FlipStorm

It was an interesting day as I was also called in as a “Business Expert” to provide free, hands-on advice to attendees.

The only question everyone asks me at these kind of shows is: How can I get to the top of Google? My answer: stop trying!

It may sound a little simple and stupid, but in most cases, the people asking have neither the time or budgets to make it worthwhile.

If you’re a small business with the goal of being at the top spot (or close to it) in Google, in certain cases you will need more than a couple of hundred pounds every month to get there!

In other cases you might not need a thing: Google “professional connections” and look for www.xon.cc… that’s a client of mine who hasn’t paid a penny for SEO!

So what’s the solution? Well, there’s no easy way to say this… be content with the position you’re in.

I’m not saying that being number one won’t bring you more sales… statistics show that it does. But don’t let your desire for the podium allow you to become disappointed in your lacklustre performance.

Remember, enterprising small businesses have made a decent living way before Google and will continue to do so.

If you can find the time to work on improving your online presence yourself (or with resources within your organisation), do it. There’s plenty of advice online to guide you in the right direction and many small companies are succeeding with this.

No matter what position you have on Google, sales aren’t guaranteed – after all, people only buy what they need/want and being at the top of a search is no guarantee of quality or competitiveness.

Also, being at the top of a results page for a particular Google search is still no guarantee that you’ll be seen or that users will click through!

It’s like having your company name on a slither of paper at the top of a pile of other names on similar slithers, in a box with a label on it, stowed away in an old library basement archives section – sat there… waiting in earnest for someone to dig it up.

Even if you managed to get the archivist to put you on top, there’s still no guarantee that anyone will see your label or that they’ll do anything with it when they do!

Image: Andersen library archives © dancypants

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UPDATE 11.03.2010:
Some interesting related articles were published today that you might find useful. I feel they back up my point quite well. Check out Nick Pettit’s SEO is a terrible idea and Paul Boag’s response to the question Does Google Personalised Listings Affect Your Ranking?