What is SEO?

A Brief Case Study Featuring Tom Cruise 

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of increasing traffic to a website or piece of content through various methods including blog posts, links, pictures, videos, and other site content. The better SEO your site has, the better chance it has of ranking number one on Google. And in today’s age, ranking high on that first page is everything. 

When was the last time you went down to the bottom of the page and clicked that little 2 to get the next page of results? Not for a while, probably. 

In 2021, we’re maybe a little less patient, a little better at refining our searches, but the internet has also gotten a lot better at doing that work for us. With the breadth of content on the internet today, Google has to be able to sort through all of this to give you exactly what you want when you search. Algorithms and “crawlers” sift through the web, analyzing content from sites and arranging it as it sees qualitatively fit.  

So, for instance, when I type “Tom Cruise” into the Google search bar and hit enter, I get this SERP (Search Engine Results Page). 

Ranked number one is IMDB, a reliable movie site you’ve probably heard of. It’s been around for quite awhile. Apparently, Google’s guardian spiders have chosen this landing page as its ace in the hole. I can’t argue with the choice, as the page contains a multitude of content about Cruise, including an in-depth mini biography, a complete list of movies he’s been in, an interestingly detailed trivia list about his life, and more. It’s comprehensive, and it’s probably what the majority of people searching “Tom Cruise” would want to pop up as the number one result. 

But what makes it number one? 

Google’s true algorithm is never revealed, but there’s a lot of research that’s been done, and one can test-run the algorithm simply by searching something and seeing what Google likes over what it doesn’t. The IMDB page has quality content focused on Cruise - facts about his life, his works, pictures of him, pictures of his movies - it’s targeted content that gives the searcher exactly what they want. Internet Movie Database is also a trusted, reliable site that users have been using for years to look up ratings for their favorite movies, which could also contribute to the ranking. 

Going down the search engine results page, we see Wikipedia ranked second, and this page also offers a plethora of info about Cruise, again playing to Google’s preference for targeted, quality content - and a lot of it. 

And then, all the way down at number 3, is Tom Cruise’s personal website. His site also includes a biography, but with not nearly as much compelling detail and content as that of Wikipedia or IMDB. In fact, the majority of Cruise’s site is just advertising for his new movie. This is an interesting lesson; just because Tom Cruise has his own website doesn’t mean it’s going to come up when you search his name. Instead, it’s the trusted sites with great content that rank higher. 

The lesson here, besides Tom needing some work on his site, is that the algorithm loves great, quality content. And that’s really what SEO is all about - optimizing your site with a lot of quality information, usually coming in the form of blog posts with targeted keywords. 

No offense to Tom, by the way; as of this writing my site still ranks fourth on the SERP when you search “Colin Murnan,” (that’s me) ranking underneath my Twitter, LinkedIn, and someone named Colin Murnane on Facebook. So I feel Tom’s pain, though I  think he can rest easy knowing he won’t be confused with any other Tom Cruises in the near future. 

Like IMDB, in order for your page to rank high on Google, it has to offer the searcher great, targeted information on a specific topic. 

Testing the Algorithm (while staying on the Tom Cruise thread)

Imagine you’re sitting at a bar. A man beside you is drinking a martini. In front of him, hanging on the wood paneling, is an old poster of the 80s classic Cocktail. The man takes a sip of his drink, stares ahead at the movie poster. 

“I like that Cocktail,” he says.

You might be confused. Does he mean the drink, or the movie? You might have to ask him to clarify. 

A similar thing happens when you search “Cocktail” into Google. The algorithm gets a little confused. The number one ranking is a dictionary definition of a cocktail (the drink). Below this, a list of recipes for various cocktails, and then a map showing you the nearest bars. But then, underneath all this, another IMDB entry, this one for Cocktail, the movie. 

Like asking the man at the bar what he means, Google wants you to do a similar thing: Refine your search. Be more specific, be clear. 

A kind of mirrored lesson exists here: if you want to rank high, make your content refined and clear, and be specific.