We’re in Miami. It’s Friday night and we want to go out to the hottest club in town, Club Google. So we get all dressed up and head downtown. But when we get there, there’s a long line to get in. As we get into this line we notice that some people are walking right up to the bouncer and getting in without having to wait. In fact, the line we’re in doesn’t seem to be moving at all. I push my way to the front of the line so I can getter a better grasp on why some people are getting right in.
A cute girl approaches the front of the line without waiting. “Hey Goog!” the girl smiles to the bouncer. “Did you hear about what happened at Nickie’s party last week? Crazy, right?” Goog just smiles at her and checks her name off the list on his clipboard. “Thanks, Goog. See ya for burgers at Tip Top’s later?” Goog nods his head.
A few minutes later, some guy pulls up in a shiny jaguar with his fancied up girlfriend. He tosses his keys to the valet and walks up to Goog who is not impressed. After realizing that Goog is standing his ground, jaguar pulls out some cash and slips it to Goog. Goog accepts the money and calmly steps aside, allowing jaguar and fancy into the club.
As the people in line grumble at this another car pulls to the curb, this time a long black limo. As the valet goes to open the doors, there is a hushed silence as people wait to see who is about to emerge from the limo. I’m not normally star struck, but even I have to admit that when Brad and Angelina step out of the car, I’m taken back a bit. That’s when I notice all the screaming and flashes going off. Hey, where did the paparazzi come from?! I look at Goog, and even he is impressed. Still not saying a word, he quickly steps aside for the celebrities and all of their entourage.
Me? I end up waiting another hour before giving up and heading down to Club Yahoo. (Where I still don’t get in.)
Let’s Translate.
Well, you’ve probably figured out that Club Google is the first page of a Google search. So what’s the deal with the three parties that got past our bouncer?
The first girl that got in was a “local”. She knew the bouncer’s name, referred to Nickie’s party and even mentioned the local burger joint where she would be spending time with Goog later. She represents those local businesses that appear next to the map on a local Google search. Whenever a person does a search with a city included in their search, Google usually provides a map and 3 to 10 results. There are many factors that drive these results, but location is a huge part of it. And because cute girl represents a local business, being local helped her get onto the first page of Google. You may have even noticed that some of the results that Google places next to the map don’t even have web sites! That’s because they are doing their best to give a local result.
Shiny jaguar man is easy, and you’ve probably already figured out his translation. He paid to get into the club, just like every ad that appears in the sponsored links section is willing to pay to get onto the first page of Google. Simplified, you pay – you get in. There are other elements to how this section is ranked, including quality score and bid strategies, but in a nutshell, it’s about spending money to appear on page one. (To be clear, most sponsored links only have to pay if clicked on. Don’t want to mislead anyone about that.)
So what’s left? The coveted organic section of Google. The place every SEO expert and business owner obsesses about being day and night. The place where there are only ten people let in. Kinda the VIP section of Club Google to extend the metaphor. So how did Brad and Angelina get in? They have high scores in the areas of “the big three”, relevance, popularity and authority. It’s a club, they’re relevant to the scene. Celebrities and clubs, they just fit. Let’s translate. I just Googled “pizza kansas city” and in the organic section of Google are a bunch of local pizza places and local restaurant guides – things that are relevant to my search. Next, Brad and Angelina are clearly popular. Everyone knows who they are. What about my search? Minskey’s and Imo’s are there. Two very popular local pizza places here in KC. (Thanks, St Louis for sharing Imo’s BTW!) The last of the big three is authority. Easiest way to describe an authoritative web site is simply to name a few. You want sports scores? espn.com. What’s the weather going to be like today? weather.com. News? cnn.com. You get it? Google looks at who is the authority on a given subject and prioritizes them.
I should also point out that Brad and Angelina’s entourage got right into the club too. This is best translated as websites that have links from authoritative and popular sites. If you can’t be Brad or Angelina or weather.com or cnn.com, see if you can’t get the authoritative sites in your field to link up with you. That might increase your chances of getting into Club Google.
See ya at Tip Top’s later. – David McBee
