Tag Archives: Number 1 in Google

SEO is easy

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Yeah, Search Engine Optimisation is easy. Dead Easy.  Super easy even.  That´s why everyone is number 1 right?  But hang on, everyone cant be number 1 in Google can they?  No.  They cant. There will always be a number 2, 3 ,4 and so on.  Its the way of the world and its the way search engines work. Period.

To be brutally frank, people piss me off when they say that applying Search Engine Optimisation is easy.  I see it alot on forums and in blogs about how “simple” it is to get to number 1 in Google and make money online.  People are being approached all the time with marketing focused on their need and greed with blasé statements like  ” Become a millionaire in 24 hours!” or “Make 100,000 dollars a month online”, “Number 1 in positions guaranteed” and “”all for 5 dollars a month!”. These unscrupulous marketeers only serve to feed the flames of misinformation regarding the whole concept that is taking a website and making it work on a search engine with the aim of reaching a number 1 position, the true meaning of Search Engine Optimisation. Funny how it sounds rather similar to running a business don’t it?

SEO Search Ranking Factors

SEO is easy

The next time you meet someone who says its easy and cheap, ask them to explain this SEO Search Ranking Factors post on SEOmoz, one of the most prominent reliable sources of Search Engine related information on the web.  Based on the opinion of 37 proven  SEO experts they have created a rated list of what`s important and what’s not so important in creating an optimised website.

In total, there are 53 individual points covered and rated.  YES thats 53 points and yes I counted them.  These points all add up towards creating an optimitised website for search engines based on what they speculate are Googles ever changing requirements.

Yes, they SPECULATE.  Let me say it again “SPECULATE“. Get it?  Even the experts who have proven and successful track records cannot definitely say what it is that makes a website work really well in Google and reach that desired number 1 spot or at least they cannot reach a uniform and united consensus.

Take a little time to read through it the SEOmoz Search Engine Ranking Factors article Its not easy to understand, and you will see quite clearly that they differ in their opinions throughout the points covered. Thats also why I say continually that people who profess to be Search Engine Experts are only practising, much the same as doctors and lawyers are always practising their profession as new develops or changes are continually being discovered and implemented… just like SEO.

Really the point is this.  Search Engine Optimisation is not easy or cheap.  Its not quick either and its not defined.  Its something that needs to be studied, analysed, tested, applied and implemented to every facet of a website and it all needs to be done consistently and in-line with the requirements (and demands) of good old Google and your visitor (because they can change the way they search to…or didn’t you know that?).

And that’s only the start of it, after that you have to have the design studied, analysed, tested, applied and implemented to suit the traffic you are getting and ensure that you are benefiting that traffic to the greatest degree, otherwise the effort will have all been wasted.

After all, whats the point of marketing your shop to the number one position in the highstreet if when people are coming in to browse and purchase you have all the stock in boxes, in the back store room, which is locked and bolted, and has a key which happens to have been lost under a rock somewhere in Canada… Much better to have the right stock in the right place and available for the right people, because I can guarentee you they wont wait around… would you?

*the sarcastic bit now*
All this adds up to a really cheap and easy package that anyone can do obviously.  No seriously it does, I mean I would do all of this for 5-99 a month in about 2 seconds cause I have a contact at Google.. seriously  I do! Who cares that he works in the canteen.

…yeah right. I have tried to explain some of the simple complexities in my previous post on SEO Marbella or SEO Spain but I still think most people just wont get it and if you think this is me going of on a rant, just dont get me started.  There will be much more to come.

SEO Marbella or SEO Spain

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I came across a range of different posts recently and one sparked my interest to the extent that I decided that a good old rant was in order in regards the content of the post. The general view on the post was about the good old “number 1 in Google” debate that has become the obsession with so many business and website owners alike.

In general many of the people commenting where impressed that the post was in a number one position for what they considered to be an important term for anyone practicing SEO while applying localisation to define the scope of the service and encourage traffic and visitors who would be interested in that service and yet the post was NOT an SEO company but rather a post promoting a book about getting to “number 1 Google”.  The term was SEO Marbella and the post, at that time , in the number one position, was a blog all about Nueva Andalucia.

While the idea is completely correct in regards the point that really any self respecting practitioner of SEO services and advice and more specifically any practitioner offering SEO in Marbella really should consider positioning themselves at this number 1 spot to show their ability, even though in reality its not actually where you should be focusing on as quite frankly the returns are not worth the effort, if you simply go by the numbers, but what the hell, who am I to make everyone a number.

Reaching Number 1 for SEO Marbella or SEO Spain

Being at trhe number one spot for SEO Marbella basically seems a waste of time due to the almost non existant traffic enquiring after that term, hence the reason that it would not be any great challange to get there and paradoxically no lose at all if you are not but it is still a small base that needs to be covered. Here lies the conundrum.  What should any SEO business be targetting (Or any other business for that matter, this example holds true for them all)?

Should it be so local as to mention the town or village you are based in, such as SEO Marbella or SEO Puerto Banus or the nearest major city such as SEO Malaga or SEO Seville, or should you go a little further and aim for an area or provenince that covers your local such as SEO Costa Del Sol or SEO Andalucia.  Maybe you should just go all out and aim for the whole country and target a term such as SEO Spain.

The simplest answer is that every single one of these terms is important in reality but the question is how much effort can you afford and how much effort should you legitimately focus on reaching the number 1 in Google spot for each individual term.  That is what proper keyword research is supposed to answer but only in practice can the actual results be measured in value as in marketing who ever told us that 1 means 1 was lying.

In the meantime I think will just keep targeting the keywords that I know will matter to me ( And no im actually not that bothered about SEO Spain now that you mention it).

The Basics of getting a website to number 1 in Google

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So you have seen all the adverts, read all the hype, maybe even meet someone whos number 1 in google and is happily gloating about it. You know you need to be there for your business to benefit and you have a website so whats next?

Time for a healthy dose of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), the thing that everyone wants and every man and his dog is trying to sell you and with everyone offering such a wide variety of things maybe its time you did a little research and understood just what SEO actually is, what it does and how it works.

I will endeavour to explain and clarify in laymans terms.

Your website is about a certain subject. Lets not say widgets, thats been done to death and is just plain annoying, lets try something a little more interesting… lets say “hand gliding”.

You run a small Hand Gliding company and you hire hand gliding equipment and arrange lessons for people and you want to make sure that you are in the Search engines and at number 1. Now most people will want to be number 1 for “hand gliding”, or at least they think they do but lets consider this for a minute.

The phrase “hand gliding” is very very generic. Of all the possible connotations of “hand gliding” you believe you should be number 1, in the world, for this phrase because you believe that anyone interested in hand gliding will go to a search engine and type “hand gliding”. This is essentially correct.

However…

My question is “Why would you want to be at nuymber 1 for this phrase?”

The typical Answer is ” Because I do hand gliding and people search for hand gliding and so I want them to find me and get all those nice visitors to my site who will hire my equipment and take my lessons, thus increasing my business revenue and make my site worthwhile”

Ok, thats a reasonable reply, but not realistic. After all people all over the world will be typing this phrase “hand gliding”. Thus people all over the world will be interested in “hand gliding” and want to find out more about it, they will not necessicarily want to hire equipment or take lessons or even be remotely interested in using your company or its services…YET.

Now say your company is based in France. In the Alps for example. Near Mont Blanc…
I have no idea if you can do hand gliding at Mont Blanc in the Alps but thats irrelevant for the sake of this example.

Anyway… so the question now is why would you want to be number 1 for “hand gliding” if its such a generic term and wont help your business… Well think like a searcher, what would you do?

Think “location”…

There is absolutely no point being interested in “hand gliding” and finding a company (your company) thats based in France, if you are in or going to Australia. so the next natural step in this case would be to add the location.

Lets say “hand gliding France”. Now the amount of searches done world wide will be much larger for “hand gliding” than for “hand gliding France” but at least its relevant to the person searching and more importantly its relevant to YOU and your business.

This phrase, “hand gliding France” would definately be of much more interest to you than the much more generic phrase “hand gliding” could ever be. Now for the sake of argument, lets say that France is a hugely popular place for hand gliding and the market is saturated with businesses all trying to be number 1 in google for the phrase “hand gliding France”.

What to do? Go up against already established businesses who have established themselves over time and wont be moved from their position easily, incurring alot of stress, expense and effort on your part that you do not necessicarily have to expend… of course not.

Start small, and start smart.

The idea is to go for the phrases that do not have many searches but are very specific. The advantage of this is that there is much less competition from other sites and even though the numbers of searchers is low, its dedicated and knowledgeable searchers, no time wasters, meaning less time wasted for you.

These people search for things like:

“hand gliding in the French Alps”
“hand gliding Mont Blanc”
“hand gliding in the Alps”
“hand gliding lessons in the French Alps”
“hand gliding equipment hire in the French Alps”

and so on and so on.

So where would you rather be?

Number one for “hand gliding” with 500 searches a day, all kinds of visits, lots of numbers to your site, really low conversions and bookings and alot of follow up and time wasted as well as lower service quality and more chance of burning a genuine enquiry…

or would you prefer 10 visits a day, 5 of which will actually make enqueries, 2 of which will make a purchase or book a lesson PER DAY.

Think about it and remeber the next time that someone says “Im number 1 in goggle for hand gliding” ask yourself just what this means to their business…

Of course there are always exceptions in business and indeed on the internet, but I hope the above has served its purpose of illustrating that you might think you know what you wnat but really its not what you actually need. As you develop and grow a business then of course things would develop in tandem and more phrases would be targetted and serviable as your company expands, but we all have to start somewhere!