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Going beyond Google

by Phil Barrett

How do you find or track websites, content and information?

For many people, it’s Google all the way. Some people even find typing in a website into Google easier than remembering an exact URL in the address bar. It’s certainly a testament to the simplicity and power of their user interface.

Having said that, people are going beyond Google.  Nearly 50% of my total blog traffic now comes from search engines. Here’s a list of search engines in order of traffic volume to this site:

  1. Google
  2. Google Images
  3. Windows Live
  4. Yahoo!
  5. Digg
  6. Alexa
  7. del.icio.us
  8. Stumbleupon
  9. AOL
  10. Ask
  11. Earth Link
  12. MSN Search
  13. Comet toolbar search
  14. Icerocket

Although Google still clearly rules my reference traffic – does it rule yours too?

More importantly for marketers, does your search engine marketing (SEM) and optimization (SEO) strategy include most or all of the above?

It should be noted that rates for SEM in Canada are still relatively cheap when compared to the U.S. and other mature search markets.

Combined with a good SEO strategy, you can virtually own a category in a very short period of time

The future of search? It’s social and it’s mobile. But I already referenced that here.

  • It's a good point about people typing in your website in Google instead of the address bar. This can be a problem, however, for a SEM campaign, as people are clicking on the paid links instead of the organic search. Five of the top 10 keywords that I'm paying for on my site are variations of my site's name.
    I want to pay for new users, to raise brand awareness and unique visitors, not pay for lazy surfers.
    Having said that, search engines only account for 18% of my traffic. A little over half come from referring sites, and the rest is direct traffic (returning visitors). The key here is the importance of interactivity and viral marketing.
    Give them a reason to come back, and give them a reason to invite their friends. How? Contests. The more you play, the better your chance of winning. Invite your friends to come and play on your behalf to help you win. You may give up if you don't win, but many of your friends and family will enter themselves... etc.
    Another good thing about online contests - especially ongoing ones - is that they end up as links on contest websites, blogs, forums, etc. This increases your organic search rating. My contest is now referenced on over 700 sites, and even though they only average about referrals a month each, it ads up quickly, especially when those referrals latch on to the viral multiplier, and they increase your google rating.
    My boss keeps asking me how we can apply these lessons to our other sites, to get the same success. The problem is that they are ultimately looking for ways to get more people to read their static content, instead of more people to INTERACT with their brand, and absorb the brand values/message/proposition.
    It's not easy to convert the success of a consumer baby website to a B2B corporate site. My advise is to invest your creative resources in to creating ways to keep people coming back, and giving them a reason to invite their friends. If you do this, the web will organically reward you, and your reliance on SEM will decrease.
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