Why Search Engine Competition is Good for SEO
Google has become a generic term for search. I use it as such quite regularly in this blog, more often than not because that is what readers expect. We optimise for Google because, in the UK at least, they have a 90% share of the search market. By any standards, that’s pretty impressive.
Very few websites are ever going to be brave enough to optimise solely for Ask or Bing. Whilst they do control a slender slice of the overall searches being performed day in day out, ignoring Google in pursuit of a niche would be foolhardy at best.
Unfortunate as it may be, the priority is and will continue (for the foreseeable future at least) to be with Google. That’s where the people are going, it is on their pages that you’ll earn most traffic. This often creates a narrow, even blinkered approach to Search Engine Optimisation. Why go after 2% of the searchers when there’s 90% coming from one source?
Good question, particularly if you are on limited resources and don’t have the time to study the subtle algorithm changes between the major engines. However, that 2% is just about to multiply, and not because of Google’s failings, but due to the merging of Yahoo and Microsoft’s Bing platform.
In terms of SEO, you might be thinking this is a bad thing. Suddenly you have a loss of focus. You can no longer carry on regardless, targeting those Google rankings and hoping for the same treatment elsewhere. I’d argue the opposite.
Now you have an opportunity to catch your competitors napping. If anybody isn’t taking YaBing seriously, then make sure you are. Removing complacency ensures that only those who are really serious about optimising their sites will prosper.
Getting ranked elsewhere, particularly a search engine that yields a good level of traffic, will also help to minimise any damage caused by a sudden drop in rankings on Google. As we’ve seen in recent weeks, they aren’t averse to updating their algorithm at short notice and without warning [see: Google Continue to Tinker with Algorithm and Brands Benefit].
If your site is affected by one of these updates, it could take weeks or even months to recover. In the meantime you’re losing visibility and, just as importantly, traffic. Whilst there’s nothing you can do about this primary traffic stream, at least you might have the small comfort of having a decent secondary one. Dependency can be dangerous remember.
It’s unlikely that you’ll be top of Google and nowhere to be seen on Bing of course. A strong site is a strong site after all. However, there are subtle differences that you need to address. Sign up for their Webmaster Center have a look what they’re telling you about your site (what’s good, what’s not so good) and act on it.
Follow some Bing experts perhaps, go to their Bing Community blog and find useful tips when they arrive. Basically you need to be proactive.
Optimise for Google by all means, you’d be mad not to, but don’t forget the potential of other sites. YaBing will soon control over 6% of the UK search market, not exactly huge but who knows what the future holds?
