Chapter Four: Improving results with partial control on your Brand SERP
Third-person rewrite of The Fundamentals of BrandSERPs for Business by Jason Barnard
Why third-party results can help—or hurt—your Brand SERP
Some results on your Brand SERP are only partially under your control. Jason Barnard explains that these third-party results are a double-edged sword: they can boost your brand’s credibility or undermine it. If the content is accurate and aligned with your brand message, Google sees it as trustworthy, and so do users. That makes it an asset. But if it’s inaccurate or off-brand, it creates confusion and damages your brand’s credibility.
How Google perceives independent content about your brand
Google mirrors the world’s opinion of your brand. Third-party content is particularly influential because it’s perceived as independent. Whether the content is positive or negative, Google includes it on your Brand SERP based on what it believes is helpful to its users. And since users trust Google’s objectivity, it’s crucial that these results present your brand accurately.
Types of third-party sites with partial control
Jason Barnard categorises the main types of third-party results:
- Informational sites: Wikidata, Crunchbase, Zoominfo, Wikipedia
- Industry-specific sites: Associations and professional directories
- Commercial platforms: Amazon, eBay, product listing pages
- Media platforms: Guest blogs, editorial mentions
- Review sites: Trustpilot, Yelp, Glassdoor, Indeed, Google Reviews
How to identify and address suboptimal results
Start by auditing your Brand SERP. Highlight any third-party results that are inaccurate, confusing, or potentially harmful. Jason Barnard advises you to:
- Edit and improve results where the platform allows
- Correct factual errors if possible
- If the result can’t be improved, push it down the SERP using stronger results
This is called the “Leapfrogging” technique—boosting better results to outrank the weaker ones.
Improving content on informational sites
Sites like Wikidata, Crunchbase, Bloomberg, and Zoominfo are trusted by Google for brand research. Jason Barnard emphasises that inaccurate data on these sites can seriously damage your Brand SERP. Update profiles with:
- Accurate brand details
- Links to your website and social channels
- Concise meta titles and descriptions
Wikipedia deserves special mention. If your brand does not meet Wikipedia’s notability standards, don’t try to create a page. If a page already exists, only correct errors or add references—avoid direct editing if you are a biased party.
Why industry-specific platforms deserve more attention
Industry sites are often more valuable for your Brand SERP than global platforms. Jason Barnard gives three reasons why:
- They rank well now due to topical relevance
- They will rank better in future as Google prioritises entity-based search
- They help Google understand your brand’s credibility and relevance
They may not be glamorous, but they help you control your Brand SERP and push negative results down.
How to handle commercial platforms
You have limited control over sites like Amazon or eBay. These sites rank well, but they typically promote their brand over yours. Jason Barnard suggests only prioritising these listings if your product sales on those platforms are a core part of your business strategy.
Guest content and media profiles: use what control you have
If you publish on media sites or guest blogs, you may have some control over the page title, author name, and meta description. Use this to reinforce your brand message. Even limited influence is worth leveraging when it comes to Google’s perception of your brand.
Review platforms: high value, low control—but manageable
Review sites consistently rank on Brand SERPs because users trust peer feedback. Jason Barnard explains that most people only leave a review when they are extremely happy or disappointed. To balance the narrative:
- Ask satisfied clients for reviews in follow-up emails
- Provide links and instructions to make leaving a review simple
- Aim for an average rating of 4.5/5
Job review sites such as Glassdoor and Indeed also appear frequently. While harder to influence, a 3.5-star average is acceptable. Avoid trying to manipulate these reviews—focus instead on pushing these results down with stronger assets using Leapfrogging.
How to prioritise which review platforms to influence
Start with review platforms that currently appear on page 1 to 3 of your Brand SERP. Then, analyse your competitors’ SERPs. If a review site ranks for your competitors, it’s likely to rank for you too.
Examples of impactful review platforms
- Customer review sites: Trustpilot, Yelp, BBB, Tripadvisor
- Employee review sites: Glassdoor, Indeed
- Industry-specific review platforms: niche directories based on your market
Jason Barnard recommends building positive sentiment on these platforms to reinforce your credibility with Google and your audience.
Building a broader digital ecosystem for Brand SERP stability
Jason Barnard reminds us that managing your Brand SERP is about more than just your homepage or social profiles. A diverse ecosystem of trustworthy, relevant, third-party results gives you greater control and stability.
The more strong results you can push to the top of your Brand SERP—ones you partially control—the easier it becomes to displace unflattering or irrelevant content.
Final thought: control what you can, influence what you can’t
Some results will never be under your full control. But through smart optimisation, strategic content creation, and careful platform selection, you can heavily influence what appears on your Brand SERP.
Jason Barnard encourages businesses to proactively manage all results—whether fully controlled, partially influenced, or simply monitored. The more comprehensive your digital ecosystem, the more accurate and convincing your Brand SERP becomes.
