If Google Were a Southpark Cartoon…

So many non-techie people don’t seem to understand how marketing a website on Google works.

Through my marketing consulting gig, I get asked multiple times per week by clients and could-be clients, “how do you get a website onto Google”.

Everyone Loves Funny Explanations

I hope the below cartoonish explanation will help you better understand the big picture of how a website gets on Google’s first page.

Step 1: Google Meets Your Website

Google “meets” your website when it finds your website on the internet. Think of Google as a person that spends her entire day going through every website on the internet. It’s a boring job to be Google, but I hear it pays well.

Step 2: Google Understands What Your Website Is About

Google “understands” your website topic(s) by basically reading through the entire website. Google reads through the content on your website, the coding, and all of your website files.

But Google Doesn’t Care About You

Google now understands your website is about blue widgets, but Google doesn’t really care that much. There are numerous websites about blue widgets and Google has seen them all.

The question Google wonders is:

“Why are you more important than the
1000’s of other websites about blue widgets?”

“Why should I show you on Google’s first page
if someone looks for ‘blue widgets’ on Google.com?”

Step 3: Other Websites Say “He’s Awesome”

The way Google realizes that you’re important is when lots of other websites around the internet tell Google “yes, that website is about blue widgets“.

The way other websites “tell” Google that your website is about ‘blue widgets’ is to link to your website with the words ‘blue widget’. There are lots of ways this happens, but that’s a blog post for another day.

An Example of A Website Link

For example, if I want Google to think that my webpage is about Jon Tucker being awesome, then I would make a link that says Jon Tucker is Awesome. Google see’s that link and understands it as me saying that the page I’m linking to is about ‘Jon Tucker is Awesome’.

This is a simplified and a bit odd example, but you get the idea.

Finally: Your Website Is On Top of Google

Because many other websites on the internet are “telling” Google that you’re about “blue widgets”, Google will start to realize that you are an important website when it comes to blue widgets.

If someone types “blue widgets” onto Google.com, Google will show your website.

This “Dumbs Down” Internet Marketing…

I get around quite a bit in the internet marketing industry, so I’m sure that I’ll get a bit of flack for this blog post. This sort of dumbs down the whole Google marketing and the “SEO” process…

But That is The Point = )

This post is not meant to teach internet marketers how SEO and Google marketing is done. Instead, this post is meant to explain to non-techie business owners how getting a website to the top of Google conceptually works.

Ask Me or Slap Me

Leave a comment below with your questions or criticisms.

• Have you ever been confused by a marketer trying to explain “Google marketing” and “search engine optimization” to you?
• Have you marketed your business online? What are the results and lessons you’re learning along the way?

note: much thanks to SP Studio out of Germany for developing such a great cartoon character tool, which was used extensively in creating the cartoon characters shown in this post.

Tagged as: Google Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Website Design