With Mother’s Day in many countries having just passed (I learned this week that the UK celebrates Mothering Sunday earlier in the year), I thought it would be fun to have a conversation about SEO with one of the most incredible people on the entire planet: my mom. I asked her about what it is she believes our industry does on a daily basis as well as how she thinks search engines function in general.
The conversation was great; sort of similar to rubber duck debugging, except in this case the rubber duck was my mom, and instead of sitting there silently, she could comment when I started using terms she did not understand (and who can blame her; we’re pretty notorious for inventing words and phrases on whims).
Here are some of my favorite moments from the chat:
What do you think I do at work all day? “Work on your computer, fly toy helicopters, drink lattes… etc.”
Not going to lie, that’s pretty accurate; sorry, Will and Duncan!
What does SEO stand for? “Search engine online”
Not quite, but at least she didn’t say “SEO optimization.”
Do you know what Bing is? “Bing bong?” *laughter ensues* "No, I had to look it up."
I can appreciate the humor. I'm assuming she used Google but missed the irony; sorry, Duane.
How do search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo decide who to put at the top of a search result? “Don’t they base it mostly off of which sites are read the most?”
Not too far off, but how do they establish that list to begin with? “Test which ones people click on the most and then move them around a bunch to see what works best, right?”
Before I worked in SEO, this was how I thought it worked too; and in the grand scheme of things, this has some loose truth buried in there; partial credit.
How do search engines make money? “By putting those little ads all over the page.”
Nailed it.
If you were looking for a veterinarian close to you, what would you do? “I’d go to Google.com and type in “best veterinarian in Seattle” and look for people’s reviews. Or maybe ask a neighbor.”
Ah yes, the one thing that always thwarts a #1 ranking in the SERPs: a personalized recommendation from a friend.
If you were looking for advice on how to train a dog to stop barking, what would you search for? “How do I train my dog to stop barking, and then probably look for a website where people ask questions and then others give answers.”
I think she’s talking about Yahoo! Answers, the black hole of infinite internet wisdom…
How far down the page on the search results will you look? “Not too far, I don’t normally find what I want past the first couple listings.”
Besides being at the top of the page, what is the biggest factor on what you click on in the search results? “How many stars it has for reviews or if I recognize a company that I like.”
Ah yes, the trust factor.
If you don't like the results for those searches, what would you do differently in your second search? “Probably give up. No, just kidding. Probably pick some different words to search for; maybe call someone depending on what I needed.”
Bonus question: If you were running a small flower shop, how would you try and get to the front page of Google for when people searched "fresh flowers"? “I’d name it AAA Best Fresh Flowers or something. I don't know, probably call you, isn’t that your job?”
Phone book marketing at its finest.
OK that was fun, but why?
While those questions and subsequent answers might seem kind of silly, there is immense value in removing yourself from the SEO echo chamber and having occasional, down-to-earth conversations with someone from the 99% of search engine users who have minimal understanding of “under the hood” mechanics on results pages.
For me, working at an agency makes it pretty easy to get wrapped up in the lingo and terminology that many of us all comprehend without second thought. Phrases like WMT, dynamic urls, 301 redirects, SERPs, canonicalization, etc. are tossed around in casual conversation over morning coffee like we’re talking about the weather. But ask an outsider to translate, and I’m willing to bet we sound like toddlers speaking gibberish.
This is certainly not exclusive to SEO, as any of us who have friends in terminology-heavy industries like software, finance or medical fields can easily get lost listening in during a technical conversation. Or my personal favorite, ask someone in the US Military to spout off as many acronyms as they can remember and your head will be left spinning; it’s impressive.
Point being, it is important to understand that this gap in comprehension exists. When I was a bank teller in college, I would always find myself using terms and phrases that quickly earned perplexed looks from my customers. “It looks like the APR on your HELOC isn’t up-to-date; let’s have a PB take a look.”
I learned pretty quickly that in order to communicate effectively to my customers, it was vitally important that I spoke in a much more common language that they understood completely. Nobody likes to feel dumb; in my case, being a college kid trying to talk about personal finance to a partner at a law firm rarely ends well. “I’ll have my people take a look,” was always one of my favorite responses as the clarity in my error was bright as day.
For those of you who have been doing this whole SEO thing for a while now, think back to when you first started pitching the idea to bosses, your client list or even other marketing folks. I’m sure you can distinctly remember the looks you received during those conversations. One of my favorite responses of all time was, “Don’t most people just search for our brand name if they want to shop on our site?”
So, let's simplify
One of most brilliant ads of the late 90s was the Apple Switch campaign.
Instead of focusing on RAM, graphics cards, processing speed and hard drive space, Apple took an approach that created a common user, the college student, the non-technical parents, the elderly, and simplified a message specifically for them:
We would all be doing ourselves a huge favor to make sure that our daily conversations with people not directly entrenched in the SEO industry use far less lingo and more conversational language. The VP of Marketing is always going to understand what more revenue means and probably cares far less about the specific details behind URL structure or anchor text distribution. Always start with the big picture then whittle your way down to the finer details only as far as your audience is willing to pay attention.
The takeaway
So how do we combat this echo chamber a bit? Here are some things that have really helped me out over the past year:
- Take non-SEOs out for coffee
On some recurring frequency, schedule a coffee date with friends who you’re certain have little to no grasp on SEO and get their opinion on how they search. Bonus points for diversifying the demographics along a wide gradient of technical and non-technical folks. Ask them how they search for any number of things (navigational, transactional, and informational).
You will quickly see how differently each person functions when they’re on the hunt for something. They will likely reveal some great tips to keep in mind for your future SEO projects. Keeping your ear to the ground on how the “common folk” search often offers immense value in preparing a strategy.
- Get active in non-SEO communities
One of my favorites is Hacker News, which has a very strong and relatively negative opinion of SEO. But these are the things that we need to read, because these are actual people’s opinions. I can hear Mike Pantoliano groaning from here, but reading through all the misconceptions a lot of these people have offers insight into what we as an industry need to continually work toward improving.
All the best work in the world amounts to nothing if the perception of the industry as a whole is negative. Folks like John Doherty, Rand Fishkin and Ross Hudgens are doing a great job defending the industry on HN, but there is plenty of work left. Besides, it's always great to hear an opinion from the other side of the aisle.
- Follow lots and lots of non-SEOs on Twitter
We’re all guilty of it; take a look through the people you follow on Twitter. I’m betting the majority of those people are somehow related to SEO as well. I can appreciate you want to be up on the latest and greatest news when it comes to search, but try to diversify this list as much as possible. Take your non-search interests and look for the thought leaders in those spaces; the balance is invaluable!
What are your thoughts? I would love to hear how you talk about technical issues to non-technical clients. How do you bridge the gap?
And lastly, a very Happy Mother's Day to all the hard working moms out there. Without you, we wouldn't all be here!
The biggest thing of note for me when talking to my mum and other non SEO's is that they don't realise that paid ads at the top of search results are paid and those below are organic.
And how many people do not know the list underneath is called "organic." No one in my circle of friends and family does.
Love this article!
Very true, my roommate used to click those paid ads. This was a great read. I like the bonus question. Great ideas as well. Thanks
Haha that's the biggest thing for me as well. I'm like "How do you not know!!!!??" :D
To be fair to mums everywhere, Google have done a pretty good job in recent years of lightening the colour of the top ad box background to the point that on certain monitors I can't tell where the paid listings end and the organic ones begin.
Most of the people who have a website or browse the web haven't even heard of the term Search Engine Optimization (SEO), to educate them about the importance and the best practices in SEO is a challenge. Some people still think that they are searching the entire web when they are searching for an information on Google, they don't even realize that they are searching only the web pages Google has indexed or is allowed to index & is in its database.
I found your conversation with your mom quite humorous. Since I'm probably in the same age range as your mother I can totally relate to her not knowing all the jargon. I am constantly playing catch up so that I can keep on top of my competition. As a small business marketer knowing who my client base is and the language that they speak matters.
I've employed one of my daughters out of college to help with my marketing, She is helping write some content and data entry, and now I am teaching her SEO... how funny is that?
Running a business, you have to keep up on SEO and the language of your client base to stay competitive on searches. And I'd have to teach my child SEO too; he just graduated from grad school this year. (And I'm probably in that same "mom age range" as well!)
Well I think that's pretty awesome =)
How's your daughter liking marketing? I got pretty addicted at a young age
Rob, she has another job actually and in the future wants to have this skill set for something else she is planning to do. It is a win win as she is learning, I'm getting some great talent and I don't have to vet some kid that is not motivated or on task. She is brand new to most of this and we laugh about the fact that I'm her tutor.
This has probably developed into 1 of the best comments I've ever seen.
And I'm employing my son. Should I write "How my son thinks search engines work?" for a good laugh?
YES!
I use my mother a lot as an example to clients when talking about "the average searcher"... Poor woman is none the wiser.
They make such great example cases =)
LoL.. I just asked my cousin a couple of questions from your list and here's what I get -
1. Do you know the full form of SEO?
Ans. What?? SEO or CEO...~~ Never mind..
2. How would you find a Chinese restaurant in your area?
Ans. Google the name of the restaurant..~~ Brand Search ahan...
3. Ohk.. If you don't know the name of the restaurant?
Ans. Type - All Chinese restaurants in XXXX Area~~ Non Brand ahan...
4. Good.. How do you decide which page to click on after the search?
Ans. I don't know Google tells me.. hahah... I think most of the times the ones on top are accurate. The ones with most highlighted stars..~~ Trust factor again..
Best one!
5. What do you think is my job? What do I do?
Ans. I don't know but I just find you on your laptop all the time.. toggling between 20 - 30 windows online.. Skype or Google chatting and asking us to get out of the room because of your stupid meetings all the time... *shrugs*
- KAS
Love it -- it's always fun to see what other people think it is what we do =)
This came up in a conversation with my Mom yesterday. She needs LASIK eye surgery and she mentioned how the LASIK surgeon her eye doctor recommended came up #1 in Google for her search, so she "knew he must be good!"
I just smiled and concurred. Why wouldn't a non-SEO think that way? If it's #1 in Google, it must be trustworthy, right?
Readers of this blog know otherwise, but I'm not sure many lay-persons do. This perception is the driving force behind the Pandas, Penguins, Farmers, and numerous other updates. Google is reputation defending.
Side note: "What do you think I do at work all day? “Work on your computer, fly toy helicopters, drink lattes… etc.”
For me it's computer, fly toy helicopters, and black coffee. :)
Great point!
From that angle... imagine if you hopped on Google, searched for "best men's suits" and the top result is some page that you've never heard of before. You order the suit because it's the highest ranking for that phrase so it's gotta be good, and then bam.... never get your suit, or it's a fake, etc. etc.
You'll likely be less inclined to use Google again as they offered terrible advice in your purchasing decision.
What an absolutely fantastic post, Rob! Such a simple idea but so eye-opening all the same.
I can relate to what you're saying. I used to be good at "talking layman's" a few years ago (about 1-2 years into my career) but I realised later on that I had trouble talking about SEO at the level and perspective of someone who didn't know much about it or understand it. Thankfully this realisation was a turning point and since then I've tried to downplay it at a level that people can understand. Reading this has had me think about it again and it's got me thinking about ways to downplay it even further. Thanks!
Your mom is way more knowledgeable about what you do than mine. I remember a few years ago asking her similar questions .
What do you think my job is? : "Umm you work at google"
Ive had the conversation a few times with her since then but it never really sticks... I kind of just gave up on it
I haven't specifically asked my mom these questions, but she's savvy online, and asks me questions when things seem weird or she doesn't understand why something happens. She's learned a lot over the last few years just listening to me talk and asking questions. This past winter she started her own wordpress.com blog, and I think that really helped her understand some things more when she started seeing how things worked a little bit from the point of view of a content producer.
I love the WordPress blog idea -- I think that could really teach my mom (and anyone, really) some cool stuff about the web
I'm one of those SEO moms. I also worked in a medical profession for years and discovered something that really impairs communication: Every profession has words that have specific meanings to that profession but also have common meanings. Among members of the profession, you know when you are using the specific meaning and when you mean the common one...you don't even have to think about it. But people outside of your profession are only going to know the common meaning. Become aware of those words and be careful when you are speaking/writing to people who know only the common meaning.
You're my favorite SEO mom, Mom! Thanks for coming in here and commenting, and for listening to me as I talk about some of these topics.
Hey Rob,
You're pretty lucky - it seems like your mom understands SEO enough to know what you do but not to be dangerous. My dad has no idea what I do, while my mom sends me email updates of what keywords we are not ranking well enough for!
Ha -- classic; don't worry my dad asks me all the time for his small business. Comes with the territory I suppose =)
Nice work Robby. Kinda reminds me of this post from back in the day: https://www.seomoz.org/blog/apparently-i-work-for-google
Really though - the latter half is really important. Most of the people who we interact with don't care about the technical part, they care about what they get.
Remember to SEO for one person at a time. Make it more personal than just keywords and links. Optimize how your client's benefit will help their customer, not how you can sell to them.
Hi Rob you have to keep up in SEO and the language of your client base to stay competitive on searches.
Most of peoples don't know why seo is more useful for business.
"What do you think I do at work all day? “Work on your computer, fly toy helicopters, drink lattes… etc.”
This is a much better answer than the standard: "I dunno... something to do with computers?" *shrug*
Also great advice about the getting outside the SEO bubble!
It took me almost 15 years to explain to people that just because I work on computers, and understand a lot about 'computer stuff' doesn't make me an expert in fixing broken laptops.
(I eventually nailed it by saying "You know how a top pilot flies planes all day, and can make them do all sorts of tricks, but they rely on a ground crew to fix the plane? I'm a computer pilot, not an engineer.")
Brilliant post Rob, always like that funny touch added to a post, makes reading a lot less boring ^^
Thanks for reading -- glad you enjoyed the humorous outlook =)
This is a very helpful and funny post. Basic SEO Knowledge. :) It's actually that simple if you think about it. SEO minus the rules I guess.
Why I've never asked this to my parents? haha. This is really good idea in this new "social search era". Fun and useful!
Glad you liked it =) It's a fun conversation to have, everyone learns something from it
Great post Rob!
My mom doesn't know anything about SEO, but she still can help me a lot with choosing right keywords because she better represents regular internet user.
Sometimes, I can be very subjective. As soon as I ask my mom or any non-SEO "How would you search for certain service", I get back to ground :)
Yup -- exactly; I think most SEOs have a specific ability when it comes to search. We need to remember to keep the common user more in mind when creating a strategy
Enjoyable post.
Once when I was having a conversation with my brother, which was a wake up call, he told me he never clicks on a first page listing because he believes they all paid to be there and probably charged a fortune for their products and services!
But I do remember a time when I used to skip the first page listings because I was fed up not finding what I was looking for and websites lower in the listing seemed relevant.
I've been chatting to people outside of this industry a lot to find out their thoughts and opinions because of my brothers coments.
Ha -- it's amazing the misconceptions people have about how it all works
My mom is the same way, when the Gangum Style video went viral she said to me over Sunday dinner, "I saw on the news that the Gonggong video made millions of dollars going viral on youtube. You should get a virus from youtube, too!" She followed that with a bit of brilliant social networking advice, " And you can get thumbs ups from facebook things."
My parents have no idea about the inner workings, but if we're talking about my job they always come to the one line "you know how to get on the first page of Google, right?" lol... yes, I know a lot of strategies for that.
Great post, and definitely something so many of us in the industry can relate to.
"Always start with the big picture then whittle your way down to the finer details only as far as your audience is willing to pay attention."
Without a doubt, this is one of the biggest take-away points for me. Definitely know your audience. Great job on the article! I got a laugh out of it because I know my parents would say (basically) the same things.
We've all seen the glossed over eyes of our audience when we start going into too much detail right off the bat =)
It's ironic if SEOs have trouble talking to non-SEOs. Anyone who does keyword research should know that jargon = death. I explain SEO everyday and I would never, never use the term "SERP" No one knows it but us!
SEO, like all web marketing, is an act of empathy. No one wants to feel dumb...
Agreed!
99% of search engine users won't be familiar with jargons. If someone know jargons, it's likely that he has enough knowledge to finish the job by himself, so he won't hire you.
Even if company seeks for outsourcing partner, I don's see them use jargon in searches. The only place where you can use jargon is blog post, if your blog covers specific topic (I don't think that anybody would have problems with term "SERP" on an SEO blog). If you use jargons, it might be a good idea to make glossary of terms, so anyone who doesn't understand certain term can read more about it.
I always try to ask people how they would search for things I am trying to find keywords for and rank for...It is a good idea to get an outside perspective every ones in a while,
Hey Rob. Loved the Mom-chat good stuff.
I totally agree with your last point: befriend and follow non-SEOs. I especially like doing this with UX fanatics who seem to loathe the 'trickery' and 'evil' of the SEOs from beyond the wall.
The web design / dev folks that have those negative connotations regarding SEO are some of the best friends to have -- their technical prowess is super valuable mixed with their insight on what sort of opinions we need to work on shifting
I want to ask my husband these questions! Great post.
Do it! Very fun conversation to have =)
Rob This was a nice post, the best part was the conversation because there was a smile on my face while reading the conversation of you and your mum,
My mom also thinks the same :)
and yes it is correct that when I was non-SEO,I mostly clicked the site which people mentioned on question and answer section (e.g Yahoo answers) and now people more go with the site which have more stars and reviews, Well now ill definitely follow some non-SEOs :)
I like the point about speaking outside of the jargon that's made above. My inbound marketing role isn't even difficult to understand. I'm a writer. But my dad still doesn't seem to get it. "I write words, Dad, and people post them on the Internet."
Good advice! Asking non seo's and non technical people generally how they search for things is a huge eye opener, Mums are a good a place as any to start :)
Thanks for an insightful post. That reminds me how the older generations think that all jobs with computers are the same. Often when I'm introduced to someone they ask what I do for a living. I tell them I'm a software engineer. Then they reply, "Oh, my nephew works with computers too." Their nephew sells computers at Best Buy. Exactly the same job, eh? :-P
I reflected on your post and realized the way I think before and after I got more involved in SEO are quite different. For example, I never signed up for free ebooks, I often thought the pages with offers from companies were spammy advertisements which might be harmful for my computer. I often believed after I sign up, the website would just run away with my contact details. Now I know there are good companies that designed those pages specially to offer more values and create relationships with customers.
It’s extremely harmful to assume that everyone think the same ways we do. Good advice on engaging in the non-SEO society!
Cheers,
Trang Lam
Brilliant experiment!
Rob - I had a similar experience with my mom and I blogged about it as well https://www.bayshoresolutions.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/10/what-my-mom-taught-me-about-the-search-engines/
It also made me realize a lot of things I didn't think about before regular web users vs. a more advanced used.
I wish they still made commercials that good!
your pal,
Chenzo
Your mother is probably a SEO guru if you compare her to other moms :-)
Great post, and a perfect illustration of a key point of Online Marketing that many miss: People look for guidance and advice from other people. "... then probably look for a website where people ask questions and then others give answers."
Online reviews are something that a LOT of people look for and trust when they doubt their own expertise, such as when buying something they don't buy often. While there are times when someone looks for an'expert view' of a product or service, it is far more common that people will look to either "the wisdom of the crowd", (meaning regular people's reviews en masse), or for the views of someone they feel they connect with, like someone in a similar position, etc.
If you are smart, there is a TON of leverage to gain in understanding the truth about experts, peers, pals and trust factors.
Honestly Rob, I don't think I can get out of the SEO bubble with just one conversation. I'd probably have to make the rounds in my extended family as well :)
Very nice blog. I think SEO person are doing more works for promoting the website.
This was fun to read. I could see my mom giving the same answers. Although trying to teach my 72 year old gramma to use a computer tops it all lol.
Absolutely love it man!
so nice to get a fresh perspective on how people who don't know directly about what we do interact with what we do. I especially love the part about following lots of non-seo's on twitter. When I look at the majority of people I follow, its probably about 80-90% SEO's, or people in that community. I need to start following the influencers in other stuff that I care about.. Mountain biking and other extreme sports communities. I'm sure it's also a matter of getting your name out in other communities that might actually need you for client services. Awesome post bud, keep it up!
Important article thx. After having read it, I think Angela Merkel was perhaps not so wrong when she referred to Internet as 'Virgin territory for all of us' (or at least most of us) recently during a press conference with Mr. Obama in Berlin.
Hey Rob! You've got rock solid advice! Because most internet marketers are already tainted with too much marketing strategies or norms, they fail to see how normal people REALLY looks at things.
Because of that they aren't able to communicate or relate their ideas or marketing strategies for better conversion.
I like this article for the reason that it speaks reality. I can personally relate to this because my father used to question bunch of questions on the terminlogies used in the net. This is how interesting our generation today that our parents also adjust for them to relate whats up to date.
Very intresting :D
Yes! You are absolutely right in several points.........But, still there is no other way except SEO.
This is the same conversation I had with 5 different small business owners this week. They have no idea what SEO is or how it works, only that they use it all the time and its important. What a brilliant piece of content, a "why didn't I think of that first" post. Well done.
Absolutely true. I work in a small organization owners and they don't realize that SEO is a very serious task and u need specific people to do that. They just want to come on first page on top and never bothered about the user perspectives and search engines guidelines...
Very nice post. The mom touch was excellent.
Rob, Great post and I know a few people whose job description would be similar :) I suspect they multi task. Fly the helicopter, sip the flat white latte and watch the screen. And check out the weather report for surf dudes in-between!
I listened to a 'conversation' yesterday between a 'computer geek' and a 'technophobe'. Made me sad because it could have been so different. It was not a conversation. More a jargon littered monologue from the geek and polite glazed confusion from the technophobe. A collision of two worlds destined never to understand one another. It just proved the point that knowledge is wasted without the skill to communicate to your audience.
I have a SEO Guru colleague and often he will run things by me, wanting a different perspective. (I understand the basics of SEO) but I can tell by the intake of breath, the pause, the laugh or the way he very slowly says "Right" that he did not expect that answer and I have given him useful feedback!
I am now going to check whether he is multi tasking with his toys!
Thanks again. To you and your Mum :)
Sara Woodward
Hi Rob, i am new to SEO community and your post is great in realizing that we should always consider what a common person( i.e of our target audience) will search for. My most of work nowadays revolves around reading articles, i have read plenty of them and its not getting end.. that's sums up the thing SEO is a never ending process.
Thank you Rob, this article was a refreshing take from an everyday user’s perspective.
As a business owner I applaud the sentiment that those doing the searching are the key to success and are the ones who must be catered to...especially our Moms.
Thanks for the reminder that when preaching to the choir that the members are the searchers and not those doing SEO.
I just sent a modified version of a bunch of questions to my siblings and my parents. Should be a good laugh. :)
This post is a good reminder that not everyone lives in the same technological bubble as the SEO community, which is pretty easy to get caught up in. Definitely a helpful perspective to keep in mind not only when considering how actual consumers use search engines and how that should impact our work, but when trying to make a case for SEO within our own organizations.
Great read! I tried asking my mom what she thinks I do for work the other day. That didn't end well. It would have been a better use of my time asking her how she finds businesses when she needs to find a new service. I think there's a lot we can learn about 'landing page optimization' (in the sense that every page of your site is a landing page) by asking the same questions to the same people.
great inspiration! thanks!
Mother always knows best.
Always good to know your audience. Most importantly, build toward your "average". In my opinion it is beyond challenging to fully know our audience. Many of us, don't fully understand ourselves let alone others. I build my site on what I estimate my audience to want. For me, I am lucky. I work in the industry that is my niche. I am my audience.
Wow, she actually knows a lot about how search works. NIce!
Rob you rocked the MOZ for today personally for me. Superb intelligent post on Monday WOW the week is going to be awesome. The best part is that it provokes us to think and it helps us to predict the future of marketing. When some one ask us and as maximum times we all search marketing professionals also discuss a lot that what will be the future of Inbound and digital marketing. For me and in my opinion our industry is moving towards logical advertising.Yes nowadays we are majorly focusing more and more on the consumers nature and our all strategies only planned for just a single reason that is to get them reach our products in the most simple manner. Its seems like with the increasing search and social infrastructure Inbound marketing is getting the shape of advertising. As now we believe to get found and it work more effective when we get found with very understandable message which we can say an legit advertise.
Well Thanks again for such a fantastic post and for some funny lines like “Don’t most people just search for our brand name if they want to shop on our site?”
HAHAHAHA ...
Sorry I just had to share this but with a different perspective...
Being in the UK we are at least two years behind you in terms of SEO. However our parents seem to have the same take on things. I could literally have taken those quotes directly from my mom.
A great post and it brought a smile to my face.
Thank you.
This was one of my favorite articles I have read on SEOMoz. Funny, informative, gave props to Moms. All the bases covered.
Important to realize we are designing sites to rank well for search terms consumers use, and generally consumers are not SEO's.
Now, off to play on my computer, fly a toy helicopter and drink latte's.
Great post, Rob. Your points make me realize that there really is a need to step out of your "usual" area once in a while and try to gain outside perspective. It's truly quite easy to get lost and become too familiar with work and SEO can become an indulgence which can also use some freshening up. Thanks for the read!
One of the best blog posts I have ever read!
It is sometimes really hard to explain what we marketers do (not only with SEO), and we're so used to speaking our own language and using our terms, that we forget the most people don't speak marketish.
This post is a great reminder for us!Thanks
Your mom knows more than my mom
I really liked this post a lot. Thanks for adding some humor to my afternoon slog!
I especially liked your very last recommendation...."Follow lots and lots of non-SEOs on Twitter."
There's only one little problem with that...I've followed so many SEOs that I hit my 2,000 following limit and Twitter doesn't deem me important enough to allow me to follow any more people (at least until I get more followers, and I've got a pretty good number! Many who aren't SEOs even :-). It's terrible un-Democratic if you ask me.
I even tried to follow Oprah, a fairly popular non-SEO...no dice. Sorry Oprah. Twitter won't let me follow you...although you could always follow me! :-)
Hey Rob, this post was seriously funny.
On the other hand, you raise some good points like "Nobody likes to feel dumb".
We sometimes tend to go overboard with the technical know-how and make people feel dumb (unintentionally of course). We must get to a common level of understanding to have a meaningful conversation rather than jabbering (the other person feels so).
This is a terrific post. If enough SEOs start understanding how various demographics view search it could have a massive effect on the industry.
So who is on board with making this a meme/industry trend?
I'm envisioning a ton of G+ posts titled "How My * Thinks Search Engines Work". Something similar to the "Stuff my * says" videos or the "What People Think I Do / What I Really Do” pics.
Sit down to internet coffee bar and look what peoples do. 100% SEO 8-)
I love this practical user testing, reminds me of Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug when he says testing your assumptions on just one person is infinitely better than not testing anyone at all. Refreshing read!
This is an amazing post. Thanks Rob. You have just reached to the root of SEO. The brilliant conversion shows the path of SEO to proceed.
Hi Rob,
Google may focus on this point and make sure user experience for Non-Technical guys. I like to see use of Google, Yahoo & Facebook when my sister on it. Sometimes, She asked me that, What are you observing in my screen? :)
She loves to use image search rather than web search. If She may search for Salwar Kameez so love to go with image search rather than web search. (After observing it, I am focusing more on image optimization)
She even bookmark Google search result. She was searching for Yoga Classes in Ahmedabad and start to communicate on phone. She even not click on Google places result. And, bookmarked it in browser for future use. :)
For her, Google = search, Yahoo = email & Bing = Enjoy awesome background image... :)
I want to complete my comment with awesome observation regarding email communication with my sister. She always call me after sending email. Anand, Please check your email: I have sent you one email... LOL
Agreed. I've done this before where I discreetly stand behind my Mom or other less web-savvy relative and just watch how they search. You can even do it with web-savvy people just to see how they search as well. Doing so with either group teaches you a lot about the people you target day in and day out as a SEO. Invaluable imo.
It's frustrating many times because there are simple things that seem like concrete common sense, and Mom just doesn't get it. Then you'll sit down and explain it to her and then it still doesn't make sense to her. Something I have to remind myself often is that people who are truly disengaged and don't know what they're doing or talking about actually make such a simple site like google in terms of its user-friendliness much more complicated than it is meant to be.
Cheers to the moms who can't categorize their thoughts in different filing cabinets and apply that to the organization of computers and sites :)
Great Post,
This post is all about that how a net surfer search a query of what he/she needs at that time and what type of search results they often click.
Thanks
hello and proper articles in here and well worth reading them all,with being new and dont know much about seo,i cant really give you all proper advice or new stuff that might be comming out,i will return after i read more blogs