Many companies today spend a lot of time and effort to gain visibility in search engines. Your company could be one of them. Whether you are trying to get on to the 3rd page for a word you really want, or are enjoying comfortable search rankings now, you know how much effort it can be to gain and maintain a high search position.
And then, every so often, Google changes the ranking algorithm, and the rankings dance. Once-secure websites fall through the rankings, affiliates howl, and site owners go through the process of once again figuring out how to get back “up there”.
Have you been through this? Did it drive you a little crazy? Did you think that Google unfairly hurt your business?
You’re not alone…. there have been lawsuits filed over Googles’ changing search rankings, claiming everything from monopolization, free speech violations and even defamation. It would seem that businesses care about Google, and so expect Google to care about them.
But why should Google care about your search rankings?
Google’s behaviour suggests that they know who their customer is - the visitor. Their customer is not the advertiser - it is the average Joe (or Jane) using their search engine and other services. Not just one average Joe, but lots of them… millions upon millions of them. What would Google be worth without them?
Remember - Google’s business is to aggregate, sort and process almost unimaginable amounts of data, requests, and traffic. Caring about the individual is not, in any obvious way, part of their business model. And unless you are a BMW, an Amazon, or a New York Times, then there are probably a lot of other businesses like you.
If we use a metaphor for a moment, and imagine that Google is actually a retail industry, then you, as a website, provide the raw materials and supplies (web pages and content) for their business. And depending on the scarcity of your material, your site may be worth more or less. The searcher is the customer that provides the demand. Google provides the storefront.
How much do you really care about your suppliers? If another supplier can offer a higher quality product for the same price (free), would you take it? Unless you had some special relationship with your current supplier, then yes, you probably would switch.
And that, in a nutshell, is why Google doesn’t care about your business. There are lots of other suppliers out there who are perfectly willing to take your spot. In the end, success is dependent on 2 factors: providing Google with a quality supply of content, and satisfying the needs of Google’s “real” customers.
It’s all a matter of perspective.