» What are the keys to running and maintaining a findable website?
In terms of search engine optimization or organic search results, the key is to make sure your site is search-engine friendly. That’s the technical element: make sure the title of your pages are labelled and unique for each page. Make sure the text on your page isn’t embedded in an image because the search engines can’t read that. Secondly, make sure there’s lots of unique and valuable content on your website. Roughly 70% of Google’s scoring algorithm is weighted towards links to other sites. Back in the late ’90s, [rankings on other search engines] were just about the content that was within the page and site itself. But that left them open to gaming [ranking manipulation], which is why the search engines of the day were gamed so badly. So Google, in its infinite wisdom, said we’re going to look at this a bit differently. They applied some of the logic from scientific papers which cite other academic papers the thesis was based on. They came to the conclusion that the more often someone is linked to, the more popular they must be, so Google is going to rank them better.
» How do you get other sites to link to yours?
For the most part it is about content. You can reach out to suppliers, manufacturers and friends and ask them to link to you, but more importantly, it’s about content. Create unique and valuable content others will like and want to share and it will pay dividends for you in the form of links.
» In terms of paid search, is it as simple as paying the highest price, therefore you rank the highest?
Almost. In fact, that’s what the first paid search engine did. It was called GoTo and then became Overture and then became Yahoo Search. But this is how Google beat Yahoo and MSN. How does a thesis paper from two Stanford University students take on MSN and Yahoo, which had infinitely deep pockets at the time, and win? Ultimately, Yahoo and MSN were so focused on getting as much advertising revenue as possible and Google said, ‘We’re just going to give users what they want, knowing that if people use our search engine, advertisers will follow.’ To Google, relevancy is key. They want to have the most relevant search results of any search engine because they know the more often you can find what you’re looking for through their search engine, the more likely you’re going to use it in the future. They apply that same logic to paid search as well. It’s not necessarily he or she who pays the most who gets ranked first, but it’s a combination of click-through rate–because you pay every time somebody clicks on your link–and how much you’re willing to pay. Basically, whoever returns the most revenue to Google will get ranked first.
» What are the biggest SEO-related changes you foresee for 2010?
Personalization of results. Google is trying to learn what you’re looking for from your past searches. For example, if I perform a search from home for pens, because I have three kids at home that use the computer and are on various kids sites, I’m more likely to get gel pens in the search results. But when I search from the office, because the kids don’t use the computer there, I’m more likely to get Mont Blanc pens. So they can use my search history to infer what I’m looking for. And in fact, just recently, they made it much more difficult to opt out of personalized search results. Google is doing a whole lot more work in that realm this year and I expect in future years. The second major change coming up is mobile search. We’re seeing a lot more people search from mobile devices, so you want to make sure your site is mobile friendly. Yet at this point in time it doesn’t affect the order of the search results much. I expect in the near future it will–that if your site doesn’t show in a mobile-friendly manner, it probably won’t get ranked as high.
» What are the common misunderstandings marketers have about search?
First, it’s not a technical discipline, it’s a marketing discipline. The vast majority of people believe it’s all about the technology and the code. But for the most part it’s not; it’s about creating really good content and having others find that content, and when they find it they’ll link to it. That’s more marketing expertise than it is technical. Secondly, a lot don’t understand the role of search in the marketing mix. Even within our industry, there are a lot of people who think companies should put all their money in search. Well, that’s not the case. A 2007 study by iProsect suggested that 67% of online users are driven to search from an offline channel, including television, word of mouth and print ads. So [in many cases], that’s the creative driving the searches. Search engines can’t create awareness of a new product–you need creative advertising to do that. All we can do is grab people’s attention when they’re looking for a specific product or service.
» What should be on marketers’ “search radar” for 2010 and beyond?
Social media. They need to get active in social media. The conversations are happening about all businesses online whether they’re listening or not. Social media helps to share information and the more people are aware of that content, the more who will link to it and therefore the better it will do in the search results. To some extent, social media and search are very closely aligned, even in terms of reputation management. There are a lot of instances where a company disappointed a customer, who in turn went to their blog or Twitter and posted about it. And that started ranking for their business name within Google, so you can imagine every time you typed in a certain business name, up came this negative [post]. That’s traumatic. That will lose that company a whole lot of business. Companies have to get involved in social media to protect themselves and to start engaging in conversations. Secondly, as I mentioned, is mobile. Make sure your site is mobile friendly.
» Certainly, more searches are taking place inside social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. How can marketers use social media to drive traffic to their websites?
That’s a really good question. Social media is just the technology enabling the sharing of experiences or content. And social media sites are really the technology powering word of mouth. In days gone by, marketing was more about one-way communication and crafting messages through mass media. Today, marketers must ensure that they carefully craft both the experience and the content, because the messaging is now being controlled and propagated by [consumers]. For example, if I travel, I’ll reach out to my friends and say, ‘What’s the best Thai restaurant in the city?’ And my friends will give me recommendations. The great thing about that kind of social search is it’s based on the recommendations of those that I trust and know rather than just the general public. The more people you can get talking about your company who are satisfied with your company’s [product or service], the more they’re going to recommend you in the future when these questions come up via social networks.
» Because search is changing at such a rapid pace, it seems that what’s worked even in the recent past doesn’t work anymore.
It is changing all the time, but to be perfectly honest the staples always stay the same. Do the right thing for the right reasons and search engines will continue to like your website. So long as it’s based on adding really good content, you’re not likely to be as negatively affected when they make changes. But if you’re trying to trick or fool the system, you are more likely to be negatively impacted.
