|
| Recent
Articles |
SEO For Google
This article is part three of a four part series on optimizing your website for the the three major search engines.
SEO For Non-profit Organization Blogs
Blogs are an SEO powerhouse for a non-profit organization and its various programs and events.
Undesirable SEO And What To Do With A Small Marketing Budget
I got a lead through our website the other day with an interesting comment attached. The prospect was requesting specific information on pricing for our services but as you can read below, they simply copied the information from what another SEO provided them.
Does Traditional SEO Still Work?
I had the pleasure of dining with my good friend, Mike Grehan, just before Easter. We chatted about the topic of his upcoming article - Does Textbook SEO Really Work Anymore?
NYT Discovers SEO
A story that ran in last Sunday's New York Times shows that the world of mainstream journalism is finally waking up to the importance of SEO.
Long Weekend And No SEO
I leave in an hour with the clan to California for a nice long weekend. Being a glutton for work, I will have my laptop with me so my post title is probably not entirely true.
Google Sitemaps Wants Your URLs
Vanessa Fox, a technical writer for Google's Sitemaps product, thinks you should be using Sitemaps with your site today. Here's why.
What We Want And What We Get!
If you have been using computers and the Internet for a while, you have probably figured out what works and what doesn't when it comes to searching for the things you want.
Google Plays Mythbusters With AdSense
Site publishers with questions about how CPC and CPM advertising work will benefit from Google's clarifications on the two ad formats.
Matt Cutts On Bigdaddy, RK, And Emmy
The Google engineer who webmasters have learned to love and fear tackled a slew of questions posted to his blog recently. There are only four or five live Matt Cutts sightings in a given year...
|
|
|
05.04.06
Search Engine Optimization: Beyond Search Keywords
 By
Gerry McGovern
The words people type into a search box are not always the words they like to read when they click on the search result. Here's why.
In March 2006, 3,252 people searched for "New York hotel deals" according to Yahoo! Search Marketing. In the same period, only 46 people searched for "New York hotel special offers". Yet, I have found through ongoing research that "special offers" is a more attractive phrase to many than "deals".
In March 2006, 10,257 people searched for "New York cheap hotel". How many of these people were in fact looking for a plush hotel at a big discount? I often search for cheap hotels, but that doesn't mean that when I click on a search result, I'm thrilled when I see a heading such as: "Welcome to our dirt cheap hotel."
I've just searched for "New York cheap hotel" on Google. The first result brought me to Amsterdam Inn. Here's a selection of the content I'm greeted with on the homepage: "A boutique hotel for the budget minded." "Amsterdam Inn, the hip boutique hotel on Manhattan's Upper West Side."
Not a word about "cheap" or "deals". A classification called "Specials" and some nice soothing words about how, "The Amsterdam Inn offers you the comforts of a home away from home."
I have asked people in many countries why they preferred "special offers" over "deals". It made them feel "special", many replied, while "deals" sounded like something you got from a second-hand car salesman.
When we search we're cheap. We're brutal and to the point. We use the minimum words possible and these words are lean and mean. When we arrive at a webpage we've mellowed a little. Should we be about to buy or make some other important decision, we want to feel comforted and clever and special and maybe even cool.
Certain newspapers are realizing that they need to write one headline for the reader and one for the searcher. This is according to "This Boring Headline is Written for Google," an article by Steve Lohr for the New York Times. Lohr gives some examples from the BBC website: Heading for reader: "Tulsa star: The life and career of much-loved 1960's singer." Heading for searcher: "Obituary: Gene Pitney."
Sometimes, those involved in search engine optimization lose sight of certain absolutely critical issues. The objective should not be to optimize for any particular search engine. It is to optimize for people who search. This is a subtle but essential distinction. It's easy to get obsessed with the technical aspects of Google and Yahoo!
Search is never an end in itself. It is the beginning of a task. When I search for "New York cheap hotel" my likely task is that I want to book a hotel in New York at a great price. If search engine optimization brings me to a website which makes me hit the Back button after one quick look, then what good is that?
On the Web, words drive actions. A certain set of words will help customers find a particular website, but then a different set of words will be required to help these customers complete their tasks.
About the Author:
For your web content management solution, contact Gerry McGovern http://www.gerrymcgovern.com |
