Searching for Positions: The Fall TV Season is Here

It’s that time of year again – the fall TV season, which brings with it the return of our favorite TV shows, along with the appearance of some new ones. Actors, writers, producers and networks are all hoping that their shows will achieve success.

I don’t know about you, but I can certainly see some parallels with the fall TV season and the world of search. Let’s embark on a journey to a parallel universe, where the fall TV lineup and search engine marketing share many similarities…

The Importance of Positions & Ratings

In the world of search and the world of TV, ratings and positions hold great importance. Whether or not a TV show will succeed and make it past a week or a month, depends largely on ratings. If a television show has bad ratings, the viewing audience won’t return and money from advertisers will be lost.

So it is with search – if your site doesn’t have the needed positions in the search engines, customers won’t be able to find the site, and you’ll miss out on valuable conversions.

The Need for Good Content

What drives good TV ratings? The same thing that drives good search engine positions: Good Content. In order for a television show to really take off, there must be quality content. (Although that doesn’t explain the success of the vast amount of reality shows popping up everywhere.)

No matter how large your advertising budget is, if you aren’t presenting your users or viewers with the quality content they’re looking for, chances are they’ll look elsewhere – whether it’s another show on the particular time slot or another website that offers the same services you do.

Targeted Advertising

If you’ve watched the TV lately, you surely have seen the large amounts of advertisements for the new fall TV lineup. New shows like ABC’s Private Practice are being promoted several times per hour. These advertisements are targeted specifically for the type of viewers the show hopes to be popular with. This same concept applies in the world of search.

As most people familiar with search engine optimization know, having inbound links from relevant sites is important. Not only is it important for positioning in the search engines, it is also important in driving people to your site from other websites.

Additionally, in Pay Per Click advertising, the same targeted advertising concept applies – you can drive people to your site, but it’s better to drive the people who are likely to become customers to your site.

The Perfect Balance

By dedicating time and effort to targeted advertising and quality content, your website can achieve strong ratings and make it to the “Must See” category. While people may not record your website on their DVR every Thursday at 9pm, if you give your visitors what they want, they are likely to become loyal viewers. If you need help, well, I know of a great SEO firm that is ready for the job.