The Only Way is Google?
If Google disappeared tomorrow, how much traffic would your website lose and would your business survive?
Relying too Much on SERPs
Scary, but how many real life businesses rely on the whims of Google to keep them in business? Even a 50% drop in visitors could spell disaster for a small business. Top keyword rankings are great and yes they do bring in visitors to your site, but on its own striving for top SERPs is a risky strategy, just waiting to be pounced on by the next Google animal.
A Better SEO Strategy
The internet is a powerful business tool. If you take full advantage of all it has to offer instead of just chasing the coveted page 1 position 1, then your business should be on a sound and future-proof footing.
So, how do we go about achieving this? Well of course you need a well-designed website with clear goals and great content, but you also need links. Yes links, but not just the type that might boost your SERPS, you need links that actually bring visitors to your site. Yes they will boost your SERPs too, but if Google did go away, or even decide to slap a penalty on you, your business would still be healthy.
Where Are These Links Hiding?
- Think about your target audience and ask yourself which web sites they are likely to visit. These are sites that you need to link from. Maybe not an easy task, but this is no quick fix; it is in fact a long term investment. It may take a while to get the links, but well worth it in the end. Remember you are looking for links that actually make visitors want to click through and visit your site.
- Find out who the experts are in your industry. Think about what you could offer them to get them interested in writing about you or your products. You may be able to send products for review or you could offer to write a blog post on a niche topic that may be your field of expertise. Again not an easy win, but one that will hopefully get you noticed.
- Explore web sites in your niche, this can be time consuming, but time well spent. Those links that are a bit harder to find and take a little more time to acquire should be worth it in the end.
- Oh, and don’t forget social media. If you can’t get website owners to provide a direct link, the odds are that they have lots of followers, so a tweet to the right audience is another great way to drive potential customers to your site.
“Who Cares What Google Does Next!”
So next time everyone else is in a flap over the latest Google algorithm update, you can relax and breathe easy, safe in the knowledge that your business does not rely on what Google does next!
