SEO & Online Marketing
Marketing your small business online is not just Marketing 101. You also need an understanding of how search engines find sites (SEO) and how your customers use websites.
Google Personalized Search
No matter what your age, getting presents over the holidays is nice. Google has given the SEO world a a picnic baskets full of gifts (I know – a mixed metaphor.)
The introduction of ‘Personalized Search’ to everyone searching on Google has made a top position on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) hard to to get – but easier to maintain. Personalized search has been available for people logged into their Google account since 2007. This video by Maile Oyhe covers some of the benefits of personalized search.
At the beginning of December Google made ‘Personalized Search’ available to the public. They did this by setting a cookie on your computer which lets them track your search habits. For more information on ‘Personalized Search’ visit the Google Blog.
What does this mean for you SEO and SERP?
If you have a great site with lots of good information you can expect to either maintain your position or move up in position. Now that Google is tracking all the search traffic to your site it is inconceivable that they would not use that information in their ranking algorithms. The Personalized Search means your site will move up in SERP when a person searches for the same term again. However, if you site ranks well for a lot of Personalized Searches, I would expect a boost in the SERP for all searches.
The down side of course is if you are not already ranking well, you are going to have a harder time getting noticed. Google hasn’t indicated how many of the top SERP positions will be filled by sites where there is a personal bias. For example, someone always looks at the same five restaurants – will all five migrate to the top positions?
How do you attract the person who’s search has been ‘Personalized’ for terms you are targeting?
The basics still apply – great content and good SERP. You may have only 9 positions available on the first page – get into those top 9. Once, you have attracted a visitor, make sure you have enough material to keep them coming back.
Make the ‘Personalized Search’ work for you. Don’t assume that just because your visitor is getting search results that favour your site you can relax. Keep the site updated and interesting. Once you get that favourable position – you don’t want to lose it.
Contact us to find out how TIMR Web Services can help your business
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