Thoughts on searching the Internet, a case for Active Domains.Or, why Active Domains aren't cheating the system.Over the past 12 months I have seen a change in the way people use the Internet. I am a techie, so like most techies we love the high-tech ways of doing things, and the iPhone has been nothing short of revolutionary. Only the other day, I was out with my Wife and Daughter, and we felt like staying out, so wanted to find somewhere to eat locally. We couldn't think of anywhere that did all day food (it was an odd-mid afternoon thing), so I got the iPhone out and looked up local restaurants on google. My Wife didn't have time to get cross even, google is so well optimised these days that within seconds, you have convenient maps, and buttons to 'phone' your destination to check they can serve a meal at that time of day! It's not just me, I have seen other people do similar things. If they want to look at a new bathroom or kitchen, if they want to know the address of somewhere or phone number, google is the main resource. Simply because it is so clean and free from adverts etc that slow the User down. Put short, I'm extremely glad I don't run a telephone directory, advertising network etc. I believe we have reached a tipping point in society in the way that we trust google (bing too) to find what we need. We would rather trust the organic search than the 'top bidder' for paid advertising or some advert. Also, the expectation of the consumer is changing. In particular, we no longer really care about all the options. We want something specific, tailored to us. We don't search for a new bathroom, we search for someone to install it who is local etc. Or, we search for a nearby restaurant with certain cuisine. We also expect the search engine to be the gateway for an almost infinite variety of queries. This is staggering because the organic search is Universal, Global, yet we expect it to serve us in our own, unique way. Of course, people like to shop around. The job of this is also expected to be done by the search engines, or iphone app (barcode scanner). It is this observation that has been brewing that led me to create the Active Domains system and concept. The purpose of active domains is to bring to the fore for any business the unique service offerings it offers. Yes, there may only be a few searches a given month for a very specific thing, but to most businesses, if they are at the top of that list, then they will get some business, hence it is really worth doing. Active domains focus on ultra low volume, ultra high conversion rate marketing tactics. Rather like a guided arrow, rather than a shotgun approach! I am hoping that the search engines continue to become trusted and grow ever more sophisticated in consumer interests at providing the best results to any given search. In many ways my biggest problem is convincing people that the 'more traffic is better for business' is not going to be true in the future. I for one would rather have 5 visitors to a site per day who actually 'did' something online than 5000 who merely browsed, costing me bandwidth and resources. Active Domains are an attempt to make sure that the only visitors are the visitors who will actually benefit from visiting and hence get some positive experience from their visit. This is why they are not a scam, or traffic enhancing device; they are quality/conversion focused. It's going to be an exciting 12 months. The list of active domains grows, and I am sure that many lessons will be learned. This theory is a U turn on popular SEO thinking, but you never know, this crazy guy might just turn out to be right... |
 BlogsBlogs Summary
|
