These sub-results take you to SERP pages for that particular search.  So a click on the Maytag link would take you to results for the term Maytag.

From an SEO standpoint, this is a terrific addition.  Companies who are having a bit of difficulty (or lack of finances) to rank for huge terms now have a ‘second shot’ at ranking for them through these sub-results.

And with personalized search, these sub-results can really help out the local vendor who was smart enough to add their business to Google Places.  They’re now “showing up on page two” for a major term.

Sure, it’s a roundabout way to get there, but I’m going to go ahead and say they’ll see more organic traffic from this change.  What do you think?

Some people in the SEO community are freaking out about it, but I’m all for it.

There are ways to ‘game’ the 7 pack, such as purchasing a UPS box close to the city center that you want to be featured for, etc.  Some say that doesn’t even work, but I’ve got several clients who think it is worth the $100 or so yearly investment.

Nonetheless, I think it’s great.  No longer will 6 incompetent SEOs be listed alongside my name.  Now they’ll have to work for it – showing that they can actually rank for the term that is what they do.  I started targeting St Louis SEO years ago, so I’ve got a nice advantage already.  I was showing up in the 7 pack as well as the organic results.

Some other industries seem to have been hit as well, including web design, ad agencies, web hosting and graphic designers.  Some of these have been confirmed, but others haven’t.  Do a few searches for IT-related industries and you’ll see which have been removed.

So thanks, Google, for removing 6 competitors from the SERP I’m targeting.   I appreciate it.

But I don’t think they understand this: You can decimate your competition for any search. Outranking them is one thing, but completely removing them from the first page of results is very possible.  Even better, you can do all of this without going gray/black hat – you’ve just got to be a bit creative.

Face it – getting the top spot on a SERP is great.  And at times you’ll even get a second indented result, further tempting the searcher to click over to your website.  (This of course depends on a lot of things, including unique page titles, simliar content, etc).

But why stop at two of the top ten spots in a SERP?  Why not all ten?  Why not push your competition down to page two, where only an estimated 11% ever visit?  It’s possible, and I’m doing it right now for some clients.  They are totally dominating the entire first page of results in their industry.

Getting Started

There are a few things you’ll need (and hopefully you already have).  You’ll need a nice keyword list that you’ve either done yourself or paid an SEM to do for you.  You’ll also need access to your analytics so you can see what people are currently typing in to find you.

Armed with those two things, you should continue to build great content, but also start to branch out your link building with these phrases.  When asking for a link, anchor it with a keyphrase that you’d like to dominate for.  If possible, give the linker a little paragraph about yourself, that includes the same keyphrase.  Help them rank their page (that’s linking to you) for that keyword/phrase.

The same goes for sites like CraigsList and BackPage.  Build your ads in a way that these pages will rank highly for the term you’re targeting.  Visitors to these pages will still end up at your site.

Ranking Other Sites? Seriously?

Yes.  Think about this.  If every page on a SERP points to you, you are ruling that search. No matter which link the user clicks, they end up at your site. What’s not to love?

There is one thing – be careful of which sites you build links and content on.  If there’s heavy competition for something (particularly in the local market) then it may not help you to be ‘another link’ on an already crowded website.  Find those sites that cater to your niche and that have very little of your competitors listed.

Also – if you’ve got the money to run PPC, you’ve got yet another opportunity to get on that same SERP.  I’m not a PPC expert, but I’d bet having your URL mentioned multiple times on a page would increase the possibility of a click-through.

There’s more than just ranking high.  There’s ranking first.  And there’s ranking multiple times.  And there’s ranking all ten slots.  It’s possible, trust me.  Push your competition to page two, or three.  Why not?

It does have some great SEO benefit, though.  Think about it.

To get to the WW, do a search for anything.  I chose “Saint Louis Coffee”.  Once that SERP comes up, look above the results for a text link that says ‘Show Options’.  Click on it, then scroll down the left column until you see ‘Wonder Wheel’.

The wonder wheel is a wheel that spits out other suggested searches that you may want to try.  If you’re unsure about what you’re looking for, this is a great tool to give you that ah-ha “Oh! So that’s what it’s called” moment.

It’s also a great tool for small business owners that are trying to do their own SEO and are unsure where to start doing keyword research.  Sure, it’s going to be a slow painful way to get keywords, but if you’ve got no customers, you might as well be researching, right?

——————–

Meet me at the Look at Me SEO seminar in Saint Louis on August 27th.  I’m speaking on “What is SEO and How Can it Help my Business?“, along with several other SEO experts during the one-day event.  Be there.