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The Future of Organic SEO
by David Williams - January 14, 2009
There are those in the SEO industry that
would say, "Organic SEO and Ranking are
Doomed." I would argue that just the
opposite is true and I would state my
case by saying this, "The truth is Organic SEO will
require better Planning and Deployment
to achieve Improved Ranking in the major
Search Engines."
I would hasten to add that Personal
Search - Behavioral Studies via Search
History and other "Hot Topics" today -
these shouldn't be "NEW - NEWS" to
anyone who has been surfing & search for
any amount of time. While there are
many mixed (and sometimes confusing)
messages traversing the web as a
response to both; changes in search engine
algorithms & structures as well as
changes in the way people search alike.
This isn't so much headline material
in 2009; as it is, perhaps, a good
opportunity for all of us to re-examine
the path we have been on right along for
the last few years.
Let's examine some
changes in Google
and other search engines in the last 3
years
This is not intended to be an exhaustive
list of changes - merely a brief
timeline of events to help web site
owners, web designers & developers and
Organic SEOs see the bigger picture and
make the necessary adjustments for the
future of web design and Organic SEO
efforts.
Personal Search, Behavioral Search and
Intent Based Search
June 2005 - Google gets Personal
Google launches "Web History" allowing
users to personalize their Google search
experience in a platform that monitors
what people select from search results.
The intent is to shape future queries
based on their past choices. This next
generation of personal search was
unveiled after My Search History was
launched in April of 2005. Users have to
log in to Google to see their search
history.
February 2007 - Google Takes Personal
Search to New Heights
Google intensifies its personal search
capabilities in an effort to improve
user experience and perhaps collect more
search query history data. As "Googlers"
sign up for Google's growing list of
services they will have to read the fine
print carefully if they do not wish to
be an unwilling participant in having
their search history data stored. When
signing up for a Google Service the
radio button option to enable search
history is checked by default. This
will be a matter of great concern to
those who fear for their privacy on the
internet. And their concerns are
justified given the AOL search history
leak of 2006.
If you signed up for a service, and
missed the radio button, you will likely
notice the following at the top of your
search engine results page.
Don't panic, keep in mind, you can login
and disable search history any time
you'd like.
May 2007 - Google Unveils Universal
Search
Google launched the most revolutionary
update to its search engine results
pages ever, introducing a new "Universal
Search" platform that will mix listings
from its news, video, images, local maps and
book indexes along with the traditional
web pages in its index.
Udi Manber - "Google has continued to
concentrate on improving the quality of
search," said Udi Manber, vice president
of engineering at Google. "The level and
speed of search innovation at Google has
increased. Most of this innovation
addresses basic ranking algorithms and
is often not obvious to users. Users
just see more accurate results, more
often, in more languages, which is our
primary goal."
September 2007 - Google demystifies the
Intent of Search History
In an article dated 09/24/07 titled
Search privacy and Personalized Search
by Jane Horvath on Google's blog Google
had this to say about their intentions
in data collection.
"If you watched the first privacy
video, you learned about some of the
information we collect (IP
addresses, cookies, and search
queries) and how we use this
information to improve your search
experience as well as prevent
against fraud and other abuses. "
It would seem that Google is trying to
help people understand their use of
collected data and to reassure "Googlers"
that their privacy is still of utmost
concern. Remember, whether you choose to
participate or not; one of Google's
founding principles is, "Do No Evil."
May 2008 - Google Unveils Geographic
Search
Google opened outside access to its Geo
Search API (application programming
interface), allowing third party
websites that used Google Maps in their
web pages to be able to find geographic
features that are in Google's database.
These features were previously visible
only through Google's own "Google Maps"
site.
Basically, a site that used Google Maps
to highlight it's own location will now
display other points of interest on the
same map such as; other businesses,
lodging, parks and recreation, etc.
August 2008 - Microsoft seeks to
identify Searcher Behavior and Intent
Microsoft announces ideas to improve
Live Search at the Search Engine
Strategies conference in San Jose, CA
(August 10-14, 2008). Microsoft hopes
that focusing on user behavior and
search intent will help Live Search
deliver more personalized results in
their search results.
By learning what a specific user's
search behavior and intent is over a
period of time; Live Search would be
able to tune its results to better serve
that specific user's personal needs.
This would explain Microsoft's
acquisition of PowerSet ( a "natural
language" search company) in July of
2008. Understanding a searcher's intent
by analyzing their search queries
Microsoft hopes to personalize that
searchers experience in their SERPs.
Obviously, the goal is to enrich the
user experience and gain a competitive
edge over Google - who leads the
industry in searches.
November 2008 - Google adds Promote and
Remove Buttons to Organic Listings
Google is experimenting with new
features in your search engine results.
They have added "Promote" and "Remove"
buttons to their SERPs that will allow
searchers the opportunity to:
increase the rank of a site using
Google's Promote button,
remove a site using Google's Remove
button
and even a link near the bottom of
the page where you can suggest a
preferred site that will appear in
your future searches with this
symbol
According to Google Labs, this feature
may not even last - hence the word
experiment.
Users can return to original (unedited)
results any time they choose.
Additionally, users will have to login
to their individual accounts for the
changes to be visible in the SE results
using the same keywords.
You can read the details and learn more
here;
Google's Promote and Remove Button
Experiment
January 2009 - What does it mean for the
Future of Organic SEO?
It means that website owners, web site
designers, copy writers and Organic SEO
professionals with have to be on top of
their game. Again, this is not "NEW"
news. Even a reader with little or no
knowledge of Design and Organic SEO can
read the snippets above and understand
that search engines and searchers alike
are ever-changing. And to keep up with
those changes is an ongoing effort for
everyone involved.
Web Design and Organic (Natural) SEO
professionals should always:
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Be on top of their game
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Be aware of changes in Search
Engines |
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Be aware of changes in Search
Behaviors |
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Be Strategically Adaptable to meet
these changes
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Be Eager and Able to Re-Write
Your Design & SEO Play Book
mid-game |
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Here are some
tips to help
you Succeed in 2009
Facts:
Individual searchers will see different
search engine results for the same
keyword and/or longtail keywords based
on their prior search queries and
pattern of search behaviors. Using that
search history, search engines will
modify search results showing partiality
(favoritism) toward your perceived
intent.
Additionally, search engines will use
your IP address to gain insight into
your perceived market and adjust your
personal results accordingly -
especially for shoppers (versus
researchers). An example might be
searching for "used cars" without a
geographic identifier. A user in Dallas
will likely see different results than a
user in Buffalo via geo-targeting.
Tips:
Whether you are a website owner, a
designer, copy writer or SEO;
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Create the
best possible pages for
your visitors 1st and then
for the search engines.
|
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Visitor
Centered Content will
decrease your Bounce Rate and
Increase Return Visitors and
Conversions. If you don't earn the
'head nod effect' what's the point
in having the page?
|
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Likable
content is
Linkable content -
establish yourself as both reliable
and reputable to gain inbound links.
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Be
Universally available -
Deploy tuned media (Video, audio,
etc.) elements to engage both your
visitors and the search engines
alike. |
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Be Fresh to
Enmesh - Stagnant pages
are the bane of of a websites
existence. Keep your pages and
content up to date to capture
visitors attention and earn their
trust. |
|
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Be Locally
available - If you
haven't already established yourself
in search engine local searches
(like Google Maps) Do It Now.
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Use the
"Metric" System - Use
available web metrics to analyze
your success and areas that need
improvement. Watch Traffic and Page
Loads, look at time on site and
Bounce Rates, follow visitors paths
to see if visitors are following the
sales funnel you created in your
link architecture.
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The bottom line is that Google, and the
other major search engines, are always
trying to improve their users'
experience by returning the best
possible results for their searchers. Do
everything in your power to be the best
site in your searchers eyes and you will
reap the benefits of all of your hard
work.
All the best,
Dave Williams
Be sure to check out
previous issues of
SmallBizNews for other Internet
Marketing ideas as well. We invite your
ideas, comments and suggestions. |
