'Just Google it'. Why SEO is important.
I walked into the kitchen at my parents’ house and my 6 year old nephew is saying “Just Google it Granddad, Google it”. He wanted to find out something about a tractor. Little did he know that the Old Nokia brick phone was definitely not able to Google anything. From a young age without any concept of what a search engine is, they know, if you want an answer to something ‘just Google it’.
We are in a time now that ‘Google’ is a verb in the Oxford dictionary that means to search for something. Yes, I did double check this through a Google search.
According to Stat Counter in Ireland Google has about 95% of the market share of search engine providers and in markets such as the US, UK & Canada the range is from 87-98%. At the moment it is not whether you are search engine optimizing it is whether you are Google Optimizing.
In an earlier article we discussed using Google Analytics in Fitness and the benefits for a small business. It is great tool to see where traffic is coming from and what your customers are doing on your site. It should be used as part of your overall digital marketing campaign. This builds into the next step which is optimising your website or blog to be found when someone is ‘Just Googling it’.
In the fitness industry what do people Google?
“Where is the closest Gym, running group, yoga studio?”
“What time are classes?”
By having your website or blog connected to Google analytics the idea is to use this information to make improvements and appear higher in organic search results. It is a process that will take time and patience.
When creating the website or blog it is important to consider a couple of different aspects when you are thinking of SEO.
1. What does my customer want from my site? What problems am I solving for them? Google Analytics will help answer some of this over time as you can see the content that your customers are engaging it. For the local gym, it could be how to videos or articles on mindfulness.
2. The second aspect is the search engine. How does the search engine find you? What does a search engine rank as important?
Luckily the number one search engine has a Guide to explain how Google search works and an SEO starter guide. This will explain how your website and blog is crawled, indexed and ranked along with the best practice guidelines.
Their guiding principle is “Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines” – Google
If you are always thinking of ways to improve the experience of your customers, the next time someone asks ‘Where is the closest gym’ and the answer is ‘Just Google it’, your business can be the first name that appears.
- Helen Mc
Ah Helen, loved the inclusion of your nephew, a clear example of digital natives and their perception on accessibility to information. Closest thing to Google back in my day was Teletext!
ReplyDeleteI especially liked your reminder that Google's advice is - 'Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines'. Though it's a world dominating search engine (too far?) I like the emphasis that is still put on websites' accessibility, up-to-date information and I guess the fact that businesses and services trading online know now - If your website sucks you're not going to make it to that all important first page.
Love the little anecdote about your nephew - what I love more is the nostalgia of the "Nokia brick", I would actually love to have one of those again, simpler times really isn't it?
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Google has become so enshrined in everyday life that it is now part of the Oxford dictionary baffles me...but oddly doesn't surprise me. Google being the arguably the best search engine in the world has so many tools to maximize marketing that it would be silly not to use it, especially as you mention , analytics - that and SEO go hand in hand.
Loved the reference to your nephew, Helen. It’s true, isn’t it? Even kids as young as 6 know that the best way to find something is to Google it! Google has done such a good job with branding that they’ve even created a verb, but that’s a conversation for another day! You’ve also included some great examples of what customers would be Googling when looking for a gym or classes nearby. It opens up the question of what people are searching for, it’s not just “gym near me” anymore . It’s clear you really have to optimise your site to compete with all other sites that could be showing in the organic results. The benchmark for good SEO is increasing!
ReplyDeleteHelen, I enjoyed how you personalised this article, your nephew seems to be a quick learner !
ReplyDeleteIt is funny how we say SEO - but you are right when you made reference to Google Optimising because really Google dominates as the leading search engine to answer all our queries. Even the term Google has been inserted into our everyday vocabulary so much that it has even been added to the dictionary. It is important not to focus too much on the Search Engine side and channel your energy into user experience
Helen, great personal example about your nephew. Google has really become part of our everyday lives. With the digital era we now live in and when you consider the use of Google throughout our everyday lives, we simply couldn’t live without it! In the business world of SEO, it is a competitive market for the fitness industry. As you mentioned, if your webpage isn’t fully optimised using SEO, this could be the reason someone visits your gym or not. If your webpage doesn’t show up on the results page when someone in your locality googles ‘’gym near me’’ they will end up visiting your competitor’s gym instead, resulting in you losing out on sales!
ReplyDeletegreat post . very interesting
ReplyDelete