Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, recently held a talk with various magazine executives as part of a broader event organized by the search giant for the execs. During his discussion, he spoke on such topics as Brand relevance in the clouded world of the internet, successful search engine marketing (which in his discussion is related to the first point) and the future of for-profit journalism.
Brand relevance was a major speaking point for Schmidt as he explained it to be the necessary cure to the unnecessary evil that is the majority of available sites on the web. By creating a strong brand readily recognized by the public, a company gains a great deal of wiggling room. They are more likely to be considered relevant and even during times of economic downturn a strong brand can survive or even prosper (just ask the Ritz cracker company which developed out the Great Depression in the early 20th century).
Brand relevance was a major speaking point for Schmidt as he explained it to be the necessary cure to the unnecessary evil that is the majority of available sites on the web. By creating a strong brand readily recognized by the public, a company gains a great deal of wiggling room. They are more likely to be considered relevant and even during times of economic downturn a strong brand can survive or even prosper (just ask the Ritz cracker company which developed out the Great Depression in the early 20th century).
Schmidt mentioned that Google does not participate in creating content - that is the job of the content providers that he organized the event for. Major magazines, editorials, brands and blogs comprise the bulk of relevant information that appears in search results. Granted, there are millions of pages full of "content" also on the web, but the poor quality offered by so many is why Google and other search engines constantly work to better the relevant search queries input by users. Obviously the more relevant the searches the better and possibly more successful the results are the more likely a user is to continue using that engine.
One interesting thing mentioned by Schmidt to the execs was that Google "doesn't want you to succeed" in gaining rank in their engine. There is nothing malicious in that comment; it is merely a matter of wanting the best and most relevant search material available. If a company is able to trick the search engine into placing it higher in the natural search results than it should, then the person being cheated is the user. That being said, it is easy to see why such new methods of SEO are SMO and full brand development.
Search companies often offer full packages, and prefer that a client develop these campaigns from the beginning. Although we will take a client at any stage of their development and try to offer them the absolute best solutions for their SEO needs, developing a strong brand with their SEO package is essential to making a successful and relevant campaign. Just like Google told the magazine executives, building a strong brand is the key to pulling ahead and away from the "cesspool" that is the majority of internet content.
One interesting thing mentioned by Schmidt to the execs was that Google "doesn't want you to succeed" in gaining rank in their engine. There is nothing malicious in that comment; it is merely a matter of wanting the best and most relevant search material available. If a company is able to trick the search engine into placing it higher in the natural search results than it should, then the person being cheated is the user. That being said, it is easy to see why such new methods of SEO are SMO and full brand development.
Search companies often offer full packages, and prefer that a client develop these campaigns from the beginning. Although we will take a client at any stage of their development and try to offer them the absolute best solutions for their SEO needs, developing a strong brand with their SEO package is essential to making a successful and relevant campaign. Just like Google told the magazine executives, building a strong brand is the key to pulling ahead and away from the "cesspool" that is the majority of internet content.
Great idea, but will this work over the long run?