
"It is impossible for ideas to
compete in the marketplace if no forum for
their presentation is provided or available."
Thomas Mann, 1896
The Business Forum
Journal
Is Google
Getting Too Big . . . .
and controlling what they want you to see?
As much as we all love and use
Google everyday to find information, we are slowly becoming dependent
upon them to guide us to what we hope is all the information.
What I am telling you, is that I
truly believe that Google is actually controlling what information they
want us to read about. Yes, you can say that about any search engine
these days, including Yahoo, etc. But if you recall when we all
began using Google it was simply because of their ability to provide
more of the listings of places, people, and information that we were
searching for.
I do like them, and Google has
been perfecting their searches, but are you aware of the recent changes
to their algorithms? Their updates have hurt and have actually destroyed
many websites who rely upon the traffic they gain from the searches we
instigate.
I recommend that you do not only
rely on Google alone anymore, but start using other sources, (search
engines that is), to get a good cross reference of information. Just
like getting more than one doctors opinion is the logical thing to do,
I sincerely believe that we should do the same with our searches.
You might recall when Google
launched its Panda update four years ago, it had a terrible affect on
thousands of websites. You probably noticed that Google is now providing
more and more content directly on its search pages. Yes, that is a good
thing in many ways, but it also reduces the need for users to click over
to the actual websites, therefore reducing the traffic to other sites.
To take this argument a step further, are you aware that Google is now
showing lyrics in search results? They will show part of the lyrics and
then insert a link to their Google Play if you want to see the entire
lyrics. Is that not just more control that Google has over us by
directing us to where we can get information from? In a way it is a form
of benign censorship.
Perhaps you
need a little more proof? For example a list of the top Falling
Stars for 2014 by SearchMetrics will show us in terms of search
visibility and various lyrics sites that made the list. LyricsMode
and Sing365 both fell 60%. That is a pretty dramatic decrease! The
hardest hit in this category was eLyrics.net which fell 92%! Here
is the link to the full list of falling stars:
http://bit.ly/1uLdfHt
Many of these and other business
sites can only survive with the flow of traffic they get from searches.
We are seeing many of these online lyric sites decreasing staff in order
to survive. I am sure this is also true for other online businesses.
So what is the solution? Well for now, in my opinion, I suggest
that when you develop a social media campaign strategy, you do more than
hope you get listed on Google, and include a much wider array of social
media to keep your message in front of both potential and current
customers.

George Carson
is a Fellow of The Business
Forum Institute and he
has been active in the advertising arena
since 1973. He has successfully developed unique concepts, programs,
designs and corporate campaigns for a variety of local, regional
and national accounts. He founded his own advertising and
publicity firm in 1980. Since that time, he has provided the
marketing and publicity services to a wide range of clients
including: Jeep Corporation, Sir Speedy Corporation, Yamaha
Sports, Regal Medial Group, Bell Brand Foods, Laura Scudders,
CBS radio, Uniden LPGA Golf Tournament, the City of Orange,
Universal Studios, Snak King, ASICS sporting goods, La Reina
Family Brands, Partition Specialties Inc., MVP RV, Yamaha Music
Schools, Encryption Solutions, Inc., McMahons RV, amongst
others. As a designer in Los Angeles, California, George
co-founded a design studio where he created materials for a
variety of television shows and motion pictures: including: The
Sting, Kojak, and Lombard and Gable. He also developed
campaigns for Kenny Rogers, the Osmonds, Kentucky Fried Chicken,
Budget Rent-A-Car, Transamerica and Occidental Life. George
holds a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design with minors in
English and Photography from Cal State University of Long Beach.
Visit the Authors Web Site
~
http://www.carsonandcompany.com
Contact
the Author:
~
Click Here
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