Most clients who come to Solid Digital are looking to re-align a dated website with their current brand. All brands evolve so it makes sense that if your website hasn’t been consistently updated and cared for, eventually an overhaul will be necessary. The need to include a new brand, offering or solution is an added challenge for marketers and we’ve learned a thing or two about how to do this successfully, as well as some pitfalls to avoid.
Assessing SEO Value and Site Architecture
One of the first steps in integrating a newly acquired brand is evaluating the existing website’s SEO value. Before making any drastic changes, it’s essential to determine how the current domain is performing and whether blog posts or other content are ranking well for relevant keywords. If the content aligns with your overall strategy, you may want to incorporate it into your existing site instead of starting from scratch.
Additionally, you need to consider where the new brand or product fits within your website architecture. Is it a complementary solution, an entirely new offering, or an enhancement to an existing product? Understanding this will help determine how to present it within your navigation, solution pages, and overall brand messaging.
Messaging
The new acquisition could be as simple as another offering that fits in well with your current offerings or it may change the entire value proposition of your organization. It’s important to determine: What is the messaging that intetwines all of your solutions? Is it a loftier promise to your customers and potential clients? It is more inclusive? Does it answer different or additional pain points you want to address?
Assess everything from your tagline to Homepage and About Us copy. Is it still accurate? How does this new acquisition allow you to better serve your target market. Whatever you uncover – update your messaging to convey this.
When Restaurant365 came to Solid Digital looking for website design in Austin, one of the challenges was to incorporate a newly acquired brand that was complementary to it’s offerings, but it also filled in a gap in their solutions. The new offering would allow Restaurant365 to offer a more holistic solution to clients and therefore, it was vital that not only was this new solution brought it in to answer a specific pain point clients had, but overall messaging (including visuals) needed to be updated to show website visitors that there was now an end-to-end, one-stop solution.
Brand Consistency in Visual Identity
Beyond messaging, visual elements must align with your existing brand identity. If the acquired brand targets a different audience segment, assess whether imagery, colors, and overall branding need adjustments. In some cases, this means updating product UI elements, marketing visuals, and photography styles to maintain consistency.
Brand Identity and Naming Conventions
Another crucial element is deciding whether to retain, modify, or completely rebrand the acquired entity’s name and identity. In many cases, it makes sense to keep the name for an interim period, especially if it holds significant brand equity. Companies like Microsoft and Salesforce often retain acquired brands due to their strong market recognition.
However, if the acquired brand’s name does not fit within your company’s naming conventions, you may need to transition it over time. Considerations include whether it follows a parent-child branding model, how it integrates into your visual identity, and whether it requires a unique logo or a variation of the existing one.
When Inverstortools came to us, they had a separate website of a newly acquired company and weren’t sure what the best solution would be. In their case, the newly acquired company did in fact have positive brand recognition among their current customers and target audience and it was decided that keeping that name was important. But how to fit it alongside their current offerings? The answer was to iterate until we identified visual branding and naming conventions that made sense – both for Investortools and their audience.
Website and Communication Updates
From a website perspective, several critical updates need to take place:
- Announcement Strategy: There should be a clear communication plan, including a press release, blog post, and landing page to introduce the new acquisition to customers.
- Redirects and Domain Handling: If the acquired brand has its own domain, setting up redirects or maintaining a landing page with transition messaging is crucial. A common mistake is abruptly taking down the old website, which can result in SEO losses and customer confusion.
- Consistent Messaging: Ensure that the messaging for the new product or solution aligns with your existing brand tone and strategy. Avoid simply linking to the old website without integration, as this creates a disjointed experience.
Incorporating Content and Resources
If the acquired company has valuable content, such as blog posts, whitepapers, or case studies, determine how to incorporate these into your existing library as you update your resource hub.
- Update internal linking structures to connect new content with relevant pages on your site.
- Ensure consistency in categories, tags, and keyword strategies.
- Promote newly integrated resources across your marketing channels.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls
Some common mistakes to avoid during this transition include:
- Lack of Strategic Integration: Simply placing the acquired brand’s logo on your site without a clear fit can cause confusion.
- Keeping Two Separate Identities: If the goal is full integration, the two brands should not appear as separate entities for an extended period.
- Neglecting Customer Communication: Clearly explain the acquisition and its benefits to existing and new customers.
- Ignoring Team and Internal Changes: Update your team pages, support documents, and internal tools to reflect the new structure.
Final Thoughts
Successfully integrating an outside brand and website requires strategic planning, clear communication, and a focus on consistency. By carefully managing SEO, messaging, and visual identity, you can ensure a smooth transition that strengthens your company’s overall positioning in the market.
