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It started like most days, checking out the latest digital marketing news to be found on Google. But when I got to Google, I saw the above. You see, today’s my birthday. Happy birthday to me!
Of course no one else saw that unless their name is Michelle and they were born on this day. It’s another way Google is personalizing the search experience. That got me thinking about what Google has been trying to accomplish- increasingly personalized results based on a number of indicators. These include:
- Social influences (what you’ve done on LinkedIn, Facebook, and especially Google)
- Search history
These are just two examples of the factors that go into what you see when you’re on the internet. And the above is exactly why you shouldn’t base your business decisions or measure your SEO success based on keyword rankings.
SEOs used to live and die (or were hired and fired) by keyword rankings. But with the advent of personalized search, keyword rankings are just one measure of how you’re doing with search engine optimization. That’s because when you and I search for the same keyword, we may see very different results based on our prior history, activities, friends, colleagues and even their activities. This was all orchestrated by Google to deliver better, more relevant results.
Qualified Traffic
If you can no longer count on the rankings you see – what good are they you might ask – and what should you use instead?
You can still get an idea of your rankings through private search windows or proxy servers. These will help you get a truer view of your rankings in the grand scheme of things. But remember, your clients are likely not searching through a proxy. So the idea then becomes what are they seeing and how do you get in front of them? If not rankings then what?
The answer is, and always has been for that matter, optimizing your site so it can be found, presenting quality content your clients and potential clients are looking for, and getting it out into the world through digital marketing—your blog, your social networks, PR and events. Another way of putting it is – up your digital marketing game and engage with your clients online. Want to get started? See some of our past posts for online marketing.
