The query for this version of Ask An search engine marketing comes from a reader who’s making an attempt to make their rebrand stick in search:
“Our firm not too long ago went by way of a rebrand with a brand new title. We’re seeing our outdated model title nonetheless dominating search outcomes, whereas our new model barely registers.
What’s the perfect method to transition model fairness in search from our outdated title to our new one?”
Having your outdated model title seem on Google may be extraordinarily irritating. You simply launched a brand new model title, spent plenty of time engaged on it, and right here you’re caught on the search engine outcomes web page with the outdated title.
It’s genuinely irritating.
There are basically three steps right here:
- Deal with your personal ecosystem.
- Request adjustments to third-party websites.
- Construct up your new model title so that you don’t must depend on No. 2 taking place.
Aligning The Belongings You Management
The primary, and apparent factor to do, is guarantee your new model title seems constantly throughout all of the belongings you personal.
A few of these locations are completely apparent, like your homepage. Clearly, you’re going to alter the way you discuss with your self in your homepage.
Nevertheless, there may be plenty of nooks and crannies throughout your ecosystem which will nonetheless point out your model’s former title.
This may embrace:
- Title tags and meta descriptions.
- Alt textual content.
- Information Base pages.
- Structured information markup.
- Unused social media accounts.
- Worker bios (each on and off your website).
It’s a matter of crossing your i’s and dotting your t’s. In case you’re an enormous model with a broad ecosystem, this may be extra difficult than it may appear.
Let’s think about for a second that what modified isn’t the primary model title however a product title or the title of a sub-brand.
There might be hundreds of pages that you’d by no means even consider that may reference the outdated naming.
In such a case, it is best to conduct an intensive audit. I like to recommend this typically, even in case you are not an enormous web site – it’s really easy to neglect a web page that references your naming and that such a web page even existed.
This could assist guarantee your personal model SERP is aligned with the brand new naming as a lot as potential.
Nevertheless, there are nonetheless components even on these SERPs that may want some assist, comparable to your Information Panel. For this, we have to assume past your owned belongings.
Align Third-Get together Belongings
Getting others to acknowledge your new model title is just a little more durable than simply combing by way of your belongings to make sure alignment (which, as I stated earlier, won’t be as simple as it could appear).
Getting third events to choose up in your branding change is extremely vital.
The underlying objective or idea is: We wish folks to speak about you and to say your new model title after they do.
Inside this process, there are issues which can be simpler to perform and issues which can be a lot more durable.
Begin with the better issues. Getting these completed will provide help to push areas that you’ve got much less affect over.
One simple place is writer bios. In case you, or anybody in your organization, has contributed content material to a third-party website (whether or not it’s an article, webinar, podcast, and so on.), there may be usually a bio that may point out, if not hyperlink to, your organization.
Be certain that these bios are updated and mirror the present and solely the present firm title.
By the way in which, typically these bios have a number of locations the place the model is talked about; be certain that all situations are updated.
For instance, in my Search Engine Journal bio, my firm is talked about twice:
Getting these up to date shouldn’t be exhausting in any respect.
It’s simple to overlook a number of wins right here.
However getting these citations proper will help with the Google outcomes.
After I went round and had my present firm added to all of my bios throughout the web, Google’s Information Panel took discover.
Whereas my outdated Wix bio nonetheless usually seems as the primary URL within the Information Panel and as a high natural end result, Google began to drag within the pictures from my website as nicely:
Screenshot from seek for [mordy oberstein], Google, Might 2025Discover, by the way in which, that as a result of I took care of my social media. My present model reveals up as a part of my LinkedIn profile, which is complicated contemplating what the Wix end result says beneath it (i.e., that I work at Wix).
That’s precisely what I would like. I would like the individual to ask, “Does he nonetheless actually work at Wix?”
When Third-Events Gained’t Align
What occurs when your model is listed beneath its earlier title on some random listicle that gained’t reply to any of your requests to alter the model title?
What occurs if on some discussion board (say Reddit), there are infinite references to your earlier model title that you may’t take away?
For starters, it does present the logic behind operating a marketing campaign to announce your new branding.
Usually, corporations will run a marketing campaign saying the brand new branding to generate buzz and curiosity and even to realize extra conversions.
Nothing flawed with that, in any respect. Nevertheless, even when none of that occurs, it nonetheless is sensible to run a marketing campaign while you change the title of your model.
If solely to sign that the model title that when was, is now not. This manner, the following time somebody talks about your model on Reddit, they could cease themselves and use the brand new title.
In case you’re fortunate, when somebody posts utilizing your earlier title, one other consumer will remark that the model title has truly been modified.
That is one much less place to determine how you can go about altering how your model is referenced and one much less one who will proceed to go round spreading the flawed title throughout the web. That’s one much less Reddit thread rating on Google that mentions your outdated model naming.
Now, let’s return to that listicle. Your organization is listed as a high 10 finest no matter, and while you contact the web site to replace the title, they ghost you. What do you do?
Nothing.
You retain shifting on. You retain doing extra public appearances, writing extra content material, assembly extra folks, and usually increase your presence throughout the planet and the web to the purpose the place your new model title is the default.
Till the purpose the place Google’s Information Graph is overwhelmed with Mordy Oberstein, founding father of Unify Model Advertising and marketing, and never Mordy Oberstein, head of search engine marketing Model at Wix.
As a result of then, that one web site that hasn’t up to date its content material together with your new naming is the one going in opposition to the grain. Now the strain is on them to point out they aren’t stale and outdated.
Set Expectations
I don’t anticipate this course of to occur in a day nor do you have to. It takes time. Consider it extra as a course of.
Are an increasing number of locations throughout the digital panorama referencing your new model title? If sure, you’re doing nice. Are extra folks asking for those who modified your title? Additionally, a superb signal.
As you proceed to unfold your new model title throughout the net, Google’s personal Information Graph can have extra indicators that the title that when was has been changed.
As soon as your new model title begins taking maintain, anybody who cares in regards to the accuracy of their content material will begin to both make the edit or attain out to you to make the edit.
Anybody else, at this level, is simply operating poor content material that shouldn’t be there anyway (all issues being equal).
Extra Sources:
Featured Picture: PauloBobita/Search Engine Journal
