Owning Your SERP

When you search for something on the Net -- regardless of the search engine -- the results page is known as your SERP (search engine results page). On that page are listed both organic results (also known as algorithmic results) and paid results where advertisers have paid to show up in your SERP. Regardless of the type of result, savvy marketers will want to own that first page.

So, as an experiment, I, David Kinard, am going to try and make this blog entry hit the top of the search engine results page when people search for David Kinard. Now, there are a lot of David Kinards out there, some are teachers, some work for the IRS, and there is even a David Kinard who I think is the CEO of InFocus. I am not that David Kinard, I am the other one -- the David Kinard whose LinkedIn profile hits the top of the SERP when people search for David Kinard.

Okay, so having my name listed over and over is only the first step in getting a posting to make it to the top ten links on a SERP. There are other things I should do as well. For instance, I should create a David Kinard YouTube channel (which I've done but haven't posted anything up there as of this writing). Having a link in this post to the David Kinard YouTube channel would be a good idea as well. You can find the link here: http://uk.youtube.com/davidkinard.

I would also want to ensure that I created Facebook and MySpace pages for David Kinard. They are popular sites (like LinkedIn) and have a strong influence in your SERP. I created a David Kinard Facebook page and you can find it here: http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Kinard/508369666.

So, with a long entry like this and the instances of David Kinard pretty high so far, the liklihood of this posting making it in the top ten listings on a SERP for David Kinard are good. As long as I keep my David Kinard Facebook page and my David Kinard YouTube channel updated (Google and the other search engines love fresh content and recently updated pages), then I'll have a good chance at starting to own my SERP.

Lastly, another great way to own the SERP is to have your stuff published by other reputable Web sites. You won't see David Kinard listed on any link-sharing sites or what I like to call Link Farms. Those are not highly favored by Google or other engines. Rather, get out there and comment on other people's blogs, make contributions to discussions on forums, and get articles or other thought pieces published on sites. Of course, like me, you'll want to make sure your name is listed. I try to end everything I post on the Web, whether it's my site or someone elses with a -- David Kinard, PCM. The PCM is a credential I earned from the American Marketing Association many years ago, and it adds credibilty to my posts.

But this is just an experiment. There are no hard and fast rules of what you have to do to own a SERP. There are certianly things I could do to get any posting about David Kinard blacklisted but any reputable person who is legitamately trying to do their best should not have to worry about those things. It is said that Google updates their search algorithms about every six months. That means you need to ensure your pages are constantly being updated with fresh and relevant content.

So, today is November 23 and we'll see how long it takes this David Kinard post to land on my SERP. Typically, it can take a few days to several weeks.