Times are changing when it comes to SEO, and Google Helpouts is the newest feature that rolled out to greet the SEO community. We took a gander at Google’s homepage. Here’s what we saw:
Most SEO’s blinked a few times when they saw this. Especially if they were in the dark about Google Helpouts. Although the project has been underway since before Hummingbird it has now clearly taken center stage.
If you don’t know what Google Helpouts are, here are the basics: You can now buy one-on-one time with experts on almost any subject/field you can think of. If you can’t find a Helpout, you can suggest a Helpout concept. Like any great story, there are many twists and turns here.
Go ahead. Browse the interface. It’s obvious that Google took their time to ensure a robust experience for users. As long as people continue to use it, it will be in existence. If your site provides content for people, or better yet, shows people how to actually accomplish something, then your single, best option is to use Google Helpouts to promote your brand. Here’s the twofold benefit:
- First, you will help position yourself as a thought leader in the field, by showing someone how to do something (much in the way that YouTube does).
- Second, you can monetize your business, as most people charge between $30-$60 per hour (if they haven’t chosen the free option).
In terms of SEO, this is still in it’s early stages, as we haven’t seen any popular Helpouts get indexed, but perhaps that’s the next step, and remains to be seen. (After talking with a Helpouts representative, we were informed that Google is not looking to index any popular Helpouts no matter how many people sign up.).
If people are willing to pay for your time, then they are willing to go to your website for further information, tips, purchases, etc. You just have to direct them there via word of mouth. Place a link on the screen. Get creative!
Maybe you are a product-centered store. Regardless of the lack of engaging content, you now have the ability to share your knowledge about the products you sell, and how to make the most out of them. If you are pursuing a video strategy, then simply stop posting some of your free videos to YouTube, especially if they are providing something of value to your users. Sure, it’s not “traditional SEO”, but anything that legitimizes your reputation in the eyes of Google can have a positive impact on your organic rankings.
If you have YouTube Analytics enabled, you can view which videos are most popular on your channel, and making them interactive, by actually replicating the scenes to a live audience, which enables the natural give and take of communication. Google Helpouts = YouTube meets Google Hangouts.
In addition, there is a seamless Helpouts integration with Google Analytics so you can see what’s working (and what isn’t).
Here is your worst possible choice of action: Simply. Do. Nothing.
If you choose to neglect Helpouts as an optimization strategy you are seriously limiting yourself. Google Helpouts has the ability to divert a great deal of your traffic away. If you primarily rely on organic traffic for your visits then you need to look no further than the screenshot above.
People are curious and may rather navigate to the solution to their problems with a few clicks, than type out a quick query. (Never underestimate the power of lazy). In addition, given the explosion of video content, people would much rather watch a “how-to” video, and interact with an expert, than read a “how-to” article.
Google Helpouts Optimization
In the few hours I have played around with Helpouts, I’ve found some unique trends. Google is obviously testing out popularity as one of the variables to rank Helpout experts. In the case below, we see that videos are roughly ordered in terms of price. When I reopened it, it was ordered in a new, seemingly random pattern.
In our last post, we mentioned how to optimize your Google plus strategy for SEO. If you remember most of the points, you’ll see that Helpouts really are the next logical step in the sequence, built upon those concepts. People who are known subject matter experts will undoubtedly get preferential treatment.
Google Plus page authority may eventually be the deciding factor in who gets top billing for a particular subject in Google helpouts. Google trusts them as reliable sources, and these subject matter experts have taken the time to put valuable, engaging on authoritative sites, the’ve built up their authorship on a particular subject, and much more.
Now these people have the opportunity to reap the rewards of their hard work. The single most important SEO takeaway? It’s not about PageRank or MozRank anymore, it’s about PeopleRank.
about the author: Prateek Maitra
