger.
The cool thing is that it doesn’t matter if you're an entrepreneur just starting out or already have a successful blog. Brand Surfing can still help you stand out from the competition and become a dominating force in your niche.
It’s no wonder, then, that some of the biggest players in the blogging world have suddenly started talking about branding.
Branding is nothing new but there are always new tools, new strategies, and new ways to apply branding to your business.
This is Brand Surfing and how to do it.
What Is Brand-Surfing SEO?
After testing this approach for while now, I think it’s helpful to come at the term in a couple of different ways.
Let’s turn the idea around in our minds and examine it from all angles:
- Brand-Surfing SEO is a method of research that leverages the success of existing brands and products to boost your site and take it to the top of search engine rankings.
- It’s a way to ride the wave of an already successful product, with the aim of gaining some of its higher search engine visibility for yourself.
- It’s an art and science all rolled into one — but anyone can master it if they just follow some basic principles.
Yeah, I know all of this might be kinda boring…but hear me out.
Brand-surfing SEO involves researching popular brands, products, industry players, and competitors in order to capitalize on their successes.
By studying their keywords, content strategies, and general online presence, you can identify what exactly makes them successful in search engines – then use those tactics for yourself.
“Your personal brand serves as your best protection against business factors you can’t control.” — Dan Schawbel
For instance, if you wanted to start targeting customers searching for “cat accessories,” you could research the most successful online sellers in this niche (including their keywords and content conventions).
Then you could apply similar techniques to your own website - helping propel it up search engine rankings faster than organic methods alone.
How Does It Work?
Brand-surfing works by creating a web of connections between different brands or industries.
These connections can be used to boost visibility by tapping into keyword chains from related websites – boosting ranking in searches even when users don’t specify a brand name or product type.
This indirect approach helps spread your reach out wider than simply relying on organic growth for a single product or service.
By finding other related areas where people are looking for solutions like yours - you create more opportunities to get noticed.
Here are some tips on how you can make this strategy work for you:
- Explore Competitor Keywords. Find out what words and phrases your competitors are using by analyzing their web pages – then use these keywords in titles throughout your own site. This will give your brand extra reach when users enter generic terms associated with certain industries or topics.
- Analyze Competitor Content. Take a look at what kinds of content other companies in your field are producing – then try out different approaches yourself to strengthen your place within SERPs. This includes testing audio/visual elements as well as different tones/styles of writing – so you can find something that clicks with the widest possible range of customers.
- Look For Cross-Industry Opportunities. See what else is happening within other niches outside your own industry – does anything relate back directly or indirectly that might benefit from including some related terms within the content on your page? Any cross-industry marketing will only help bolster visibility further still.
A great example of cross-industry opportunities is when popular blogger and YouTuber Zulie Rayne started live streaming on Youtube.
I’m paraphrasing her here but she basically said, “Livestreaming is not just for gamers. Why shouldn’t bloggers benefit, too!” And she did live stream and it helped her YouTube channel grow.
Benefits Of Implementing Brand-Surfing SEO
There are several key advantages when using Brand Surfing as part of an overall SEO strategy.
Boost Visibility & Reach More People
When done correctly, brand surfing has huge potential reach benefits — allowing your company access to not just immediate target markets but also peripheral ones, too.
Plus it increases chances of appearing prominently in SERPs by leveraging other successful sites’ keyword popularity.
Meaning more eyes on whatever you have to offer.
Tap Into Related Markets & Increase Sales
As mentioned above, brand surfing allows businesses to access new potential markets related to current interest areas quickly and efficiently without having to develop unique strategies every time.
Plus, good implementation also opens up possibilities for wider sales/upsell opportunities.
Customers become more aware and trusting of the brand itself.
Stay Ahead of the Curve in a Competitive Space
With so much competition out there nowadays — staying ahead of the curve is essential.
Luckily, strategic research conducted through effective and diligent brand surfing is a proven way to create a robust edge over your blogging competition.
Optimizing Your Site for Brand Surfing SEO
In order to optimize your website for brand-surfing SEO, it is important to focus on several key elements.
Optimizing your site for Brand Surfing SEO is like paddling out before taking off on the wave — you need to put in the effort to find success.
Three important elements include:
- Ensuring that there is a competitive edge for certain keywords
- Making sure that your content speaks volumes about your product or service
- Using SEO techniques such as keyword placement and topical authority
This will make your site more visible in search engine rankings, as well as drive more organic traffic.
Additionally, it is important to create an attractive and user-friendly web design that encourages customers to stay on the page longer and explore the available products and services.
All of this ties back to your overall brand.
Author and marketer extraordinaire, Seth Godin, says it this way:
A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.
Brand Surfing SEO Content
Creative content creation is essential when putting together a successful brand-surfing SEO strategy.
Producing SEO content is like metaphorically sculpting a piece of art out of the wave crest — you have to be creative and thoughtful with your content.
It is important to think of creative ways to craft content that stands out from the crowd while still staying on topic with relevant keywords
This could be by incorporating visuals such as infographics or photographs, writing humorous content to engage readers, or utilizing stories and anecdotes to connect with audiences in an emotive way.
Brand Surfing Social Media
Social media can also be an incredibly powerful tool when implementing a brand-surfing SEO campaign.
Leveraging social media platforms is like riding a wave back to shore — no matter how far away you go, it’s important to keep your customers informed.
Platforms such as Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram can help generate interest in specific products or services alongside encouraging engagement from potential customers.
It may also be beneficial to use these platforms for promotional purposes – posting quotes from customers, offering discounts or giveaways, or participating in conversations related to your blog’s niche.
Summary of Takeaways
- Research & analyze competitor keywords & content strategies
- Build connections between different brands & industries (Cross-Industry Promotion)
- Create an attractive and user-friendly web design
- Write creative SEO content (incorporate visuals/humor/stories)
- Utilize social media platforms strategically to drive traffic to your blog or business
One More Thing
I know Brand Surfing is kind of a dry topic (pun intended).
But I do think it has massive potential to help your blog and business succeed.
Thanks for reading!
