The Car Showroom Theory of Search Results

How Google Is Like a Car Showroom Floor

When you’re looking to have your site rank well in search engines, try approaching the situation a little bit differently. Think about your site as a shiny new car for sale at a busy auto dealership, but without the pushy salesmen.

Picture the showroom floor of the dealership with only three or four vehicles prominently featured among the many on display.  While there are plenty to choose from you quickly know which the “good ones” are.  These cars attract the most attention, everyone sees them, and they quickly become the most desired (even though many people know they can’t afford them, they’d probably get them if they could). One even stands out above them all. That’s the place you want to put your car if you want to sell it. Same with Google. In fact, the top three places on Google account for 58% of all search results. The number one position is the big spot, and it’s important. Beyond that, your big goal should be to get on the “showroom floor” as one of the top three or four.

After that, results do dip a bit, but they still get significant traffic. Realize that the statistics for the number of clicks for the number one spot on Google are skewed by people typing in a specific company name, which undoubtedly comes up first.  So while the first spot is important (and best if you can get it), the next few spots are very important as well.  If you can’t get there, you want to make sure you at least get in a “featured space.” That’s the first page of Google search results. You want to make sure that you’re seen, and being on the front page will still get you traffic. And, if someone is serious about buying, they’ll certainly be more thorough in their exploration of search results. Wouldn’t you?

Above all, make sure that you rank on the front page. Page two is marginal at best, and beyond that, your ranking is pretty much meaningless. Don’t let it get that low. It’s like being moved to the back corner of the sales floor behind the plants and the water cooler. Get on that front page.

Now, here’s the important thing to remember – there’s a very limited amount of room at the car dealer. The main floor has only 10 spaces. That’s it. If you have three cars there, that’s three spots where your competition can’t put a car.

Try a few things to grab those coveted spots:

• Utilize social media to take up more space with your brand
• It’s not uncommon to see a company taking up a spot with their main page and another with a sub-page (which is why it’s so important that you optimize every page)
• Take the extra time and resources to create a secondary site, optimize for similar keywords, but also provide unique, useful content. (This may or may not be feasible, depending on current rankings and type of industry)
• Write a blog

So, take up as many spots as you can, get your ranking as high as you can, and make sure you’re on the front page. Don’t be that “nice” car that gets parked in the back never to be seen.  It doesn’t matter how great your site is if nobody knows its there.

There are lots of things you can do to help improve your search results. We suggest you start here, and if you get stuck, let us know. We specialize in helping people rise to the top of the search engine rankings. nobody knows it’s there.

About The Author

We specialize in b2b, supporting the clients who are the "The Brands Behind the Brands." These are the supply chain partners of brands, either in Tier 1 or Tier 2 positions, who drive value through the delivery of goods, services and technologies. We enjoy blogging about all things related to Branding, Marketing, Inbound, Tradeshows, etc... And we're always happy to talk about any ideas you may have that might Get You To Your NEXT!