As an SEO professional and member of The Biz Foundry community, I’m always on the lookout for insights that can help local entrepreneurs and small business owners take their ventures to the next level. That’s why I was so excited to recently sit down with Mordy Oberstein, the head of SEO brand at Wix, on my Unscripted SEO podcast.
In our conversation, Mordy shared a wealth of knowledge on the evolving role of brand in the world of search engine optimization – a topic that is just as relevant for Biz Foundry members as it is for larger enterprises. Mordy is also the founder of Unify Brand Marketing, a brand strategy and development consultancy.
One of the key points Mordy emphasized was the need to move beyond the “digital bubble” that many SEOs and marketers find themselves in. As he put it, “SEO has been way super duper navel gazing about its own capabilities for so long that we’ve forgotten that we exist in a bigger matrix of marketing.”
For small business owners, this is a critical mindset shift. It’s not enough to simply focus on technical SEO tactics and keyword rankings. You need to think holistically about how your brand is being perceived and experienced by your target audience, both online and offline.
Mordy elaborated on this idea by introducing the concept of a “brand depth audit.” As he explained, “Brand is fundamentally associative and in order to create those associations there has to be meaning. So there are things that there are emotions in life…If I don’t have them, I’m in big trouble. Connection, right? The ability to overcome struggle. Like these are…These are things that are daily things that you kind of really have to have, or you can’t really function as a human.“
The goal of this audit is to assess where your brand falls on the spectrum of emotional resonance – are you tapping into deeper, more existential needs, or are you operating at a more surface level? Once you understand that, you can then align your online content, marketing materials, and even offline brand-building activities to reinforce that depth and meaning. Are you meeting audience “where they are?”
Just as a Queens car dealership needs to speak differently to first-time car buyers versus automotive enthusiasts, your business needs to create content for different levels of customer expertise.
As Mordy put it, “It really all depends on where the brand is at. So if the brand is at point X, let’s say they’ve kind of found that strong identity, but they haven’t been able to manifest it yet. Okay, great. So like now we need to work on your messaging and now you need to go and create new marketing assets that are whatever.”
For small businesses, health and wellness centered brands and local startups like those in the Biz Foundry community, this type of holistic, brand-first approach can be incredibly powerful. By aligning your SEO effort online presence with your core identity and the emotional needs of your customers, you can cut through the noise and build a truly meaningful connection.
And as Mordy emphasized, this isn’t just about search engine rankings – it’s about creating a sustainable, long-term competitive advantage. “Google is attracted to whoever has the biggest digital light. And the only way to get that digital light is to brand, to build your brand.”
Branding on your site is like choosing custom packaging, it takes a little extra time to sync up that process, but it does make a positive difference in shelf-choice. The shelf is just the SERP. Don’t sleep on the impact of building a familiar brand.
More Brand Building Resources
If you’re a Biz Foundry member looking to strengthen your brand and integrate it more effectively with your digital marketing efforts, I highly recommend checking out the full Unscripted SEO podcast episode with Mordy Oberstein. You can also explore the SOP for conducting a brand depth audit based on Mordy’s suggestions here..
And if you’re interested in seeing how these principles have been applied in a real-world SEO context, be sure to read my personal recap of the interview on my own SEO blog.
For more resources on SEO standard operating procedures, audits, and the intersection of SEO and brand building, check out these resources:
SEO Arcade’s SOP based resources
I hope these insights provide you with valuable inspiration as you work to build a strong, sustainable brand for your local business or startup.
