Brand equity is the part of your company’s value that survives product pivots, algorithm changes, and pricing wars. It lowers CAC, lifts conversion, and makes you resilient.
The four drivers of equity
- Fame (mental availability) — are you thought of first?
- Signals: branded search, direct traffic, referrals.
- Trust (credibility & proof) — do you reduce perceived risk?
- Signals: reviews, case studies, compliance, refund rate.
- Preference (distinctive positioning) — are you meaningfully different?
- Signals: win/loss notes, competitor displacement, price elasticity.
- Experience (delivery vs. promise) — do customers get what you promised?
- Signals: NPS/CSAT, activation rate, time-to-value, support resolution.
A 90-day equity plan
- Days 1–30: Foundation
- Tighten positioning: who you’re for, what pain, why you.
- Establish 3 distinctive assets (lockups, color, motif).
- Publish 3 proof artifacts: metric case study, expert quote, recognizable logo.
Days 31–60: Distribution
Rewrite homepage hero around one job-to-be-done.
Launch a topic cluster: 5 posts around one core problem (internal linking).
Repurpose best case study into a landing page, 2 short videos, 3 social posts.
Days 61–90: Experience
Ensure one “aha moment” in <15 minutes of onboarding.
Add education: templates, checklists, 7-minute tour.
Implement review-request loops at day 30 and day 90.
Measuring equity without a lab
Branded search volume (Search Console/Trends)
Direct traffic trend (Analytics)
Share of search vs. top competitors
First-touch → closed-won lag
Referral rate and unprompted mentions in discovery calls
Costly mistakes
Inconsistent promises between ads, site, and product
Rebrands for novelty, not strategy
Generic messaging that any competitor could claim
SEO FAQs
Is equity just awareness? No—awareness without preference + experience is wasted.
Can early-stage startups build equity? Yes: own one problem publicly and ship proof.
Fastest lever? Clear story + proof on the homepage.