I was out with a friend of mine when she started to ask me what I do…exactly. She knew I worked in Search, but that really didn’t mean much. One of the reasons she was so interested to find out more about what I did was that she just recently launched a personal blog (StacyCelia.com). Eventually the Inevitable question came up, “How do I rank in Google.”
While I’m not trying to harp on my friend Stacy, she is a great lead into my point. Search has a strategy….and that will always be step 1. To answer “how”, you will always have to answer “why.” Why does one want to be found on Google? In what regards does one want to be found? Simplistically, the process tends to unfold like this: Find a Purpose in Life, Research How, Build It, and Report on it. Simple right? Let’s walk through the steps to see what I mean.
Step One: Find A Purpose?
Step one in online marketing is to always answer the question, “How do I want this to affect my business?” Determine how your website contributes to the bottom line of your business objectives. It doesn’t matter if you are driving leads for apartments; convincing athletes to stay hydrated; or selling satellite radios, Vitamins, or Tru Religion Jeans, your website has to have a purpose. That purpose will dictate what you would like your website to rank for.
Step Two: Do the Research
There is something to be said about taking the time to run a search behavior analysis to determine 1) how people actually search for your service or product 2) to show what keywords are obtainable. Any great Behavior Analysis will include the answers to these questions:
- How do people look for the need you provide?
- What types of keywords do they use?
- What type of opportunity is out there for your business?
- What are the Demographics of your target audience (where do they live, how much do they make, where do they hangout, etc.)?
- Who are your online competitors (they could be very different than your offline competitors)?
Step 3: Write Content
Once you have an idea that of what you want to accomplish with your website and how people actually search for your product, then go out and build content. Start by searching: how to create content people want. The best way to start is to think about what you would want to see if you were not trying to run the business. A great place to start is to think about why you are in business and explain why you are the best.
Step 4: Report on Something That Makes Sense
One of the biggest, but most avoidable, problems business has is measuring success. If one thinks about it right, this shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Did you rent an apartment; sell a sports drink, radio, pair of jeans, etc. What happened online? Is that what you wanted to happen? If a report doesn’t answer the questions, “how did this affect my business” isn’t answered then the report isn’t what you need (more on reporting styles later). Find the most important keywords to your goal and make sure you are watching them like a hawk. Make sure you are keeping your eye on the goal of your business and don’t let an SEO tell you otherwise (unless the SEO has a great reasons……like your goal is unrealistic and needs smaller goals to get you closer).
More of the story…ranking is easy if you know WHY you want to rank. There is a method to this madness and figuring out the strategy will always be step 1 in this crazy online world.
