Cheeze Blog

SEO is really not such a dark art. Although it has to be said not all companies who offer enhanced search engine results are fully articulate about what they are doing, many of them have grasped the basic truths of living in a search-engine optimized world where the verb “to search” has been supplanted by the new verb, “to Google”. Companies engaged in this business also know that SEO, whilst unpalatable to some, is nonetheless present in many internet marketing meals - like an indispensable, many-layered onion, SEO is crucial to internet marketing success.

Beyond meta-tags there are special landing pages, and beyond landing pages, relevant links in from other sites, and beyond that, the sheer volume of clicks counted from key word searches - all of which is how intelligent, diligent individuals can take on (and sometimes beat) even the riches of Hollywood in the search engine placement battleground.

Which brings me to telling the SEO fable of Lucky Christine.

Christine Herron is a highly web-literate Californian VC. She is one of those rare early-adopter domain-name buyers who actually owns her own first name, Christine.net.

Christine is a rarity in her Silicon Valley world which is dominated by men. She has the requisite dynamism to succeed. She is articulate, well-connected and she blogs frequently around her key interests - which is why her website is not only on the front page of Google for the search for “Christine” but it is second only to one other Christine.

Now, the fact that her website (Christine.net) is above Christine Comaford’s website (Christine.com - a far less impressive blog) by four places is neither here nor there. Christine has the ambition to be number one - she wants to be “Lucky Christine” - i.e. when you go to Google’s front page and hit the “I Feel Lucky” button, she wants that search result to be her website.

But right now, standing in her way is the IMDB reference, and the twin Wikipedia references to the Stephen King authored, John Carpenter directed movie of the same name.

Now consider what she’s up against: this film has scared the living daylights out of people for 25 years, has been shown millions of times around the world, has very probably driven thousands of people to seek therapy for Amaxophobia - but Christine wants to be Lucky Christine, and it somewhat irks her that an evil car horror film/book is pipping her to the “lucky” prize.

You have to admire Christine’s drive, her desire to be top search dog. Her prominent placement is well-deserved, the product of a fine, well-focused offering. She’s there by virtue of her business prominence and her A-list contacts, not because of SEO tricks, and that’s the reason she’s second only to the Hollywood horror movie greats.

Should Christine Herron persist, and Messrs Carpenter and King fall from grace and wane in popularity, and should internet search still be here in another 25 years, well who knows, she might get there. But the chances of Google still serving up its “Lucky” single hit as it does now are pretty slender.

The moral of the story? Second is a great place to be. At least you’re on the podium!