SEO – they know your name – so what?

When I used to go to networking events (and I used to go to a lot!), I obviously spent some time telling people there what it is that I do.

And invariably, someone would sit there listening, then a smug smile would start to spread across their face. They'd wait until I finished, and I knew what they’re going to say;

“I don’t need your services. I’m already number one in Google”

I'd take a deep breath, as always, and say “That’s fantastic! What are you number one FOR?”

The smug smile would be replaced by a slight look of bewilderment.

“FOR?” they'd query.

“Yes” I'd say, “What do people type into Google to see you in the number one spot?”

Their brow would crumple, they would look around a bit, then they'd look at me with a look of almost pity.

“My company name…” they'd say, the tone of voice and ensuing gap leaving me under no illusion that they wanted to add the word “stupid” to that sentence.

I'd take a deep breath…

And then it would begin – the argument as to why being found for your company name isn’t the most fantastic thing in the world.

Let’s think about it guys:

Scenario 1.

You meet someone out and about, and give them your business card. They pocket it, find out more about your company and decide they may want to get in touch with you.

6 months later they’re at their office, and thinking “I really need to speak to that nice chap John, from that company that made handmade greetings cards. What was the name of the company? Oh yes, ‘John’s Handmade Greetings Cards‘ “

Off they toddle to Google, type in John’s Handmade Greetings Cards, and hey presto! You’re number one, they get in touch, and all is well with the world.

Of course, they could also have gone to their business card holder / box / drawer / corner of the room, and found you that way. The fact is that they already knew you and your company name, so it was easy to find you.

Of COURSE you should be number one for your company name – by default this should be the case, unless you have a very generic business name.

So, Scenario 2.

You meet someone out and about, and give them your business card. They pocket it, find out more about your company and decide they may want to get in touch with you.

6 months later they’re at their office, and thinking “I really need to speak to that nice chap John, from that company that made handmade greetings cards. What was the name of the company? Oh God, it’s on the tip of my tongue. Now I know he was a lovely guy, and I know what his company did, but for the life of me I can’t remember his company name. Now where did I put his business card?”

Now let’s say they can’t find your business card. Not to panic – the internet will come to the rescue, right?

Off they toddle to Google, type in “handmade greetings cards”, and they find….

What do they find? Not your site. Because you’re happy being top for your company name.

They find your competitors – and lots of them. And someone else gets the business.

Imagine yet another scenario, where the person searching has never even met you, heard of you or thought of you.

• Are they going to be searching for your company name? No.
• Are they going to be searching for your products? Yes.
• If you are only ranked highly under your company name, will they find you? No.

So what can you do?

Right now, take a piece of paper and a pen. Split it into two halves – one half headed “Where” and the other “What”.

In the “Where” part, write down the areas in which you work – eg Leicester, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire.

In the “What” part, write down what it is you do or provide – eg “SEO,search engine listings, internet marketing training, site reviews”

Those things now form the basis of the type of search phrases you want people to find you for:

• internet marketing milton keynes
• internet marketing training milton keynes
• site reviews northampton

etc.

Now check if your site is findable for those phrases.

If your site can’t be found for the services and products that you provide, then you are missing out on visitors, and therefore on business.

Being found for your company name is good – but it’s only a start. Think of all the people that know who you are. Now think of all of the people that don’t. Which is the larger category? And in that case, who should you be targeting?

If you need a little extra help with your SEO, but don't want to pay huge agency fees, my SEO 1:1 Training may be the thing for you.