In the not too distant past when we spoke of search engine marketing, we focused mainly on search engine rankings (SERPS) or, in other words, of being top in Google. A nice phrase, concise and effective. Visibility in search engines is very important, no doubt.
But in the top spots in Google for what? Here lies the big trap. It is not uncommon that the keywords identified for SEO or PPC campaigns are part of the jargon used by business professionals inside a company to describe their products and services. Yet a typical person generally uses much simpler language to describe what they are searching for in Google or another search engine. Consequently a business can find itself in the top Google search results, but for keywords which are only used by competitors when they fall into the same trap. Ouch.
The second problem that often occurs is to appear in the top Google search results for keywords or phrases of keywords that attract a lot of traffic, but not the right traffic. Consider a fine example, RomeCamp 2008. Presentations centered around the interrelated themes of society, environment and technology.
One of the most entertaining and memorable presentation was on the significant role historically played by pornography as a stimulus for the development and acceptance of new technology. Just consider that the first buyers of video cassette recorders were precisely those who were motivated by the possibility of watching blue movies in the comfort of one’s own home. The presentation, Porn 2.0 (below), attracted the largest audience and was successively reviewed on various blogs. It is very likely that some of the bloggers who wrote about the presentation Porno 2.0 have received visitors from Google in search of pornography.
I’m willing to bet that in most cases these visitors will be disappointed when they just find a review of the presentation porno 2.0 held at RomeCamp when they were looking for real porn.
Exactly as would happen if this post started to appear in Google for similar phrases. Increased traffic, yes. But there wouldn’t be a return on investment (ROI) for my site visitors nor for me 
.
It is important that a site is well indexed in Google and other search engines for the right keywords, namely those that can attract qualified traffic, those visitors who may have a real interest in our products and / or services.
In short, we should focus on the end game: conversion, the conclusion of an activity aligned with both a visitor’s and a site owner’s goals.
The presentation Porno 2.0 held RomeCamp 2008 (in Italian).
Similar Posts:
- SEO for a Blog – All roads lead to RomeCamp 2008
- Why SEO & Usability are like two peas in a pod
- People, Internet and Enterprise Business, all without mentioning Google.
- Google, the spy we love
- Search marketing is different: how to gain a competitive advantage by insuring a successful SEO project
Registration is now open for the next SEO Course (March 22 and 23) and Google Analytics Course (March 14 and 15) in Milan. Don’t miss the opportunity!
Sean Carlos is a web marketing consultant & teacher, assisting companies with their Search (SEO + PPC = SEM), Social Media & Digital Media Measurement strategies. Sean first worked with text indexing in 1990 in a project for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Since then he worked for Hewlett-Packard Consulting and later as IT Manager of a real estate website before founding Antezeta in 2006. Sean is an 
I do agree with you. Lots of traffic but zero conversion using porn keyword. They just don’t buy. Not to mention higher bandwidth means more cost on the web hosting.
Whether people watch porn online, rent flix from their local BlockBusters Video store, or buy porn mags from any magazine street vendor or shop it all boils down to the same – it is human nature.
Creating a 2 level internet would be a great step forward, leaving the porn entrepeneurs to battle it out between themselves on one level and leaving all the “normal” online businesses to compete on another level.
Google and the likes have the power to do this and they would certainly benefit hugely (as they already do) from the billions of people online for whatever reason.
No one can stop the online porn searchers, they are simply never going to disappear, whether they “convert” or not is somewhat open to argument since porn related sales outnumber 12 to 1 all other internet financial activities.
I am currently analysing a somewhat small porn website that recieves upwards of 32 million page views a day… now with that kind of traffic the internet world is literally an open check (cheque).