It’s true. . .Google made another change to their algorithms last week which has big implications for business owners. And if you’re focused on your ideal client, writing posts and articles which speak to them and your specialty, this is all great news.
If you’re all over the place, not sure who you’re speaking to and trying to be everything to everyone, well. . .not so much.
Google customizes your searches based on previous searches, your habits, social media posts and friends, your photos and more.
While Google’s customization may not be a surprise — have you ever searched for something on Google, found results, told your friend and she couldn’t find. . .even with doing the exact same search? Well, they’re taking it to another level.
Here’s an excerpt from Google’s blog post about this:
“Say you’re looking for a vacation destination. You can of course search the web, but what if you want to learn from the experiences your friends have had on their vacations? Just as in real life, your friends’ experiences are often so much more meaningful to you than impersonal content on the web. With your world in search, you can find:
- Google+ posts. You can find relevant Google+ posts from friends talking about an amazing trip they just took, whether they’ve shared privately with you or publicly. You’ll find links shared by your friends, such as activities, restaurants and other things they enjoyed on their trip.
- Photos. You can find beautiful vacation photos from your friends right in your search results page. You can also find your own private photos from Google+ and Picasa, based on captions, comments and album title…
This is search that truly knows [you], and gives [you] a result page that only [you] can see.”
What do Google’s search changes mean for you?
Two things:
- Since Google is personalizing our search results (and those of your potential clients), you want to ensure that you’re writing, talking, videotaping, etc. about things that are relevant to your ideal clients. You want to be connecting with them on your blog and on social media — note that “connecting” here does not mean throwing out post after post which has you sharing and promoting. “Connecting” does mean that you want to be reacting to THEIR posts as well — visit their pages, engage in conversation. Post on their blogs. It’s a two-way street.
- One word. . .consistency. You want to be consistent in everything you do — that consistency, combined with strategic, relevant content will have you in the same place as your ideal clients.
Remember, just like last February, Google cares about giving their clients relevant info — info which means their clients will come back and use them again and again because they’re getting meaningful results. And which means advertisers will continue to invest with them.
If you’re connecting regularly with your ideal clients and sharing content relevant to your industry, keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll be fine.