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Most website owners spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars (or hours) trying to get their websites to appear on the first page of Google's natural search results and, more often than not, their placements are restricted to a number of obscure keyword phrases few use to find related products and/or services. What may come as a surprise to many, the expense could have been avoided had they taken a simple but dramatically different approach to online marketing.

In a recent article published by OneUpWeb' of the Fortune 100's websites only 13 have "properly optimized" their websites for natural Google placement. Of the remainder, 42 have only done a partial job, while 45 have done little or nothing. Why aren't the 'big boys' participating in the game? "The answer," says Ron Scott, an internet publicist, "is really quite simple - they don't see the need.

"The 'big boys' have wisely chosen to focus their marketing efforts on branding and brand recognition," Scott says, "and the logic behind the strategy is certainly understandable when you think about it. You don't need to "compete" if you can induce consumers and B2B prospects to conduct their searches using your brand name(s) instead of generic keyword phrases."

Scott points to Microsoft as a perfect example. "Overture reports over 100 different keyword phrases that currently include the company's name and they generated over 2,500,000 inquiries last month," he says. "Yet, when one enters the keyword phrases 'word processing software', 'operating systems', and 'software' and Microsoft's site is no where to be found.

Googling a brand name instead of a generic keyword phrase, the consumer will, if the company has taken steps to even nominally optimize its site for that brand name, see its site as well as the websites of its dealers, distributors and affiliates sitting pretty on the first page of search results. If trademarked, no one outside "the family" can use that brand name without violating the company's exclusive right to use it so the only results to be found are going to be directly related to that company and its products/services.

Frustrated by the unpredictability of search engine algorithms, Scott decided a few months ago to trademark a brand name he could use to promote his services as an internet publicist.

"Admittedly, I winced when a colleague suggested 'The PR Guru Guy' - I'm sure it gives most a sense that I am full of myself - but it didn't take long for me to realize that it was ideal - it's a brand that is directly related to my profession and easy to remember," he says.

"Now, if any B2B prospects recall the brand name and enter 'the pr guru guy', 'pr guru guy', or 'prguruguy', they'll find my site (Fasttrackrankingandplacement.com) occupying the top position on MSN as well as all Google driven search engines - Google, AOL Search, Alexa, Netscape, Information, A9, Amazon, Att.net, Compuserve, and Earthlink," he says.

Scott, of course, had to optimize the company website for the keyword phrase and its variations, but the process only took four days from start to finish - finish meaning that's the length of time it took Google to cache and index the changes.

Once the branding concept is understood, business owners need to think about how they're going to develop brand awareness, ultimately getting B2C and B2B prospects to call to mind their brand when they are in need of a particular product and/or service. Obviously, it's not enough to just select a clever name.

To succeed, prospective clients have to not only call to mind the brand, they have to correlate it to a particular need or desire because the real value of branding lies in the prospect's perception that the product or service associated with the brand name is the ultimate solution to a particular problem. "Building brand awareness 100,000 or more prospects at a time, this is where an internet public relations program can be of immense value," Scott says.

Branding, of course, won't work for everyone but those in highly competitive industries or who have a unique product or service, might well consider branding as a viable alternative to traditional website optimization and the hit-and-miss marketing strategies they're been using to date.

"For those who have a unique product or service that consumers and B2B prospects are unfamiliar with, it's a strategy that shouldn't be dismissed," Scott says.