Go fishing where everyone is looking!

Being technically focused it is often very hard for us to describe SEO in non-technical terms. So today this is an attempt to describe some of the key SEO benefits in a simple way.

Many people do not understand the real benefit of appearing on the left hand side of Google and Yahoo! vs the right hand side, except in terms that the left is free and the right you have to pay for every click.

However, apart from the money aspect there are massive value differences between appearing on the left, (SEO – search engine optimization) vs the right (PPC – pay per click also called Adwords in Google).

Search engine optimization is a way to go fishing where all the fish are in the deeper waters.

Let us look at this scenario that will hopefully show you the value of SEO by using a simple example.

Understanding SEO made easy

We all know that there are fish in the Ocean and if we want to catch them we have to go fishing. What we also know is that there are more fish and bigger fish in the deeper waters. And yet we also know that it takes a specific skill and specific equipment to fish in the deeper waters. You cannot just paddle out with a little canoe and start fishing. To do it properly you need training, experience, a good boat, the right crew, the right nets and the ability to process the larger volume of fish that you catch.

To learn yourself how to fish commercially in deep sea waters will take time and investment. But on the other hand you can hire someone to do it for you and bring back the best fish.

If you compare this to fishing close to the shore line in shallower water – yes there are still fish but not as many and not usually as big. You can go hire a small boat and some fishing equipment and in a day you can bring home some fish. And if this is all you want to achieve then you may be happy. But one day you may wonder what it like to get the results like the professionals get. But there is a problem. A significant problem that you are faced with.

Were you want to go fishing if you need to take out a big boat there are only 10 places you can dock a large fishing boat. Unlike your small boat which can fit in the harbour with all the other boats and you can pay rent to the harbout master to park your boat, a large boat needs to have a jetty to work from. And because each large boat is very protective of its teritory they have bought the jetties so that no one else can dock on them. They own the realestate.

There is also no way to build a new jetty because the area you are fishing in there are only 10 natural areas that a jetty can be built.

So unless you are willing to take a long time to learn the art of deep sea fishing and invest both time and effort to learn, then it may be easier to hire the people who know how to fish in deep waters to go fishing for you to bring home the big catches. And if you are happy to just get a few fish in the shallow waters on your own then that is good also.

The SEO vs PPC opportunity

So if we now go back to Google and Yahoo! and relate our fishing story to the game of getting traffic from the search engines, we have a similar scenario.

Yes you can rent space from both Google and Yahoo! and in a day be on the web netting customers. But you will only ever be getting the smaller fish or smaller volume of customers compared to where the real flow of customers is, which is on the left. And just like the example with the fishing jetties – most people only display 10 search results from Google and Yahoo! so even if you are at position 11, you’ll usually never be seen.

Having said that, we do not put Google and Yahoo! down. They are very good for businesses to get up and going fast. But the question is why would you continue renting space from the search engines when there are free jetties to be had on the left that no one is fully owning. Why not make the move to the left and catch the big fish?

SEO opportunity

Right now in Singapore and other smaller countries, many of the people holding the fishing jetties do not know the value of what they own. They have been handed down the spaces and have received them for free by pure luck because they were around early on in the game. Because they do not know the value of what they have, they let others who do know the value and who are smarter, faster and more knowlegeble, take over their jetties.

So with this fishing analogy I hope that it is easier to understand some more about the key value of using SEO to get the best results for your company. And that right now, in Singapore it is still possible to get spots, very good spots, on Google to catch the type of fish that you want to catch. But do not wait too long, these spots are going fast and the people who are taking them are hiring professionals like us to do the work or are learning themselves or getting trained on how to fish in the deep waters on the left hand side of Google.

So if you are smart you will do some SEO training or hire a SEO professional to do the work for you – today rather than tomorrow, before all the jetties are all gone and someone is defending them – be quick!

Tags: SEO, SEO Fishing, SEO Singapore