{"id":7799,"date":"2014-03-06T17:32:03","date_gmt":"2014-03-06T23:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.drumbeatmarketing.net\/?p=7799"},"modified":"2022-04-22T14:43:06","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T19:43:06","slug":"seo-as-told-by-a-foodie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clients.geminoscreative.com\/marketing-blog\/seo-as-told-by-a-foodie","title":{"rendered":"Why SEO Is A Lot Like Cooking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For those of us who work in SEO, it can be really difficult to explain it in a way that\u2019s simple enough to make sense to the average person. I\u2019ve struggled with this countless times trying to explain to friends and family members what I do. I\u2019ve heard every SEO misconception under the sun, from people thinking I work for Google to people asking me how I \u201cmanipulate algorithms\u201d to get webpages to rank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since most of my analogies always seem to go back to food, I\u2019ve come up with yet another food-related comparison to help explain how SEO works and how different elements of a website work together to help a webpage rank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy Way to Explain SEO to the Non-SEOer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SEO is like cooking. I know, it seems weird, but bear with me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If SEO is like cooking, trying to rank for Google is like participating in a cooking competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most cooking shows, you\u2019re given a set challenge like \u201ccreate a breakfast dish.\u201d That challenge is equivalent to the topic of your page. Your dish is like your webpage, and your rivals\u2019 dishes are like the pages trying to rank for the same topic as you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if the goal is to win first place in the competition, or rank on the first page of a Google search, the judges represent the Google algorithm and the audience of the competition represents the website visitors. To win the competition, you must create the best dish to win over both the judges AND the audience. To rank first on Google, you must create the best page that pleases the algorithm and the website visitors. Still with me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how do you create the best \u201cdish\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relevance vs. Originality<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, you want to make sure your recipe is relevant to the given challenge but still unique. So, going back to the example of creating a breakfast dish, making a basic dish of fried bacon and eggs won\u2019t put you in first place unless you give it a new spin and bring something new to the table, literally. On the other hand, you don\u2019t want to go so out of the box that it no longer fits the challenge. In the same way, webpage content should be relevant enough to fit the topic, but original enough so that it doesn\u2019t blend into content already on the web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focus on Your Audience<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As professional food critics, the judges will have specific guidelines set for how a dish should look and taste. However, in this particular competition, the majority of the judge\u2019s scores will come from how the audience votes. You want the meal to please the judges by following their guidelines (Google\u2019s algorithm), but the best way to do so is to focus on pleasing the average food lover in the audience. So, a vote from the audience is a lot like receiving links or shares from your website visitors \u2013 the more you receive, the more likely it is that your page will rank because people are finding intelligent information that they want to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use the Right Ingredients<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"salt<\/a>
Over-using keywords is like making a meal with too much salt!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say each ingredient in your dish is a different SEO factor. So let\u2019s say the keywords are the seasonings in the dish.  With no seasonings, the meal is lacking in flavor. While seasonings are great, there should be just enough to add the flavor without overpowering the dish. Similarly, content with no keyword strategy lacks in direction and keywords shouldn\u2019t overpower the content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make it Appetizing<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, don\u2019t forget about design. No matter how great your dish tastes, taste won\u2019t get you anywhere if it doesn\u2019t look good enough to eat. In the same way, great content can be hurt by bad design or formatting. If your webpage isn\u2019t visually pleasing and user-friendly with legible font, broken up paragraphs and images, then no one will stay on your page long enough to get a taste (see what I did there?) of your awesome content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original Website vs. Template Website<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A really great website is a lot like a meal that\u2019s made from scratch with fresh ingredients, whereas a template website is more like a frozen dinner. It might look great in the picture on the box, but will most likely taste like the cardboard it\u2019s made from. Also, the frozen entr\u00e9e will be the easier and maybe cheaper option, but the homemade meal will certainly taste better. Which one do you think is more likely to get the audience vote and win the competition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So next time you’re trying to explain how SEO works, use this same comparison to see if it helps whoever you’re explaining it to understand a little better. I know I can relate to anything if there’s food involved…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For those of us who work in SEO, it can be really difficult to explain it in a way that\u2019s simple enough to make sense to the average person. I\u2019ve struggled with this countless times trying to explain to friends and family members what I do. I\u2019ve heard every SEO misconception under the sun, from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":12236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nSEO is Like Cooking | drumBEAT Marketing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how SEO is like cooking. 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