DIGITAL MARKETING - A Practical Approach
Alan Charlesworth
Chapter 4 – Search Engine Optimization
For many, this aspect of digital marketing is both mysterious and somewhat
mystifying, not least because (1) it is dependent on some extremely complicated
mathematical algorithms, and (2) the term search engine optimization is something
of a misnomer – suggesting that it is the search engines that are being optimized,
rather than the web pages, and (3) is it the same as search engine marketing (SEM)?
Let’s address these issues in turn:
1. Rhe algorithms by which the search engines determine their listings are complex
(more on them later), but the maths element is all behind the scenes, and the digital
marketer need not hold a computer science or engineering degree to practise
successful SEO.
2. Though widely known as search engine optimization, the phrase optimizing (your
website) for search engines better describes the activity. Essentially, the digital
marketer is looking to optimize a web page so that it best attracts the search engines.
3. The term search engine marketing is used to describe the wider impact that search
engines have on not only digital marketing, but marketing as a whole. In that
context, SEO is an element of SEM.
PRACTICAL INSIGHT
Google doesn’t want to lose you
Website publishers have long been aware that links away from their site could mean
visitors leave – and never return. In essence, search engines are the exception to this
rule as they want to send searchers to a website that most suits the search query.
But things change at Google. The search giant makes money from advertising, and so
lost visitors reduce that income. Google’s answer: put the answers to
straight-forward questions at the top of the SERP. These are known as Knowledge
Graph boxes – unsurprisingly part of the Google Knowledge Graph, a system
launched in May 2012 that understands facts not only about people, places and
things but how these entities might be connected*.
As an example, type “NAP acronym” into the search bar. The results page will start
with a chart (drawn from an online dictionary) of the various definitions for NAP.
Beneath that will be a box titled People also ask, which contains questions based
around the original search – for example, ‘What does NAP stand for in nursing?’
, Each of these questions provides a brief answer – which is usually sufficient – when
the searcher clicks on the question.
To date, these results are used in only informational searches, but who knows what
the future will bring? Try searching on Google for a hotel in any major city. After the
paid ads at the top of the SERP, you are likely to be presented with a section headed
by a map that identifies the location of hotels in the city. That section also lists hotels
– presumably from third-party booking companies. Effectively, Google is promoting
those hotels from which it will get a cut if searchers make a booking.
* The Knowledge Graph boxes may impact on website metrics as searchers will not
have to visit the actual pages of a site featured on a box to find the answer to their
query. This is OK for the likes of Wikipedia, which carries no ads, but it could impact
the income of commercial sites.
Decision time
Before considering the decisions to be made with regard to SEO, it is worth noting
that these issues are equally relevant to B2B traders as they are in the B2C
environment – organizations use the web to help with procurement, and search
engines are used to find business products and services in the same way as B2C
products.
The decision on involvement in SEO is determined by the organization’s
marketing objectives. These can be divided into three significant business
categories: (1) online pure-play, (2) bricks and clicks, and (3) offline only. As stated
in the previous paragraph, these are equally valid in consumer and industrial
markets. Issues for the three categories include:
1. The online pure-play business is dependent on the web for its income – therefore,
featuring high in the SERPs is essential.
2. For the bricks and clicks business, it will depend on the ratio of their off- and
online sales and how any online marketing efforts complement or replace offline
sales – though it is normal for this type of organization to seek high search engine
listings. However, offline marketing will always drive traffic to the website so it is not
as essential as for pure-play.
3. With the offline business, this issue is more difficult. Although it is more and more
common for customers to use the web to find products or offline sellers, for some
organizations the web will always be a minor source of customers. For these, high
visibility in the SERPs is not a priority. Similarly, in some industries, businesses have
operated offline for years – and their marketing is relationship- rather than
transactional-oriented. For these, the web offers little by way of generating new
business. Such is the nature of how search engines work, that – providing the
Alan Charlesworth
Chapter 4 – Search Engine Optimization
For many, this aspect of digital marketing is both mysterious and somewhat
mystifying, not least because (1) it is dependent on some extremely complicated
mathematical algorithms, and (2) the term search engine optimization is something
of a misnomer – suggesting that it is the search engines that are being optimized,
rather than the web pages, and (3) is it the same as search engine marketing (SEM)?
Let’s address these issues in turn:
1. Rhe algorithms by which the search engines determine their listings are complex
(more on them later), but the maths element is all behind the scenes, and the digital
marketer need not hold a computer science or engineering degree to practise
successful SEO.
2. Though widely known as search engine optimization, the phrase optimizing (your
website) for search engines better describes the activity. Essentially, the digital
marketer is looking to optimize a web page so that it best attracts the search engines.
3. The term search engine marketing is used to describe the wider impact that search
engines have on not only digital marketing, but marketing as a whole. In that
context, SEO is an element of SEM.
PRACTICAL INSIGHT
Google doesn’t want to lose you
Website publishers have long been aware that links away from their site could mean
visitors leave – and never return. In essence, search engines are the exception to this
rule as they want to send searchers to a website that most suits the search query.
But things change at Google. The search giant makes money from advertising, and so
lost visitors reduce that income. Google’s answer: put the answers to
straight-forward questions at the top of the SERP. These are known as Knowledge
Graph boxes – unsurprisingly part of the Google Knowledge Graph, a system
launched in May 2012 that understands facts not only about people, places and
things but how these entities might be connected*.
As an example, type “NAP acronym” into the search bar. The results page will start
with a chart (drawn from an online dictionary) of the various definitions for NAP.
Beneath that will be a box titled People also ask, which contains questions based
around the original search – for example, ‘What does NAP stand for in nursing?’
, Each of these questions provides a brief answer – which is usually sufficient – when
the searcher clicks on the question.
To date, these results are used in only informational searches, but who knows what
the future will bring? Try searching on Google for a hotel in any major city. After the
paid ads at the top of the SERP, you are likely to be presented with a section headed
by a map that identifies the location of hotels in the city. That section also lists hotels
– presumably from third-party booking companies. Effectively, Google is promoting
those hotels from which it will get a cut if searchers make a booking.
* The Knowledge Graph boxes may impact on website metrics as searchers will not
have to visit the actual pages of a site featured on a box to find the answer to their
query. This is OK for the likes of Wikipedia, which carries no ads, but it could impact
the income of commercial sites.
Decision time
Before considering the decisions to be made with regard to SEO, it is worth noting
that these issues are equally relevant to B2B traders as they are in the B2C
environment – organizations use the web to help with procurement, and search
engines are used to find business products and services in the same way as B2C
products.
The decision on involvement in SEO is determined by the organization’s
marketing objectives. These can be divided into three significant business
categories: (1) online pure-play, (2) bricks and clicks, and (3) offline only. As stated
in the previous paragraph, these are equally valid in consumer and industrial
markets. Issues for the three categories include:
1. The online pure-play business is dependent on the web for its income – therefore,
featuring high in the SERPs is essential.
2. For the bricks and clicks business, it will depend on the ratio of their off- and
online sales and how any online marketing efforts complement or replace offline
sales – though it is normal for this type of organization to seek high search engine
listings. However, offline marketing will always drive traffic to the website so it is not
as essential as for pure-play.
3. With the offline business, this issue is more difficult. Although it is more and more
common for customers to use the web to find products or offline sellers, for some
organizations the web will always be a minor source of customers. For these, high
visibility in the SERPs is not a priority. Similarly, in some industries, businesses have
operated offline for years – and their marketing is relationship- rather than
transactional-oriented. For these, the web offers little by way of generating new
business. Such is the nature of how search engines work, that – providing the
