Google’s Making Changes. Are YOU Ready?
November 21st, 2008 by JD Rucker
For Searchers
The way it looks initially, searches will be experiencing a paradigm shift in the way they search. Sounds pretty dramatic, but between changes coming in Universal Search and the SearchWiki functionality rolling out right now, searchers will (hopefully) be able to get the information they need more easily without having to use multiple attempts at different keywords to get what they want.
Before, typing a search for "Toyota Dealers" would yield mostly national searches in the organic section. The sponsored section was normally geo-targeted results, but unless you happened to be close to dealership whose website was very well optimized, you probably had to do the search again. If localized, universal, and personalized search make good on their promises and meet their goals of relevancy, that could all change.
For Website Owners
The real question should be, "Is your website provider or marketing firm ready for what’s coming down?"
Bruce Clay is saying that "ranking is dead." Behavior based search is expanding, regardless of whether someone is logged into Google or not. He predicts that in the first quarter of 2009, there will be a major shift to localized, personal search that will make the once-simple job of optimizing a website much more difficult. The factors that determine the rankings delivered to the target audience will change and we will see a shift towards other indicators for success.
Matt Cutts says "ranking won’t be as important as it used to be in 2009."
This is a scary proposition for the ill-prepared SEO firm. It isn’t a matter of making websites linkable and large. What will be necessary is for them to be directly relevant to the search terms that they are wanting to rank for. This is a subtle distinction, but in the whole scheme of things, it’s a huge difference from the way websites are optimized today.
Personalization and localization are coming. They’re here, to some extent. If you haven’t seen it already, don’t worry. Your data center will update soon.
Universal search is changing. It is apparently in a constant state of flux. We’ve had a taste of it for a year, now. SEO’s must embrace the fact that they are having to become more like marketers. There is a distinction, and anyone who doesn’t make that distinction and adjust will be lost in 2008.
Other key points:
As with many of my posts lately, I’m going to ride the fence. There are advantages and disadvantages to having your website inventory indexed. This issue has popped up more and more lately as a lot of gurus are pointing towards indexed inventory as a strong SEO tool.
There is a debate going on, though few are involved and even fewer understand it. First, the definitions:
Don’t you hate it when you lose a sale? It could be a poor inventory, not clicking with a customer, or a conflict in trade difference that causes a lost sale. Luckily, all of these are easily fixed - we all know how to handle those.
The old saying that "content is king" is just that… and old saying. In automotive search engine optimization (any SEO for that matter), the importance of content has been superceded by quality, relevant inbound links.
Gas mileage is a hot topic to automotive consumers. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a hot topic to automotive dealers. With today’s economic conditions, getting the most mileage out of a vehicle has many parallels with getting the most out of your SEO.
When we take on a new client, I have the opportunity to really dive into the Search Engine Optimization that has been done the sites by various vendors. There are certain things we do that others do not do and visa versa. Everyone thinks they have the right formula — it’s all a matter of knowledge and taste.
Leave it to Google. Just when search engine optimization companies were starting to get a better understanding of what it takes to get their clients on top of the search engine results pages, Google starts to make some major changes.
One of three things happens whenever a car dealer is talking to their marketing company and asks the question, “Should I focus on search engine optimization or pay per click marketing?”
It has been brought to my attention that some in the industry are pushing the concept that you absolutely, positively, without a doubt have to have search engine marketing pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns or your website is going to die a fast yet painful death. These people are using phrases such as "anybody who tells you otherwise is lying to you."
