Market share is the golden ring we all chase in business. Having 5 or 20 percent more or less than a closest competitor is what keeps a lot of business owners awake at night. Google can sleep well. With recent figures showing the search giant’s market share at 96.9 percent of mobile search and 66.7 percent of desktop search, the figures codify what we’ve been telling clients for years .. don’t worry as much about trying to scurry around and make sure you rank with the also-rans … concentrate on the 800lb Gorilla that is Google.
With Google’s newest algorithmic iteration, some of the old tried and true methods for optimizing for solid page ranking in organic search have gone out the proverbial window at the planets search leader. Over “linking” will now get your wrist slapped and have you sent packing to the bottom of the pile, as will keyword “stuffing” and some of the other more silly attempts to fool the giant into thinking your website is … all that and a bag of chips.
While SEO companies are scrambling to make heads or tails of the new rules, good old fashioned common sense still prevails as it relates to driving visits to your site, which of course affects your search ranking.
Making sure all your social media channels (you do have those .. right?) link back to your website is a good start. If you don’t currently utilize social media, get on it. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pinterest, Foursquare and others can all provide vibrant links to and from your site and Google loves them. Don’t think I’m over simplifying when I tell you to use social media either … 40 percent of small businesses today still do not even have a website!
Don’t forget the simple stuff, like making sure every traditional mention of your business (ads, commercials, billboards, bumper stickers, business cards etc.) carries a link or mention of your website and/or Facebook/Twitter URL. Make sure it is your actual URL too … not some lame “Find us on Facebook” graphic … because they won’t … you have to spell it out if you want them to go (eg. Facebook.com/evansmediagroup or Twitter.com/evansmediagroup).
How well is your site written? Yes, writing matters and we suggest not leaving that to chance. A professional web writer will know for instance, that for every 1000 words of copy on a page a specific keyword should only make up about about 5 percent of the total copy. Over use will be construed as stuffing and cause penalization.
There is no short route to SEO, no tricks and shortcuts that Google has not thought about and put up roadblocks. SEO is hard work and constant work … there is no set-it-and-forget-it button, you must be prepared to dedicate the time, hire a professional, or be prepared to step aside and give up ranking to those that will. Don’t ignore the Gorilla, your competitors aren’t … and climbing up from the bottom is a lot harder than staying on top.
