Client is not ranking on Google For Brand Name Search but is on Yahoo and Bing
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We have a mobile app development client that recently 6 months ago changed their domain name to www.FSStudio.com. So they are concerned that they don’t rank on the first page for the brandname phrase “FS Studio” On Google. They do rank on the first page for this phrase in Yahoo or Bing. But why is Google returning search results for stuff like Free Studio? I know this fairly obvious question which the answers may be that they need more authority or backlinks because their name happens to be a fairly competitive search for stuff that is unrelated. Any suggestions? We are going to be optimizing and creating a lot more content. Is this just that they need to mention their name FS Studio more frequently throughout their website? Here is a screenshot from Moz’s Keyword difficulty and SERP Analysis tool.
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Just wanted to add my two cents and make sure you're all set. Pretty sure everyone here nailed it. The brand name is a little ambiguous and there are other things our there that could legitimately rank for that. It is a little curious how Google is not ranking it for the brand yet Binghoo is.
One quick example, the Twitter account still links to their old domain - https://twitter.com/fsstudiodev - fix a whole bunch of little things like that and in aggregate they should add up to more clear brand signals.
One thing I'll mention which no one else did ----> Rel Publisher - this connects the G+ page to the website and is probably THE most powerful brand signal you can easily send in Google's eyes. I would do that as high priority.
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Well it sounds as though everything is in place then (assuming it is a 301 and not a 302 redirect). It may just be that they have picked a difficult brand name to rank for, which in that case, concentrate on building the brand and you should hopefully see the rankings sooner rather than later.
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Hey Karl, Thanks a lot, say we checked webmaster tools their no penalties. The other name of the company before is call ed FlakaSoft which i guess is what the FS is abbreviated for. When you type in they rank for first and it redirects to the new site.
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Wiqas,
Thank you also for your helpful suggestions.
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Thank you very much for taking the time to look at this it was helpful.
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Hi Andrew,
When they changed their website, did the ensure that the necessary redirects were put in place so that any authority from the old website was changed to the new one?
It may also be worth checking for any penalties, algorithm or manual. Check Webmaster Tools for any messages to double check. Have they ever ranked for their brand name? Did they rank for their old brand name?
It could be, as the other 2 comments say, just be a lack of authority and quality links but it is definitely worth checking that redirects and penalties aren't having an effect because you could be fighting a losing battle if it is one of these problems.
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Hey Andrew,
This issue comes with new websites with low authority! Currently you have
- Just 21 Referring Domains
Try to link with more. Your Anchors are non-money which is a good thing in deed but you can use your Brand as Anchor "FS Studio" This will help to get visible on Google for your brand name.
Currently your anchors are not pointing to your Brand Name at all: http://screencast.com/t/nHfp4tjQpmb
Best of luck!
Regards
Asjad Afzal
COO
Globital PTY LTD -
Andrew,
The site in question has low authority compared to the ones showing up in the first page. Google is somehow associating your brand with a software called "Free Studio" and sites with almost impossible to beat authority are ranking above.
Google, compared to Bing (and Yahoo! that serves results from Bing), uses different ranking mechanisms.
In order to "claim" your brand's name, I'd suggest you establish several business listings pointing to the site, such as:
- Facebook Page
- Twitter Profile
- G+ Page
- G+ Local
- LinkedIn Page
- Crunchbase
- Yelp
- etc.
Try to put your company out there, expose its name as much as you can without purchasing any "featured listing." Once you have all those steps completed, compare results and see if the brand name starts to show up.
Another approach would be to "extend" the brand name, removing the FS and using the actual significance of those 2 letters ("FS" means?). It should be easier to compete with other sites instead of the ones that are currently returned by your brand query: "FS Studio". Softonic, CNET, afterdawn are not easy targets.
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