Google Likely To Take Over Lead Generation

[Erayz]

I am starting to see a trend with Google searches as it seems to be getting more aggressive with ads for some searches.

This includes four to six ads on top of the page and a map or GMB results below the ads placing search results effectively below the fold.

They are already doing this with hotels, flights and few other. And we all know how they made copied the lyric sites.
It's seem like it's going to be a lot harder the rank for the main keywords for any service.

Below the Google content I see the big agregator and broking type sites.
Below them the big brands.

My speculation is that a lot of manual intervention in site relevancy/authority is taking over the algo.

What do you think?

 

[bernard]

The European Union does a lot fo anti-trust work in this regard.

 

[CCarter]

The reality has always been that Google and every company including ourselves are in it for the money. Complaining won’t stop Google from doing Google things.

It wasn’t too long ago SEO and people that ran directories were complaining Map Packs were introduced into the SERPs. Think YellowPages.com and other directories that had listing of local Pizza places, they are mostly gone from the SERPs and for the most part consumers do not care.

Consumers want their answers fast and more convenient. A lot of SEOs complaining do not have convenient websites: either they are over-ran with ADs or are slow, or bury the answer deep in the page so a consumer has to scroll, and let’s not even take into the account of the amount of pop-ups, it’s 2019 and we are dealing with pop-ups still... come on.

Have you seen Instagram’s interface? Very hard to get a spam like experience on there, that is why mobile APPs are so popular less interruption marketing.

Why is Google doing thing? Cause overall search volume is decreasing, 1% yearly may not sound like much but it is happening regardless. There is a growing segments of users, millennials and next generation that search within Instagram or Facebook first and ask for recommendations within those respective platforms. Whether you want to believe it or not doesn’t really matter, ask your family and friends and there is going to be a growing portion that do not “Google” stuff as a first step in researching.

If you think as a company you can stay alive on purely SEO, you’ll be dead just like the people though everyone will still be using the yellow pages when this “internet” fade disappears.

A lot of affiliates are going to have to re-evaluate their business models and playbook. I mean if you are selling items with 1-5% commissions and need serious organic volume to make $5k a month, with a 2% generous conversion rate, you are look at (using 3% commission) generating $167k in sales to get $5k commission, you need 5567 users to convert using 2% conversion rate on a $3 0 item - that means 278,350 visitors a month ... I mean just think about those numbers alone.

If you have the power to generate 278k visitors a month are you really going to waste it on a 3% commission model???

If you can generate $167,000 in revenue for a company and give it to Amazon, does it really make sense to walk away with only $5k?

It just doesn’t make logical sense to rely only on SEO nor sell low ticket items if you really still think it is a good idea to do only “organic search”. If you sell high ticket items in niches that have few organic competitors sure, but again that takes serious research and creative thinking.

There are solutions but they require you knocking on doors and picking up the phone to call and get direct deals instead of signing up for an “affiliate program” and hoping for the best. Exclusive deals give you a higher barrier to entry, but that requires going above and beyond. And once you secure one of these deals you’ll quickly realize organic will take 6-12 month to get some traction if you concentrate on that alone? Will your new partners wait that long? No. Paid marketing is then the only route to go.

And I’m in lead gen all day so it’s the same game as affiliate.

But that’s just my take, rambling with no sleep for days... I could be wrong, maybe Google is one day going to reverse all the advancements and go back to 2007 search results and the good old days will be back... I doubt it though. Evolve or die.

 

[Erayz]

The European Union does a lot fo anti-trust work in this regard.

I don't think they have any recourse in what Google decides to display.
A google search engine displaying google results is going to be hard to complain about.

The reality has always been that Google and every company including ourselves are in it for the money. Complaining won’t stop Google from doing Google things.

It wasn’t too long ago SEO and people that ran directories were complaining Map Packs were introduced into the SERPs. Think YellowPages.com and other directories that had listing of local Pizza places, they are mostly gone from the SERPs and for the most part consumers do not care.

There was also a time when many webmasters thought Google was fair and nice.
They thought google would "not bite the hand the feed it" when I was arguing google was not only the feeder for serps, also but the seller and auctioneer in the adwords process.
My cynical view has served me well in predicting the outcomes.

Consumers want their answers fast and more convenient. A lot of SEOs complaining do not have convenient websites: either they are over-ran with ADs or are slow, or bury the answer deep in the page so a consumer has to scroll, and let’s not even take into the account of the amount of pop-ups, it’s 2019 and we are dealing with pop-ups still... come on.

This has never changed. It's always been about customer service, experience whatever the marketing term is for it these days.
Give it to 'em good, quick and cheap. Just as Walmart did.
And if you don't have to pay many of the expenses, even better. Amazon

Have you seen Instagram’s interface? Very hard to get a spam like experience on there, that is why mobile APPs are so popular less interruption marketing.

I think this will soon be changing as the FB experience is now atrocious.

There is a growing segments of users, millennials and next generation that search within Instagram or Facebook first and ask for recommendations within those respective platforms.

While i agree that the next gen will google things less, social media platforms are worse for search.
I don't think FB or Insta will be the new "search".
Even Amazon retail will run its course unless it changes. Of course they have now diversified and will probably do much more.
Google is doing the same, working with governments is their next step.

If you think as a company you can stay alive on purely SEO, you’ll be dead just like the people though everyone will still be using the yellow pages when this “internet” fade disappears.

Yup, it will be a lot more difficult for SEO, specially in the big generic keywords.
It will about finding little niches not big enough for the big money.
I was chasing long tail 15yrs ago when it was a lot easier until the "experts" started promoting it.
So now long tail has become medium tail, and long much longer.
There will always be opportunities, but more people going after them.
And these people going after them will have a much bigger budget than previous years.
*Unless your building sites to flip by using link networks and PBNs with an unknown expiry date. Even though many seem to be doing well atm.

A lot of affiliates are going to have to re-evaluate their business models and playbook. I mean if you are selling items with 1-5% commissions and need serious organic volume to make $5k a month, with a 2% generous conversion rate, you are look at (using 3% commission) generating $167k in sales to get $5k commission, you need 5567 users to convert using 2% conversion rate on a $3 0 item - that means 278,350 visitors a month ... I mean just think about those numbers alone.

If you have the power to generate 278k visitors a month are you really going to waste it on a 3% commission model???

If you can generate $167,000 in revenue for a company and give it to Amazon, does it really make sense to walk away with only $5k?

I see this line of thinking often, but having been on the other side i don't agree unless you have a 10 to 20 year plan or a shitload of capital.
Many people think the next step from affiliate is to sell their own product.
Having done that I think it's a BIG PITA. Suddenly you will be responsible for all aspects of the transaction, returns, warranties, charge backs, etc etc etc and there are many etcetras in that business.
And as you gain scale, most big ecommerce (just as retail operations) work on 3-5% net income.
Is it worth all that hassle, work, time, upfront capital, inventory, service processes for even if your net becomes 10%?
Not in my opinion.

Paid marketing is then the only route to go.

Agree, there will be much more of this. And Google will be be the at the top for a while.
And I am getting a few requests for my services and experience in paid marketing offline.
Work that can be done anywhere just like running a website.

But that’s just my take, rambling with no sleep for days...

Aint we all

 

[bernard]

I don't think they have any recourse in what Google decides to display.
A google search engine displaying google results is going to be hard to complain about.

Actually the EU does have a recourse and have used that recourse. The EU has very strict anti-trust laws and has fined Google billions of dollars for promoting their own services in the results.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/20/18270891/google-eu-antitrust-fine-adsense-advertising