a) Human Search Techniques, firstly we must look at how we as individuals search for what we want. We type briefly unless it is
a specific product or service that we want, thus we have created a hierarchy of search terms, a pecking order. See our examples below.
Top Level - Cars; Secondary Level - Used Cars; Third Level - Used Cars For Sale; Forth Level - Used Cars For Sale In Ripon
b) Users search in a variety of ways thus creating variations and an endless list of search terms that can all be associated with
the same product or service. Do not assume that just because you would search in a specific way, your customers will do the same. See our examples below.
Variations & Trends; Used Cars Near Me, Who Sells Cars In Ripon, Used Car Dealers Ripon, Tow Vehicles For Sale Ripon.
c) Search results will be return based upon the user search location. Searching for Used Cars while you are in Carlisle will generate a
different set of results than if you conduct the same search while in Ripon. Search engines endeavour to provide relevant results based upon the user geo location.
To gain additional business you need to ensure that your website has the capability to expand its location reach into areas where you would like to be found.
Your website needs to have 'strength' and several other factors to reach further afield than your current location.
d) User search results are returned in pages of 10. Statistics show that we as users rarely go a couple of pages into the returned search results thus if
you are appearing on page 2 and below, it is unlikely that you will be receiving traffic for the search terms that you want. This could be because of several
reasons, i.e., market saturation, domain dominance, autoyeld or because your website is not giving the correct instructions and user experience that search engines seek
to rank you higher. Often it is a combination of all factors that suppress a website.
With search results limited to 10 positions per page, websites can enter a simple catch 22 situation whereas they do not
appear on page 1 then they do not receive a vital component to rank any higher than their current position.
e) Associated products and services are often an area that is neglected because the website owner is focused upon their main core business yet missing
out on high quality user searches. Continuing with the above 'car dealer' example, a logical example of this would be a user searching for car finance,
often a service that would be offered but missed as the sole focus has been placed upon 'car' rather than gaining valuable extra business from high quality
user searches that are clearly expressing an interest in purchasing.
With search results becoming saturated, it is important to be found for relevant associated search terms.
f) Your website could just be being pushed out of the rankings because of a combination of some or all the factors; Website Structure, Search Result Limitations,
Geo Location Data, Domain Trust, Relevance, Content, Autoyeld, Cramazoned & Market Saturation. In addition to this is the factor of time and the sheer
volume of new websites launched every day, a critical component to any websites chance of generating users and achieving the desired results.
Just a few combinations of the above effects are enough to cause your site not to be found by users who want to find you.