Placement on Google may make or break your business, especially if you are not wanting to spend thousands each month in AdWords to appear in the Paid Search Results. However, the way that a website gets placement now on Google has radically changed.
I recommend you read this interesting and insightful article written by Gianluca Fiorelli for MOZ called “SEO in the Personalization Age“. I feel that this is one of the most concise explanations of how Google has changed this last year to provide localized and personalized results and the impact on organic placement.
The biggest issue still for clients, is to capitalize on in these important and significant changes, is to stop writing or optimizing code for search engines and start focusing on putting the reader and site visitor first in all they do.
The author concludes the MOZ article with these very thoughtful points:
“Amit Singhal [of Google] is right when he says that “Answer,” “Converse,” and “Anticipate”—deep personalization of search, I called it—is going to change search as we know it.
“Is this maybe the reason why the Search Team at Google is now called the Knowledge Team? Is this maybe the main reason for “Not Provided” keywords, as Will Critchlow mentioned?
“What I know is that personalization is already so heavily present in search that avoiding it in the name of a fading neutral search is not doing good SEO.
“Moreover, personalized search is clearly telling us how SEO alone is not enough, but that content, social, and email marketing by themselves are also not enough to obtain a real and complete success in Internet marketing.”
The new model for organic placement on Google is one that takes a multi-platform and multi-pronged approach.
1. Localization and specifically localization for mobile search is a developing area. Make sure you list your location, address, city and state as well as phone number on your website. If you are a local selling store, restaurant, or business focusing on localization is key for you. Although you may never place for search queries at a national level if your business is location based this provides real opportunity.
2. Personalized search impacts nearly every single search done on Google. By making your website and social media engaging, interactive, and user-centric, you work to engage the model of crowdsourcing that spreads information about you and your business that is leveraged and incorporated into Google’s personalized search results. I personally find moderating a Google+ Community is a fine way to expand circles and thus appear in a wider variety of personalized searches from my +1 activity. Google shows the things I like, comment on, link to, and speak about in the Google results of others who are in my Google+ circles. It is important to understand that getting placement through using social media has moved well beyond just having a Twitter account and posting updates.
3. Create a continuing stream of website and blog content that provides shareability and value to readers. It is important to position your website and business entity as an authority in your industry. You do this by creating content that provides real value to readers. These readers in return comment and share your content online. Building up co-citations and links back to you in the process. This is done in a natural way, by real people who become your advocates, versus in a planned link building strategy which Google has devalued.
If you feel you need help with your own website strategy, I invite you to visit our website for more information and information about our services in these areas.