A few decades ago, businesses advertised their products and services on TV, newspapers and radio because these were the main media outlets consumed by the masses. The internet didn’t exist, Google didn’t exist, Facebook didn’t exist. For all you kids out there, yes, it was a scary time.
Fast forward a few decades and people don’t turn on their TVs to watch regular television, they watch Netflix. People get in their cars and connect their smartphones and listen to Spotify and people hit the web to get their daily news. And if they want another form of entertainment they’ll hit their social media newsfeed. We talk more and say less. That’s much better.
The internet and all its tech spin-offs came to revolutionise the way people interact with the world, advertisers included. It is said that in the near future, printed media will disappear entirely, that’s how much mass media is changing.
As you may be aware, the virtual world opened other sources of media outlets like search engines and social media. Whatever it is that we need, we now hit the web. No more Yellow Pages. You simply open a browser and Google springs up, ready for you to make use of its mysterious algorithms and your small business’s digital marketing.
It might seem simple for the naïve user. But just think about it for yourself. When you Google something, which links do you usually click on? The ones that organically appear in the first positions, right? You will rarely go to page two or three of your search because users generally trust the first positions on the search engine (who has the time, anyway?), meaning that it’s what is shown on the first page that will generally get the most clicks.
Psychologically speaking, these are the sites that seem more trustworthy to the users. Users come to believe that because a site is listed on the first page of the search engine, it must be more reliable than something that is on the tenth page of their search. This not only increases the trust of your website but it also its traffic – which inevitably means more exposure to potential clients.
But the psychology of how search engine positioning works is a lot more complex, since the words used in the search will also determine what the users will click on. People who search the term “how to” are looking for a direct answer, they’re looking for a guide and an article that will be very focused towards their needs.
Someone who types the words “best” is looking for quality, state of the art services or products. If you’re site ranks on the top position organically then it will be very likely that such a user has real client potential. This type of user is not looking for the paying ads that show at the top, but for genuine quality that can satisfy their demands.
On the other hand, someone who types “cheapest” is obviously looking for a bargain, and such a user will not be satisfied with just one search; they will most likely click on different sites to actually compare prices and locate the bargain that they’re looking for.
Using a keyword planner is crucial for determining the words for which you want to be ranked. Such words will also have a strong impact on the behaviour of the user when he/she comes across your site.
Either way, in the vast oceans of websites and the virtual world, you want your site to be available and reachable when someone is looking for you. If you’re website is buried within the 20th page of the search engines for your targeted keyword, is very unlikely that those potential clients will ever find you.
This, of course, like anything else in life, has its pros and cons. A few decades ago if you didn’t have huge amounts of money it was nearly impossible to advertise or to show your potential clients “Hey, here I am” – it was usually just the most powerful companies who had the deep pockets to spend millions on radio, TV and newspaper advertising. Nowadays, however, you don’t need big bucks to be reachable. The internet has opened many forms of advertising and positioning that never existed before, and many of which don’t involve huge investment. Today’s SEO services tackle this very issue.
However, on another note, search engine optimisation takes time and it takes patience. It takes hard work and time to make it to the top. But the rewards are definitely worth it.