Google ‘John Smith' and you get lots of John Smith's vying for top ranking – Captain John Smith, the sailor and author, John Smith the late Labour leader, John Smith bitter, John Smith & Son, Scotland's oldest independent bookseller….
No, I'm John Smith!
There are thousands of John Smiths but only ten that will rank on the front page of Google. Those ten are the top dogs – the most popular, the most important – according to Google. But if you're company or site is also called John Smith, what do you do if you're buried on the tenth page? You hire an SEO consultant.
It's not just about ego, it's about big bucks too
For some people it's all a matter of ego – or ego surfing. Self-Googling and finding out where you rank can have a serious impact on you self esteem. And of course it isn't just about ego, if your name is your business than it's also about making vast amounts of money too.
The murky world of SEO
For many unsuspecting users of the internet, search engine optimisation is a peculiar, murky unknown world. Talk about search engine optimisation to somebody who has only just learnt how to set up a hotmail account and they'll wonder what on earth you're on about. It is a mystery to all apart from the web wise.
Scared of Spiders?
So how do you explain search engine optimisation to John Smith who has only just learnt how to set up a hotmail account? Talking about ‘Google Page Rank Algorithm' and ‘link baiting' will probably leave clouds floating past his eyes. Compare it to the movie Minority Report and John might be a bit more engaged. Remember the scene where the metallic spiders scrabble around the house scanning people's eyes to check their identities? Google sends its spiders across the internet, scanning websites checking how relevant they are and what ranking they should get.
Mission Impossible
But the formula Google uses is a secret. SEO consultants indulge in the dark art of out-smarting Google's spiders. Although unfortunately not many of them look like Tom Cruise.
Lost in Space
Your address on Google isn't like any ordinary address on any ordinary map. On Google, the map is constantly shifting – whenever Google changes its search algorithms it displays different search engine results. As some businesses can get up to 70% of their online traffic via Google, it's important that they optimise their site so they're always in the top ten.
Tricks of the Trade
John Smith won't get into the top ten ranking because of his immense charm and importance to the world, but because an SEO consultant tweaked his website. Clearly laid out websites, with optimised content and valuable in-bound links are all important. There is a lot of scope for manipulation and Google has teams of people who try and spot the techniques of the SEO manipulators. But the internet isn't like the old, traditional media where a top brand gets top place on the shelf; John Smith's double glazing company can outrank John Smith's bitter if he hires a top SEO consultant.