This is a question I've received a lot. I think it comes down to a misunderstanding of what SEO entails or a misunderstanding of how StoryBrand works.
StoryBrand and SEO do not conflict at all. They're actually completely separate things, that overlap in one very powerful way.
Search engine optimization (SEO) can mean different things to different people. At BrandNerd, SEO is the art of ranking high on a search engine (Google) in the unpaid section, also known as the organic listings. Paid Google ads are not considered SEO.
At BrandNerd, we love SEO over paid ads because people trust organic listings much more than ads.
There are two parts to SEO; on-page and off-page.
The fundamentals of SEO start on the page itself, making sure you're following the organizational rules of the internet and creating content that is relevant to the topic.
This is where StoryBrand really shines! Because your brain is wired to receive stories, it makes story-based marketing compelling and hold your attention longer. Google is measuring the attention and interaction of people on your site to determine if people like your web page for the search term they used to get there. So, StoryBrand gives you a powerful edge for on-page SEO.
Off-page SEO is very difficult for the non-expert to understand. The simplest way to put it is that off-page SEO comes down to the trust that Google has in your page. Trust is measured by the number and quality of sites linked to yours, the quality of people viewing your site, bounce rate, and a lot of other harder to define technical factors.
StoryBrand has no real effect on off-page SEO.
StoryBrand and SEO are actually a very powerful marketing strategy when properly used together. At BrandNerd, we help companies understand the fundamentals of internet marketing and then amplify their products and services with powerful SEO.
