Google Search, The Ultimate Librarian
“Do you know what Google is or how it works?” I ask three to five small business owners this question every day. Half the time I get a 10 second stare followed by such uncomfortable attempts to change the topic as: “Uh, we have chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla… can I get you a cup of coffee…or my personal favorite… how about those Cubs???” The other half of you attempt to bluff your way through, but truthfully, I knew the real answer before we ever sat down. Yep, we know exactly how well a business owner understands Google 60 seconds after sitting in front of a computer. Don’t worry if you’re not completely up to speed, some days I wonder if 3/4 of the web designers on the planet are either. The good news is a solid understanding of what Google is and how it works can make a serious impact on your business and it’s online visibility. Don’t believe me, give us a ring, I’ll put you in touch with a two location auto repair shop in Kansas City who uses their understanding of Google so well that they recently received a call from the owner of a large auto repair chain in Seattle who wanted to know why Sallas Auto of KC kept coming up number one in Seattle. Apparently Google had turned the Seattle owner down earlier that day when he offered to sell his soul for the number one spot. If you’re the guy from Seattle, you might try Bing or Yahoo, or better yet give us a call and we’ll happily teach you, it’s what we do. So what is Google, how does it work, and how do I make it work for my business or website?
Google Is A Librarian
The first thing you need to know is Google is essentially a really awesome, hot, happening librarian with a card catalog rivaled by none. When I was a kid the local library had a room full of big wooden boxed drawers with cards arranged by subject so we could find the book, tape, record, or magazine on whatever topic I was researching. If you really needed help you asked the librarian and if she was good she told you which book was the newest, with the most information, and was most respected. When you search Google, you’re doing the same thing. You’re asking the search engine to find you the best website, video, or business listing on the subject you’re researching. If it repeatedly gives you lousy results you’re not coming back, so it’s in Google’s interest to try and provide the best information.
The Google Algorithm, What Determines If Your Website | Business Is Seen
When you enter a Google Search it’s not searching the entire Web right then. Instead it’s searching a database or personal card catalog that Google has assembled. For search engines those big wooden boxes we talked about earlier look more like a building full of servers that run through a mathematical program called an algorithm. Google’s Algorithm considers many things when you start a search, just a few of which are, relevancy, content, your physical location, and coming soon, your friends/social circle. But all in all, the Google algorithm is the librarian trying to match you up with the very best results. If you start to consider things from the librarian’s view things start to take shape. The librarian doesn’t want to give you the two page pamphlet from 1903, written by the guy everyone considered a quack, instead it wants to give you the website with the most information, by the most well respected individual, who wrote everything last week, RIGHT! So, if your online marketing presence and website consist of 5 pages of junk about how you’re great and only need 40 more gold stars to become President, Google’s probably not going to post it in front of many people. On the other hand, if your business or website produces 100 pages of really informative and helpful quality information, that librarian is much more likely to suggest your website, blog, of Twitter account.
Bots, Spiders, and Crawlers: How Google Reads and Views Your Website
As you’ve probably guessed, Google is not paying a building full of people to read or view every website on the internet daily. Instead they send out an army of programs called bots, spiders, and/or web crawlers to scour the internet and report what they find back to Google. Instead of calling them bots or web crawlers, think of them a junior librarians fresh out of college, charged with performing the grunt work. They read and sort each individual web page not just by the title, or meta tags, but by the actual written content on the page, and they’re getting smarter every day. Two years ago you might have been able to get away with things like keyword stuffing and content farming, but if you do it today, you’re going to get caught, and when Google’s hammer falls you’re going to feel like you just went 5 rounds with Mike Tyson in his prime, plus you’ll be missing the ear. You may cheat the system for a while, but the truth is, it’s just not worth it, and you can get just as good or better results from doing things right in the first place.
Google Finds Your Site, The Moral Of The Story
So how do I get Google to find my sight? You need to inform Google that it’s out there, which starts by setting up a Google account, telling them you’re the owner of the website, and giving them a sitemap. From there you have to consistently produce relevant and interesting material. You’re the author, Google’s the librarian, have you written something that people are going to WANT to read, or have you just produced the equivalent of a really lousy 30 second cheerleading session at the local Detroit inner city middle school. Of course there’s a whole lot more, but having a basic understanding is the first step in the right direction. In the mean time keep coming back (we’re always sharing) make some comments (we appreciate your feedback) or give us a call (we’d love talk to you). Thanks again and remember…
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