📢 Key Insights from Google’s Search Liaison
Google confirms that using branded keywords in your content does not negatively impact search rankings. Focus on content quality and relevance instead of worrying about keyword manipulation.
🧐 The Myth Debunked
A recent discussion on Twitter led by Google’s Search Liaison cleared up concerns about using branded keywords in articles, especially in product reviews.”No, you shouldn’t be afraid to mention the brand name of something you are reviewing. Our systems reward content that is helpful to readers.”
I'll disagree. No, you shouldn't be afraid to mention the brand name of something you are reviewing. It's literally what readers would expect you to do, and our systems are trying to reward things that are helpful to readers. How would you write a review of something and not…
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 25, 2024
🔍 The Debate
Content creator Jake Boly questioned why his unique articles ranked lower in search results, speculating it might be due to branded terms. This sparked a debate about SEO best practices.
⚔️ Conflicting SEO Advice
SEO expert Taleb Kabbara suggested avoiding branded keywords like “new balance” in review titles, claiming they could harm rankings based on his audits of numerous sites.
🏛️ Google’s Official Stance
Google’s Search Liaison refuted Kabbara’s claims, emphasizing that mentioning brand names in reviews is natural and expected by readers.”Writing a review without mentioning the product’s brand would be counterintuitive and less helpful to readers.”
As I said in my earlier reply: "This is something anyone can easily debunk themselves by simply searching on the results."
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 25, 2024
Top result for this query isn't a big brand. The YouTube videos aren't from big brands. They're from Jake. And ideally, I would agree that if our systems… pic.twitter.com/hKhGZxLuOH
📊 Evidence from Google
To support their position, Google’s representative cited a search query example, “new balance minimus tr v2 review.” The top result was from an individual reviewer, not a big brand, demonstrating that Google ranks relevant and helpful content regardless of the source.
🔄 Reaffirming Best Practices
The discussion continued when Mike Hardaker shared advice about avoiding branded keywords. Google’s response was clear:
“Yeah, don’t do that.”
Advice I appreciate, not always followed though, was told I could no longer rank for branded keywords? And to no index reviews that have branded keywords. Thats 1000+ product reviews. People find my reviews by searching for the product, pic.twitter.com/Poj5CknxDJ
— Mike Hardaker (@mountainweekly) June 25, 2024
This reinforces the idea that avoiding branded terms is unnecessary and counterproductive.
📈 Why This Matters
This exchange provides direct insight from Google, clarifying that using branded keywords in your content is not harmful. Instead, focus on creating high-quality, relevant content that genuinely benefits readers.
