FOCUS: BRAND BURN RATE | AUDIENCE: INVESTORS IN SLUGGISH BRANDS
BY: SHOBHA PONNAPPA | BRAND BREAKTHROUGH STRATEGIST | 45 YEARS | 125+ CLIENTS
I answer 6 tough questions about why being found on Google isn’t always enough to earn covetable brand recall … and what to do.
I’ve worked with investor-funded brands that drew strong traffic from Google … yet failed to convert it into buyer action or investor confidence. They were visible, yes … but forgettable. Being found is not the same as being remembered., draw traffic, and even get clicks — but are never named again in buyer conversations. Being found and being felt are not the same thing. In this post, I answer the six questions investors often ask when traffic is high but traction is low.
Because SEO shows what you’re about … not who you are. It gets you in front of a searcher, but what happens next depends entirely on your message, tone, and distinctiveness. Ranking is technical. Remembering is emotional.
Many brands optimise for keywords but forget to optimise for identity. They mimic competitors, use generic phrasing, and end up sounding interchangeable. A brand that ranks without resonance won’t be revisited.
Look beyond traffic. Check returning visitor stats, branded search queries, direct traffic growth, or mentions on social platforms. If these remain flat while organic reach grows, there’s a memory gap.
Another cue is feedback from prospects. If they say, “I saw something like this last week, but can’t recall where,” that ‘something’ might be you. When buyers remember the problem but not the provider, the brand hasn’t stuck.
Content that carries your voice, not just your facts. Insight-driven thought pieces, strong opinion posts, narrative case studies, and original metaphors all embed your perspective into the buyer’s mind.
Think about what makes a TED Talk memorable … it’s the personal lens, not just the information. If your blog or landing page could have been written by any competitor, it won’t imprint. Personality is the new ranking factor.
It absolutely can be engineered. Through strategic storytelling, message repetition, and visual distinctiveness, you design for recall. Look at the most remembered brands in your space. They didn’t stumble into it.
Good branding architecture includes mnemonic devices: signature phrases, colour codes, story arcs, or product truths told repeatedly across contexts. Repetition with variation builds mental availability.
Google should be your stagehand, not your star. It gets your brand into the spotlight … but your message, substance, and style must deliver the return. Ranking means nothing if the result is a leaky funnel. Search doesn’t guarantee strategic retention. It gets you on the stage … but it’s your message that performs.
Don’t chase SERP spots without knowing what to do with the attention they bring. Let SEO lead people to a voice, a belief, a promise. If your site is a conveyor belt of keyword fluff, your brand will exit their mind as quickly as they found it.
You don’t need to undo SEO … you need to infuse it with brand character. Audit your top-performing pages. Where’s the voice? Where’s the tension? Where’s the reason to stay Then rework your CTAs, headlines, and meta descriptions to carry your brand tone. Make every page a credibility layer.
When people say, “I found you through Google … and I haven’t stopped thinking about you since,” you’ve shifted from performance marketing to equity-building communication. Inject story and substance. SEO opens the door. Brand makes them stay.
If this post feels close to home, you may have a findable brand … but not a memorable one. Visibility alone doesn’t justify growth investment. You need to convert costly visibility into brand stickiness, and translate attention into market pull … not just metrics. Clicks must become conversions. Make your brand a presence, not just a result.
If you’re brand owner or manager seeking stronger brand performance, this FAQ Insight Post I wrote could interest you: “FAQs: Why Seasonal Buzz Doesn’t Sustain Long-Term Relevance.“
And if you’re a solo expert looking to sharpen traction, this FAQ Insight Post I worked on may resonate: “FAQs: When Your Product Story Fails to Justify Your Value.“
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