Search Engine Marketing – Friend or Foe?

“Shoot, i need to get a suit for my friend’s wedding next week. Where should i buy from? Let me google that.”

Find that familiar?

We use Google so often that it becomes a part of our daily activities, be it for studies, work, or just out of our plain curiosity. Convenient and powerful, Google is the most powerful search engine in the world. This tech giant is constantly evolving and looking to improve the search engine algorithm to provide best results to the end-user.

Since it is customary, how much do you actually understand Google then?

It is a form of Search Engine Marketing that involves Search Engine Optimization (Organic Listings) and Paid Search Marketing (Sponsored Listings).

So if consumers rely on these listings to make their decisions on whichever, how does Google determine who should stay on top of the list and so forth?

There are some criteria that google looks into before they rank just about anything among the listings.

…Probably about 200 of them.

Lucky for you, Google made it easy for you to understand what Google needs.

These are the main factors you should consider before even thinking of coming off first on the listings. Paid, or not.

• Website Architecture
• Domain Security
• Inbound Links
• Topic Authority
• Keyword Intent
• Content Structure
• Meta Tags
• Page Speed

If you feel like a curious cat, please google them for more information.

So after understanding Google a tad more than before…

SO HOW DO I GO ABOUT FINDING MY SUIT?

Apparently after a very serious search on Google, this is what i found.

As you can see what the first page of Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs) offered, most of them came from Paid Search Marketing.

So the question today is…

Are these results genuinely the cheapest and best suits out there?

I don’t think so.

WHAT IF there are better options out there?

There could be a better suit store right around the corner offering a much more affordable price for you. Just because they fail to fulfill the criteria as effectively as the rest, it does not mean that their product is worse off.

WHAT IF they are not tech savvy, but is still considered a reputable store? Good customer base and retention, affordable price, good location. Is there really a need for building a right-on website or even resort to paid advertisements?

What I am trying to say is that not all results from the search engine you abuse could be the best. What’s worse, it could even lead you to the wrong set of products. Marketers can include extremely common keywords can be misinterpreted.

So before you jump on the conclusion of Google showing the best results… maybe you could use a little “old school”. Try asking around, word of mouth works magic.

Or simply take a walk down the streets. Who knows?

You’d be surprised.

Thanks for reading!! (Oh and wish me luck on the suit)