How Do People Perceive The Web

As The Web Grows So Does Intelligence

How do people perceive the web and use internet searches?

I asked a friend recently if he was looking for a website designer, what he would do…?

His response was the following:

I would go onto Google and type in ‘website developers’ and go to the top company.

I asked ‘why?’

Well, they are at the top, so they are obviously the best.

How many other people think this?

When I explained about SEO, I mentioned that it is about getting a website onto page 1.  When Google serves web results based on your location, browsing history, and how many links the website has going to it.  It is nothing to do with quality of the web builder.  How would Google know what a good website designer is?.

How do people perceive the web for everyday searches?

Google is consistently changing the results it delivers, and this has to do with a number of factors:

• Location to user
• Content on website Links to the website (popularity)
• News releases about the website
• Page authority of the website (this is call a website PR or page rank)
• Viral links (youtube etc.)

This is called an ‘algorithm‘.  This is why news websites appear a lot in search results, because these websites are constantly updated.

As most companies try to get onto the top of Google, each one is trying to do all of the above (therefore manipulating the results). Google then updates (changes it’s algorithm) and re-indexes websites to ensure that the results provided are as relevant as possible.

Website content is king, as has often been said.

How do people perceive the web without Youtube or social media websites like Instagram?  Especially young people, who would be lost without social media.

Everyone uses the internet in a different way.  Everyone uses it for different reasons.  Age plays a roll, young people use the internet in a different way to older people.

Manipulating Results On Google

SEO companies are the classic example.

I typed in ‘SEO companies in Lemington Spa’ as that is what I was looking for.

The top result I got from Google was an SEO company in Manchester.  There was one further down the results based on Devon and even one that was based in the USA!

SEO companies can set up thousands of landing pages and then use lnikbuilding in order to get to the top of the search results.

Many companies want to be found for their specific keywords such as ‘beautician in Reading’ or ‘builder in Swindon’ however many companies want to be found nationwide.

National house builders, national solicitors will all want to dominate local results, therefore call on an SEO company to do their job.

Domination Of Recruitment Companies

Many recruitment websites like Indeed seem to dominate search results.

For example, you type in ‘telemarketing companies in Manchester’ and chances are you will see results listing telemarketing jobs in Manchester.

This can be very frustrating, and time consuming in order to find exactly what you are looking for.

You are looking for them, they want you to find them, but you cannot find each other.

Cleaning Up The Web

The internet is a big place, with billions of websites, many of whom are trying to manipulate search results.

For example, if you were looking for a website designer in Bradford, why do you see results from companies in the USA that are based in a town called Bradford.

You are not looking for a website designer in the USA, you are looking for one here in the UK.

This is why Google keeps updating its algorithm, as it monitors how long you remain on a website.  This is called bounce rate, if people visit your website and then leave probably means that your website was not what they were looking for.

If this happens a lot, then chances are Google will downgrade your website for that search term, are you do not seem to be what searchers are looking for.

Cleaning up the web is something that search engines are continually looking to do since everyone wants to be on page 1.

The Internet Is Constantly Evolving

New websites are constantly appearing on the internet as new companies get websites designed.

Search results are regularly changing as companies get new websites designed and existing websites add new content and therefore go up or down in their search results.

The internet is therefore constantly changing so the perceived view today will be different to what it will be tomorrow, next week or next month.

Getting onto page 1 of Google for your various keywords is an ongoing job.  Not only is your website evolving, but so are your competitors.

Search engines love new content, that is why news websites and social media are always high up.