How Google’s algorithmic changes are forcing businesses to reassess their digital business model

Organic search success is no longer about having the deepest pockets; it is about doing something remarkable.

Picture yourself in a shopping mall – a big one, anywhere in the world. As you wander through the frenetic maze of glitzy storefront displays, busy escalators and stony-eyed manikins, your eyes are drawn to the glowing insignias of the mall’s largest stores.

With their palatial interiors, huge entrance ways and floor spaces spanning multiple floors, they’re unmissable. Most importantly, they’re front of house, in the most prominent areas of the mall – the areas packed with consumers champing at the bit to spend their hard earned cash. They’re the big guys, the commercial juggernauts, the household names, and they’re there because they can afford to pay the substantial price for the very best spots.

Then there’s the small guys (or at least, the ‘smaller’ guys). Make no mistake, they have great products, they’re well priced and their stores are tastefully decorated. They’re just harder to find; their smaller units are tucked away in the darker corners of the mall, away from the main thoroughfare of shopping traffic. They pick up fewer sales than the big guys because their prospective customers are less likely to stumble across them. Why? Primarily, they lack the financial firepower of their bigger rivals.

This commercial landscape is in many ways the bricks and mortar embodiment of Google’s organic search listings in recent years. Those with the deepest pockets secured the best, most prominent positions. Those without? Good luck.

There were, however, some problems with this arrangement; and not only for those lagging behind or those championing a fair and equal economic ecosystem.

The biggest problem, it seemed, belonged to Google. For almost as long as it has existed, the ethos of the search giant’s ranking algorithm was built on a democratic system – a system based on votes, or specifically in this case, links. The trouble of course, with any embryonic democratic system, is it’s susceptibility to manipulation.

And so for all the money changing hands, it wasn’t changing with Google, but rather with a growing link buying ‘black market’. Not only that, but this manipulation of Google’s organic rankings posed a threat to the company’s primary source of income – Google Adwords. Rankings shaped by corporate budgets, rather than what’s best and most relevant, could conceivably have a negative impact on user satisfaction and the integrity of its results, and in turn threaten Google’s market share. A smaller market share equates to reduced AdWords revenue.

Naturally then, something had to change. And whilst it may have taken some considerable time, it seems that Google has finally fulfilled its ambitions of accurately and successfully identifying and chastising those attempting to exploit algorithmic loopholes, and conversely reward those following a nobler path of adding richness and value to the web. For years Google has appealed to webmasters and SEO professionals alike to take off the black hat and ‘create quality content’ – only now are we seeing consistent and tangible evidence you’ll be appropriately rewarded for it.

So, given this apparent sea change, what do businesses need to do to take advantage?

The answer, in my opinion at least, does not lie within the confines of your SEO strategy per se but rather, at the heart of your digital business model. The importance of a unique proposition.

Let’s just get this out of the way – links still matter. A lot. The following graph is an excerpt from our ‘Roadmap’ search technology suite which looks at more than 160 potential ranking factors with a view to identifying trends in performance. The data was pulled in the second quarter of this year for approximately 1500 high volume keywords across a mix of competitive and commercial verticals in the UK including retail, finance and travel. In this case, we can see quite clearly that a higher Domain Authority appears to correlate with better rankings – the higher the DA, the better a site tends to rank.

Source: Stickyeyes Roadmap 

So links in general are by no means obsolete in the SEO mix; just the crap, cynically manufactured links that fail to add any value. Take a look at the following graph, which plots ranking correlation with total linking root domains linking to a given subdomain.

Source: Stickyeyes Roadmap

Evidently, it’s not about the volume of links you acquire, but about the quality and authenticity of those links. So how does a unique proposition aid the acquisition of high quality, authentic (i.e. earned rather than manufactured) links?

I don’t think it’s necessary to evidence that when people share or link to something online in a natural, unsolicited fashion, they do so because it is remarkable in some way. Why would anyone, of their own free will, share something entirely unremarkable?

One method of encouraging that kind of unsolicited, natural linking pattern is of course creating bespoke content for the cause. We’re talking here about content of all kinds; the written word, videos, interactive infographics and so on. Every day, digital marketers are creating and promoting these kinds of initiatives; some successfully, others less so.

Instead of just making remarkable content, why not make your business remarkable at its core? Why not have a proposition or a brand story that makes you truly unique?

Let’s briefly examine some of the places natural links to commercial web sites commonly originate:

• News publications
• Online magazines
• Consumer guides
• Blogs
• Forums

The first question to ask yourself is why any of the above sources might refer to your business (in a positive sense, crucially) over and above any of your rivals. What makes you stand out? What makes you remarkable? If the answer doesn’t immediately spring to mind, it’s unlikely that they will – at least consistently. And if you do have an answer, is it robust enough? If you were to promote your business’ standout feature (or features) through PR or above the line, would you expect people to readily talk about it (and crucially, link back)? Honesty is the key here.

Iteration over innovation

If, in the cold light of day, your business currently lacks this kind of standout and substantive distinction, it’s important to note that the answer may lie more down the path of iteration than innovation.

Innovation implies the creation of something new and unprecedented. Of course, creating a brand new marketplace that is, for the time being at least, can be highly effective but of course, if carries incredibly high risk. Will any new market be large enough to sustain your ambitions? Unprecedented initiatives are also, by default, unproven.

Moreover, search is not typically a useful vehicle for a new and innovative proposition. For example, ‘smartphones’ might well be big business today, but search volumes were understandably low at the point of their entry into the market.

Source: Google Trends

The premise of iteration meanwhile is more about taking something already in existence and making it different; making it better. Perhaps the best resource on tackling this potentially tricky task is Kim and Mauborgne’s Blue Ocean Strategy.

Their basic framework rests on taking propositional components taken for granted by an industry and increasing, reducing, eliminating and introducing certain elements to your business’ proposition. One such example highlighted in their excellent book is that of Cirque du Soleil. Its creators took on a rapidly declining circus industry by removing animal performances (a point of contention amongst an increasingly morally aware consumer pool), introducing a theatre-style storyline, artistic dance and music, grander venues whilst substantially increasing ticket prices.

The ‘strategy canvas’ (a graphical representation of one or more business propositions) below demonstrates how Cirque du Soleil’s offering deviated from the traditional values taken for granted by the industry.

Source: Value curve: Cirque du Solei. Source: Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant

The result? Cirque du Soleil soared from its humble beginnings in 1984 to revenues of over $850m in 2010.

This, naturally, is very much an offline example with its beginnings in a very different era to the one we operate in today, however its principles remain as valid as ever in the modern online arena. Retail monolith Amazon is one excellent example of this kind of strategic approach in action with a proposition that could easily be mapped contrastingly against the competition on a similar canvas.

In particular, Amazon dramatically reduced prices and the complexity of buying online, raised its product range well above anything available elsewhere and created an integrated seller marketplace so that potential competitors worked for them, rather than against them, further increasing Amazon’s product range in the process.

Today, Amazon.com is the fifth most visible site in organic search results in the US, according to Search Metrics – only behind social behemoths Facebook and Twitter and web institutions Wikipedia and IMDB. Evidently, the sheer depth of Amazon’s product portfolio is a key piece of that jigsaw, however its dominance is equally reliant upon the 325m+ links pointing at the domain (source: Open Site Explorer).

Crucially, those links exist primarily because the site has, since its inception, remained distinct from its competition, offering a wealth of tangible and substantive benefits. It has a clear and meaningful proposition, and it delivers it with precision.

Taking advantage of algorithmic diversification

Of course, Google’s algorithm has long since been entirely about links. A richer and more diversified algorithm inevitably makes its results less manipulable – a long-stated inferred goal of the search giant.

One of the major developments we have seen in our own data sets is an increase in consideration for on-page engagement factors. The following two graphs from Roadmap show that healthier average visit durations and bounce rates correlate well with top rankings. As before, this data was pulled in the second quarter of 2014 for approximately 1500 high volume keywords across a mix of competitive and commercial verticals in the UK including retail, finance and travel.

Source: Stickyeyes Roadmap

Source: Stickyeyes Roadmap

Additionally, a recent post by Bing’s Duane Forrester drew attention to the importance of returning visitors.

Naturally, the matter of enhancing user interaction metrics on site is a complex one. However, the effects of multivariate testing, conversion funnel analysis and other related tactics will only be aided by a foundation of a distinctive proposition that strikes a chord with your target audience.

What does this mean for search professionals?

These changes don’t necessarily move the responsibility of SEO into the remit of those with strategic control of the business, but it does mean that search considerations now must move beyond the traditional basics and start asking questions at the boardroom table. This is now an issue of how brands operate and sell themselves, how they set themselves apart and how they bring their brand story to life.

Clearly, this challenge is much greater when working with larger, more bureaucratic and less agile enterprises than with smaller, less complex businesses. But in an environment where pressure comes not only from the likes of Google, but also a more savvy and cautious society on the back of economic turmoil, it remains an imperative nut to crack. You don’t have to be a footwear brand that supports children in some of the world’s most impoverished countries, nor do you have to be a retailer committed to customer service and fairness, but you do have to be different and you do have to be worthy of discussion; you have to be remarkable.