Re: Traffic from search engines
BRAD JENSEN <brad_at_elstore.com> WROTE:
> All 30 million web sites want to be number one on the
> search engines. It aint gonna happen.
>
> Realize that people are searching on two or more words,
> because one word gives them a gadzillion sites. So
> think of the two or three words that are essential for
> your product/site. Go look for competitors - what dio
> you put into the search engine? Then make sure your
> site is indexed on those combinations, not single
> words.
Search engines may not index everything, but Brad is
missing the point. When you use an index or directory
you're making semantic choices. If you want to refine
those choices by using two or more words, your search
is more likely to throw up useful results. But it's not
just about how many words you use. The news is that
there's plently of high profile territory to aim for in
search engines because we don't all want to be number
one for the same search. This isn't the box office
chart - the rankings are dynamic and change constantly.
Good search engine traffic is a way of making sure the
customers who want your products and services actually
find you.
This also has implications for the 'branding' debate -
some of which also smacks of old media and scatter-gun
advertising. We still don't really know what branding
means, and each time someone tries to pin it down, the
goalposts shift. Yet you can associate your site or
even individual pages with keywords (the essence of any
branding strategy) which means you'll rank well for
that particular keyword search.
The point of the web is that it's big enough for
everybody and in order to market effectively, you need
to target. Using search engines well and working with
them on the things they do best is the most effective
targeting you can get right now.
Paul Smith
http://www.semanticfishing.com
Received on Wed Aug 02 2000 - 10:22:42 CDT
