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So few business people, web designers and people in general understand how search engines such as Google work, I find myself constantly in the role of educator. Thankfully, I love to educate, teach and explain things. The problem I find is that when I try to explain the details of how a search engine such as Google decides who gets displayed at the top, I find that I lose people.
Lately, I’ve changed my approach to clearing up the search mystery. I’ve taken to telling the following story and I am pleased to report that everyone get’s it! I hope this helps clear things up for you!
Starbucks, Doctors and How Google Works
Imagine it’s 3:30 in the afternoon and you find yourself needing that little extra jolt to get you through your afternoon and the upcoming evening’s networking event.
You pull into your local Starbucks and seeing that there is a huge line at the drive-through you get out of your car and walk inside. Unfortunately, you realize that the line inside is also moving pretty slowly so you whip out your smart phone, check your mail, look at Facebook and STILL the line is not moving.
Enter Doctor #1
"I'm a Geriatric Doctor"
At this point you begin taking notice of your fellow patrons and think “well my sales coach is always preaching to me about the 3 foot rule” so you catch the eye of the gentleman in front of you in line and you say “So, when you aren’t standing in line growing old, what do you do for a living?”
He replies “I’m a Doctor.” For the next minute or two he tells you he’s a general practitioner who specializes in geriatrics (old folks), where his office is located and other tidbits. He seems credible, seems to know what he is talking about but quite frankly you have NO way of knowing if he really is a Doctor or not!
Search Lesson 1 – The Doctor’s story is analagous to a website. As a website owner you can tell any story you want on your website but Google, Yahoo and BING have no way to know from your site alone whether or not your story is true.
Enter Doctor #2
"Hey Dr. Jones..."
Thankfully the line is moving again! You are just 3 people away from getting that shot of afternoon motivation you originally came for! You continue to exchange pleasantries with the your new Doctor friend when all of the sudden a second person who actually looks like a Doctor comes in the door and greets your Doctor friend. They talk shop about a recent referral your Doctor friend made to Doctor #2.
Search Lesson #2 This second Doctor is analagous to a “relevant back link”. If you had any doubts as to whether or not your new friend really is a Doctor, having this independent verification has helped remove it. In the eyes of the search engines, having a totally separate, relevant site reference your website helps them to believe that your website is telling the truth.
Enter A Group of Senior Citizens
Hi Dr. Jones!
At this point your Doctor friend has paid and you’ve placed your order! As he turns to leave he hands you a business card and you say goodbye. You then notice that a shuttle bus from a local retirement complex has arrived and a half dozen older men and women shuffle in. Each of them says “Hi Doctor Jones” as the Doctor walks out the door. You have no idea who these people are, but now with 7 separate, independent verifications you have no doubts that the person you spoke to is really a Doctor.
Search Lesson #3 These 6 senior citizen are analagous to “back links” from non-relevant sites. Google, Yahoo and BING looks for these types of verifying links to help them understand whether or not your site is being truthful and to help them identify how popular your site is and how much of an authority it is.
1 Week Later
You find yourself talking to a friend who mentions that her Mom is looking for a new Doctor. It seems her old Doctor has retired and moved to Florida. She mentions that she is looking for a geriatric specialist. You tell her that you just met a really nice geriatric specialist named Dr. Jones and you pass along his contact information.
On-Site and Off-Site Authority
Hopefully my explanation above clears up just how the search engines work. You need to make sure that your website is designed to sell, has good content and has been fully optimized. If you get these “on-site factors” right you will tell the best story possible to the search engines. Most experts agree that getting this right will account for 10 -30% of your site’s ability to rank highly.
The remaining 70 -90% of your site’s ability to rank comes from consistently building your site’s “off-site” authority. The more consistently you gain “votes of confidence” the more likely you are to be the #1 ranking site for your most important buying phrases.
At FetchLocalCustomers we conduct research, craft content, build websites that are designed to sell and are fully optimized to tell your story in as a compelling fashion as possible to both your human visitors and the search engines. We can also work our magic with your existing site. In fact, nearly half our clients use sites that we did not design!
Our systematic and professional authority building program drives your website to the top of the search engines, consistently building authority and popularity using totally “white hat” methods.
The result is a flood of highly targeted and qualified new customers. That’s why we say that “We Do What Our Name Says”.
So pick up the phone and call 888-505-6162. Let’s talk about your particular situation and see if we can help you get the new customers that you deserve!
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