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Updated:
by Wayne Smith
None of Google's primary algorithms are based on the brand concept, though they may have mechanisms to detect phishing. Google has found it necessary to clarify this. However, this is not an attempt to gaslight those who have observed that brands tend to rank well.
Google does not say why brands appear to rank higher than non-branded sites, that would be telling. They don't tell webmasters how their algorithms work. The brand benefit may be best described as an emergent factor.
It may be a response to: How 16 Companies are Dominating the World’s Google Search Results (2024 Edition). However, the not telling includes how many people visit a site from Google's search; efforts to determine clicks from search are based on statistics and fuzzy logic.
Google: We Don't Have A Brand-Ranking System ...
Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, said it again, that Google does not have a system to recognize if a site is run by a big brand and then automatically just ranks it higher. He said on X, "but no, we don't have a brand-ranking system."
... Hat Tip Search Engine Roundtable
What is an emergent factor?
An emergent factor is a pattern or outcome that arises naturally from a system’s design, even if it wasn’t explicitly programmed or intended.
For example, say an algorithm counts the total number of times a keyword appears on a page rather than considering its frequency relative to the total word count (keyword density). In this case, longer pages -- simply because they contain more words -- would naturally accumulate more keyword instances. As a result, page length would become an emergent factor, even though the algorithm was not explicitly designed to favor longer content.
Similarly, brands ranking well in Google search results might be an emergent factor. Google's algorithms may not explicitly favor brands, but brands tend to have more backlinks, mentions, and user engagement—all of which are ranking signals. Over time, these factors naturally lead to better rankings for brands.
Multi-Channel Digital Marketing
A multi-channel approach to online marketing places content, backlinks, and mentions on additional sites. This brand marketing can strengthen SEO performance by increasing visibility and credibility.
The benefit may be as simple as brand name recognition and navboost User Engagement SERP Refinement.