The power of celebrity endorsement in marketing is well-known. Celebrities bring extra awareness, brand trust, and a significant boost in credibility. When a famous personality endorses a product, it instantly attracts attention and gains consumer interest. People trust and buy products linked to their favorite celebrities, leading to higher sales and engagement. But did you know that celebrities can also supercharge a brand’s organic SEO results?
The Celebrity Effect on SEO: How Star Power Boosts Search Rankings
Michael Melen, owner of the digital marketing agency SmartSites, explains, “Celebrities bolster trust, links, and publicity — all of which are critical components in Google’s search algorithms.” It should come as no surprise, then, that celebrity-owned businesses frequently dominate search results, consistently appearing on the first page for competitive keywords. Let’s explore how some celebrities have succeeded in dominating search rankings.
George Clooney’s Casamigos Pours Its Way to the Top of Google
Squeezing in between Don Julio and Espolòn, Casamigos lands smack in the middle of the first page of Google for ‘tequila.’ How did it get there? Strong backlinks, like a Yahoo Lifestyle article titled “George Clooney Young: 19 Must-See Photos of the Heartthrob Over the Years.”
What do pictures of George Clooney from the 1980s and 1990s have to do with good tequila? Not much — except that the article casually mentions (with a handy backlink) Clooney’s Casamigos Tequila. And for Google, that’s more than enough to serve up a prime spot on the first page. Cheers to that!
Aviation Gin Toasts to First Page Success with Ryan Reynolds
Aviation Gin is flying high, landing on the first page of Google for the ultra-competitive search term “gin.” It even boasts a featured snippet showcasing Ryan Reynolds‘ face—despite the fact that Reynolds sold the company four years ago.
Michael Melen explains, “Clicks and the user’s experience on the page are strong signals for Google’s search rankings. Reynolds’ face helps get the click, and his video keeps users there. Both are very strong influencers of search rankings.”
So, what’s the secret sauce? Reynolds’ charm and visibility. His face draws the clicks, and his engaging videos keep users hooked, boosting Aviation Gin’s ranking. Cheers to first page success!
Forgot About Dre? Google Didn’t. Beats by Dre Dominates Search Rankings
Dr. Dre topped the charts in the mid-1990s. He did it again in the mid-2010s by Beats By Dre. Acquired by Apple for $3 billion nearly a decade ago, Beats by Dre continues to thrive on its early SEO success. According to SEO software Ahrefs, BeatsByDre.com enjoys over 750k visitors from organic search alone. That’s impressive for any website, let alone a headphones manufacturer.
Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS Shaping Up the First Page for Underwear
Few celebrity countdown lists would be complete without Kim Kardashian, and this one is no exception. Her brand, Skims.com, enjoys over 35 million visitors from organic search each year. Skims ranks number one for highly coveted terms like ‘underwear’ and ‘shapewear.’
Additionally, Skims.com’s Bra Size Calculator page draws in a quarter million visitors annually. Now that’s link bait that an SEO strategist can appreciate!
This time it’s Dr. Dre’s business venture that’s climbing the rankings.
—First Page for Headphones”
Mark Wahlberg’s Municipal: A $1 Million Search Traffic Success Story
Launched just five years ago, Mark Wahlberg‘s apparel brand, Municipal, now generates over $1 million in organic search traffic value each month, according to Ahrefs.
This success is largely thanks to Wahlberg’s celebrity status, which has attracted features from major publications such as People Magazine, Men’s Health, New York Post, and Entrepreneur. Additionally, Municipal enjoys prominent exposure in “Wahl Street,” a docuseries produced by one of Wahlberg’s other companies and streaming on HBO’s Max.
The Future of Celebrity Impact on Search Rankings
As Google’s algorithms continue to shift, will celebrities continue to have such an impact on SEO? Does Google really think that George Clooney makes the best tequila? Does Ryan Reynolds make gin taste better? And if not Clooney or Reynolds, who is the best judge of a good liquor?
One thing we know for sure is that Google is great at directing people to what they want. So as long as people show favorability towards celebrities, Google will too.