SEO is no longer about ranking..

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hightechrex

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Columbia, SC
You ever see your website ranked anywhere from 1-3... think to yourself. "damn, thats pretty good." Then when you clear your cache or go on another computer you realize your really number 6 or even on the 2nd page? What this means is that Google is personalizing your search (and your clients search) for websites that they have visited in the past and more frequently visit. The more your visiting your own site... the hire it's going to be ranked everytime you do a google search. Most clients don't regularly clear the cache so what there seeing are the sites they most often visit. So your website can be optimized to the teeth but still not rank as well as other more "established" websites or a website. Which brings me to my question.

What keeps YOU visiting a site?
What keeps a client visiting a site?
What are some good ways to incorporate more content on your site without becoming cluttered?

Note: My rankings are anywhere from 1-5 on most keywords, but am not finding a return in traffic. I assume that when my search does land a customer.. It's either because its a new computer, its there first time searching, they were very interested in my website name and description, etc. Most of my business comes from offline means. How can i change that? Would having weekly sales help? Google doesn't index sites often enough for you to constantly update your descriptions and page titles. So what are some experiments that can be done?
 
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I don't believe your browser cache has anything to do with Google's bubbling algorithms. They keep track of you server-side.
 
rjframe said:
I don't believe your browser cache has anything to do with Google's bubbling algorithms. They keep track of you server-side.
Click to expand...

I'm almost positive it does.. Clearing history and cache returns it to normal. It uses browser information to personalize your search, It may not be the only factor.. but it's a big one.
 
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I've been trying to figure this out as well. I've been having more people lately tell me they found me through google searching. Also the yellowbook people gave me a good deal this year for an online listing web page. I figured that would help with ranking etc. and get better search results for people looking for computer repair etc.
 
...

I'm under the impression that many of you arent understanding what I'm saying... google personalizes search based on a few things.

Signed in (google account): Uses a server based service.. Similar to cookies, but online.

Signed out (google account): Uses cookies on the client's computer...

Means: Since almost no one knows how know how to clear their google account history and most people don't regularly clear there history.. The sites they have most frequently visited in the past will remain on top. Whether it's Geek Squad, staples, the local mom and pops shop, etc.. Means you can optimize your keyword prevelence all you want, your results may look good on your end.. but you may still be ranked really low on your prospective clients search..

 
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hightechrex said:
Means: Since almost no one knows how know how to clear their google account history and most people don't regularly clear there history.. The sites they have most frequently visited in the past will remain on top. Whether it's Geek Squad, staples, the local mom and pops shop, etc.. Means you can optimize your keyword prevelence all you want, your results may look good on your end.. but you may still be ranked really low on your prospective clients search..
Click to expand...

Not really. If you sign out and are on the first page, you'll be on the first page for 95%+ of people searching.
 
compnet said:
Not really. If you sign out and are on the first page, you'll be on the first page for 95%+ of people searching.
Click to expand...

That's true. If merely being on the first page was all that mattered. Placement on the first page is more important. Placement will vary based on the user and the difference in placement can potentially knock you off the page. Is everyone going to just argue semantics or is someone going to actually try helping?

 
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I don't understand your concern.

Google gives every site equal opportunity. If a user decides to start visiting another site and in turn starts to appear in the Google results more often, then you should work harder to be that site that the user visits first.

I feel like you're blaming Google for directing traffic away from you. Just create a product / service that people want and they will find you. That is the bottom line.
 
ComputerCorner said:
I don't understand your concern.

Google gives every site equal opportunity. If a user decides to start visiting another site and in turn starts to appear in the Google results more often, then you should work harder to be that site that the user visits first.

I feel like you're blaming Google for directing traffic away from you. Just create a product / service that people want and they will find you. That is the bottom line.
Click to expand...

Read my original post.. I clearly said on quote.

"What keeps YOU visiting a site?
What keeps a client visiting a site?
What are some good ways to incorporate more content on your site without becoming cluttered?"

The ENTIRE point of this post that many seem to be missing is. What type of content (or service) keeps a user coming back on the site for more? Coming on the site once, getting the number, and leaving is one thing. But what keeps them revisiting the site.. Thats the question. No one is blaming anyone.. I'm asking for advice.
 
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hightechrex said:
Note: My rankings are anywhere from 1-5 on most keywords, but am not finding a return in traffic. I assume that when my search does land a customer.. It's either because its a new computer, its there first time searching, they were very interested in my website name and description, etc. Most of my business comes from offline means. How can i change that? Would having weekly sales help? Google doesn't index sites often enough for you to constantly update your descriptions and page titles. So what are some experiments that can be done?
Click to expand...

Umm... I just did a quick check of your rank for several key keywords and you have, literally, zero page rank for them.

I think you might want to revisit your take on what constitutes "SEO" - particularly your keyword choices and how you are optimising for them.

For computer repair businesses, the goal of a website is usually to bring in new business. That is, to provide exposure for the business in response to keyword searches.

Once we have the customer, in most instances they are not looking for our sites to find out what we do, because they already know. They may search for us by business name, but in this instance the site is acting as more of a business card (contact details) than 'advertising' in a strict sense.

That 'keeping apparent' task is usually then taken over by 'outreach' advertising in the form of social media (followers) and email campaigns (special offers, etc)

Sorry, I just dont follow your argument here.

But in regard to your initial question; "fresh, relevant content" is what comes to mind. However, from what I have seen, very few computer repairs businesses have the time or the resources to provide that. Its literally, a huge task. And very difficult, given the wide variety of technical aptitudes and interest levels of our customers. Take the absolute best tech blog you know, and then think about how many of your customers would actually want to read it, and you will get a sense of what Im talking about.

I blog on my site these days, but its not writing for humans, really. Its just writing for the Algorythm, to keep it happy.

Which is ever so slightly sad, when you think about it.

Lisa (callthatgirl) is pretty good at this stuff, by reputation (social marketing, content generation). Will defer to her on this subject. You might want to ask her to join the conversation?

.
 
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16k_zx81 said:
Umm... I just did a quick check of your rank for several key keywords and you have, literally, zero page rank for them.

I think you might want to revisit your take on what constitutes "SEO"

Frankly I find the premise of this thread completely baffling.

:confused:
Click to expand...

Did you check them specifically for Columbia, SC?
 
SEO Ranking

SEO is all about ranking if your site is not optimised you will never get on page one of Google for the search terms that you want. You should never be signed into your Google account when you search for you place ranking as this gives you a false placing on Google. You should use CCleaner to clean out your cache before you start searching on Google for your websites position.
The best way that I see it is to keep your content up to date, adding new content ,even if only changing it slightly will be advantageous to you in Goggles eyes.
 
hightechrex said:
Well, since no one understands. I give up lol. I don't know how much it can be explained. :confused:
Click to expand...

I thought I understood perfectly and I found your post pretty darn interesting. Then I read all the replies and felt like I must be stupid because I thought I understood what you were saying but everyone else starting piling on like you were an idiot. So...if you are an idiot and I thought I understood what you were saying....then I guess that makes me an idiot too.:D

But all joking aside, I heard Leo Laporte and the guys on TWIT talking about this sort of thing back 6-8 months ago. They were explaining how Google was customizing search results for each user. To prove this, they all used their own laptops in their various locations around the country, at the same time and searched for the exact same thing on Google using the exact same wording. They got all kinds of different results in different orders. I found it all really interesting.
 
While I have seen this sort of 'personalized results,' I'm not sure that it changes the SEO game too much. The goal is still to come back as high as possible using whatever tools possible (keywords, links, fresh content, etc). Outside of paying for ads, I guess I'm not sure how we can affect these personalized results. I have, on occasion, built sites for customers, but I know my limitations and make sure they know upfront I don't manage SEO, but it would be nice to know more about this topic.
_________________________________________________________________
Completely off topic and almost entirely irrelevant, but it is a huge pet peeve of mine, so I am forced by an almost unworldly compulsion to mention...

There = a place, as in, "The ball is over there."
Their = a 3rd person possessive pronoun, as in, "That is their ball."
They're = a contraction of they and are, as in, "They're not going to let you play with their ball over there."

Learn them, use them appropriately.

</OCD Moment>
 
16k_zx81 said:
I blog on my site these days, but its not writing for humans, really. Its just writing for the Algorythm, to keep it happy.

Which is ever so slightly sad, when you think about it.
Click to expand...

This made me chuckle and weep inside at the same time, I feel I am doing far too much keeping the algorithm happy at the moment.

Meanwhile at Google HQ
'Sir, the algorithm needs feeding again,' 'What does it want this time?' 'More numbers and the souls of anyone foolish enough to take up SEO.' 'The usual'
 
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