This week on multiple occasions I have spoken to people who were very new to E-Marketing and was asked two very common questions:
1) Why isn't my website the top result in Google?
2) How do we get to be the top result?
Therefore below I attempt address these question with a answer that even people who are new E-Marketing will understand:
To answer these questions you must understand Search Engine Marketing (SEM). These are the strategies used to be the top search result on Google, Yahoo or any other search engine.
Gaining a top search result is critical to most companies this is because almost all customers will begin their investigation on the web.
There are two ways to get onto the Google pages: "organic" and "pay". Basically the organic listing is free and is based on Google's search algorithm that finds the best page based on your search criteria. It is in the main section of the Google page (see orange box on graphic below). The challenge is how to get on the top organic listing. The Google algorithm is a trade secret and the company does not tell anyone how they decide on the top reach results. It is widely assumed that the organic listing is influenced by two things:
1) How often your page is referenced by other sites
2) The popularity of your page.
The key is to be listed within the top 20 searched, which is commonly referred to as "Being on Page 1". 80% of users never go to Page 2. (Personally, I don’t even look beyond the top 5 search listings)
The purple and green boxes denote where companies pay for placement. This is commonly known as Pay for Position, or P4P. It is basically a bidding contest. Every company decides which words they want to "buy" and then decide how much to pay. The company paying the most gets the top position.
1) Why isn't my website the top result in Google?
2) How do we get to be the top result?
Therefore below I attempt address these question with a answer that even people who are new E-Marketing will understand:
To answer these questions you must understand Search Engine Marketing (SEM). These are the strategies used to be the top search result on Google, Yahoo or any other search engine.
Gaining a top search result is critical to most companies this is because almost all customers will begin their investigation on the web.
There are two ways to get onto the Google pages: "organic" and "pay". Basically the organic listing is free and is based on Google's search algorithm that finds the best page based on your search criteria. It is in the main section of the Google page (see orange box on graphic below). The challenge is how to get on the top organic listing. The Google algorithm is a trade secret and the company does not tell anyone how they decide on the top reach results. It is widely assumed that the organic listing is influenced by two things:
1) How often your page is referenced by other sites
2) The popularity of your page.
The key is to be listed within the top 20 searched, which is commonly referred to as "Being on Page 1". 80% of users never go to Page 2. (Personally, I don’t even look beyond the top 5 search listings)
The purple and green boxes denote where companies pay for placement. This is commonly known as Pay for Position, or P4P. It is basically a bidding contest. Every company decides which words they want to "buy" and then decide how much to pay. The company paying the most gets the top position.
