Forget Ranking #1 in Search, How About Ranking #0
Everyone wants to rank #1 in search results. Ranking number one for popular searches can drive tremendous amounts of traffic to you website. But, what if you could rank #0, how much traffic would it drive? Ranking zero is displaying of links to a user, before they search. Google has just launched their Nexus One phone and it’s displayed prominently on one the most popular search pages on the internet (see screenshot below).
How much traffic to and awareness of the Nexus One will this create is hard to say, but it’s safe to say that it will be huge. In just over a year, Google grabbed about 5% of the web browser market with a new product. Their success was aided by including advertising of their Chrome web browser on their search homepage.
When developing your marketing strategy, think about how to leverage powerful assets you already have which could act as multipliers for your campaigns.
About this contributor: John has more than 15 years of experience developing web sites for start-ups and small-to-medium-sized businesses, extensive SEO knowledge, and a passion for forwarding brands through social media. Read more from this author
I think what this emphasizes is that you need to get your product featured on a popular website and the Chrome browser uptake is a result of it being advertised on an incredibly popular website. This is the proof that if you can get your products on prominent sites whether via advertising or PR you can achieve results.
But how can I get on the front page of Google? I think only Google controls that. No amount of optimization is going to get you there.
Unless you are talking about somehow getting featured on Google via iGoogle ad-ons. Is that what you are referring to? Any thoughts on how people customizing their Google home page can lead to more sales for a company? I think that’s an interesting thought that I hadn’t previously considered.
Greg,
Unfortunately, only Google gets to be placed on the homepage of Google. But you are correct that having something of value that can be placed into iGoogle (opt-in by end users) will in essence give you rank#0.
I have many blogs on my iGoogle homepage. Every time I start a search, I see their brand (usually in blog title) and latest posts. Great opportunity to catch my eye/reach me with a good headline.
John
“When developing your marketing strategy, think about how to leverage powerful assets you already have which could act as multipliers for your campaigns.”
Now that I’m reading more closely I see that you are saying that if I have a powerful asset like my own website I should use it to promote my products. Sorry for the rushed read. I was too caught up in how I might get on the front page of Google.
I think your point is well taken and that people should strive to build up their own assets (social media, customer newsletters, websites, etc…) so that when it’s time to launch a promotional push they have them there to use.
So me understanding your point aside, my above comment still stands. Any thoughts on how iGoogle can impact a companies bottom line?
The “leveraging powerful assets you already have” may be in reference to your website, but it may be something else, like a strong vendor/partner. Try to get featured on their website (good for SEO and referral traffic). Traffic can be very targeted and the conversions can also be very good.
Another powerful asset is your people/employees. Start a blog on your corporate site and leverage your employee’s knowledge and passion for the business. This can help drive new business.
A very powerful asset that many companies fail to take advantage of are their most passionate customers. Cultivate those relationships and when you are ready to begin a marketing push about a new product, let them know early about it and let them start building buzz via social media, if they are active.
As far as iGoogle strategies go, we don’t have specific ones we implement for clients. Gadgets were all the rage back in 2007/2008, but focus/attention on building them has been tempered. For our clients, we do make sure to utilize Feedburner, so that embedding an RSS feed in iGoogle only requires a few clicks.