This is Part 1 of 6 in a Search Engine Marketing webinar series by Kim Evenson, Chief Marketing Officer of Legacy. The webinar in its entirety can be found here.

Since the World Wide Web was invented in 1989, what we now know as the internet has expanded to become a ubiquitous part of modern life. As we’ve shared before, 87% of adults use the internet (Pew Research, 2016) and 85% of all consumers use the internet to find local businesses (Search Engine Land, 2012).

Twenty-some years later, the internet has now expanded to 30 trillion pages. Google, the largest online search engine, has a big job.

What is Googlebot?

In order to keep track of all the pages online and help users find relevant answers to what they’re looking for, Google uses an automated program called Googlebot to look at and catalogue everything that is online.

While Googlebot does a great job, it has limits too. Looking at and storing information about trillions of webpages takes time and costs money; Google simply does not have the time or money to treat your website differently than other websites. This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes into to play. When we talk about SEO, we simply mean the practice of making the most of your website’s contact with Googlebot.

Here’s the bottom line: Google makes more money when user clicks are more relevant. It’s not about what’s fair or what’s right, it’s simply about math. Google’s algorithm is driven by an understanding of what the most relevant click is, so it can serve up the most relevant results based on a user query.

Three Areas that Directly Influence Search Results

Like I shared the video above, there are three areas that directly influence search:

    • Network Connections
    • Business Information and Structure
    • Visitor Behavior

 

Each of these areas provides different information to Google about your business and influences when your site will show up on a search results page. As you think about managing SEO at a high level, it’s about pulling the levers that are within your control to make your information clear for Googlebot and most relevant for your audience.

Continue to Part 2 of the Search Engine Marketing webinar series.

Kim Evenson

Chief Marketing Officer

Kim oversees marketing for Legacy with a strong focus on client success and the delivery of best-in-class relationship management and customer service.

Before joining Legacy.com, she served most recently as CMO of Retrofit and before that as SVP of Marketing for eDiets.com. She spent most of her early marketing career at Kraft Foods, growing from Assistant Brand Manager to Director of Health & Wellness. Her experience also includes roles at Peapod, Starbucks, H.E. Butt Grocery and consulting for fitness retail, new product development and online marketing.

Kim is an expert in online marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and marketing strategy.