My research into search engine optimization, search engine marketing, placement, strategies, call it what you will, is amusing. My SEO Prediction Tools, Predicting Page Rank on Search Engines and Knowing What Keywords to Use was picked up by SEO Rank, which I found flattering although I have no idea what significance there might be in it.
My latest explorations into "No formula can do what SEO practitioners do" came up with the following values:
- Above the fold 100% of the searches
- #1 placement 33% of the searches
- #3 placement 20% of the searches
- #4 placement 13% of the searches
- #6 placement 33% of the searches
I started doing bogus searches after a while, by which I mean I started detuning the equation that was giving me the above rankings. It's one thing to be successful because you're targeting success, it's a totally different thing to be successful and not know why. So I started throwing in searches that I suspected would yield poor results.
Yep, things were working as I suspected. A achieved a 100% failure rate using search terms and phrases that the formula indicated would be ineffective.
I did one more test at this point. I wanted to know how the search engines would respond to a search query in English by a non-English speaker. Once again, 100% placement above the fold.
The joy of knowing I don't know anything about something is that I am free to approach the subject from directions no one else thinks of, and develop working solutions that aren't obvious to those who are experts in the field.
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Links for this post:
- Searching for Search blog arc
- Search Engines, SEM, Getting the Perfect Placement, Social Media, Web 2.0, the Co-Evolution of Species and Will Our Language Survive?
- Know How Someone's Thinking in 10 Seconds or Less Half-day training at Toronto Emetrics Marketing Optimzation Summit, 3 April 08
- Know How Someone Is Thinking in 10 Seconds or Less Half-day training at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, 13 June 08
- Toronto Emetrics Marketing Optimzation Summit, 31 March - 2 April 08
- New Communications Forum 2008, 22-25 April 08 at The Vineyard Creek Inn & Spa, Sonoma County CA
- San Francisco Emetrics Marketing Optimzation Summit, 4-7 May 08
- SUNY Marketing Professionals Conference at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, 11-13 June 08
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Hi Joseph,
great to see people working on a scientific base for SEO.
You are aware though that being able to craft a search query that brings up your own site #1 will not do the trick for you?
You need to be found by people searching for popular keyword phrases, you can't force them to use your specially coined long-tail keywords.
Or if you really want to brand a keyword phrase so your potential customers search for it, you might as well use your original brand name; no point point in pushing a phrase like "I am free to approach the subject from directions no one else thinks of" (#1 spot!) into your target audiences consciousness when you can as well just try to make people search for "bizmediascience".
Wouldn't you rather rank for terms like "successful marketing strategies" or something similar?
Cheerio
Posted by: ExcelinSEO | March 24, 2008 11:45 AM | Permalink to Comment
Howdy and thanks for your comment.
Working? Yes. Scientific basis? I won't flatter myself quite that far.
I'll need an explanation of "You are aware though that being able to craft a search query that brings up your own site #1 will not do the trick for you?"
To the point that a site needs to be found by people searching using popular keyword phrases, yes, of course. This goes back to my post about how language is changing due to the internet and how people use it. Also, is it better to craft for a keyword phrase that everyone is using or craft for a phrase that you know your target audience would use? I would rather come up #1 in a search that 100 truly interested and motivated people are using than #1 in a search that 1,000 people in general are using, 1% of whom might be in my target audience.
Anyway, you've given me fodder for another blog post (Search Engine Keyword Strategies and Tools - Knowing what keywords your audience will use in a search and available after 10amET, 25 Mar 08), so thanks. - Joseph
Posted by: Joseph Carrabis | March 25, 2008 5:53 AM | Permalink to Comment
» Search Engine Keyword Strategies and Tools - Knowing what keywords your audience will use in a search from BizMediaScience
Responding to ExcelinSEO's comments about Searching for Search [Read More]
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