Ever heard of search box optimization? It’s a lesser-known concept you might not have noticed before…let us explain!
While looking up pizza in the Google search bar, Pizza Hut popped up in the list of suggestions in the drop-down. Similarly, when we typed in Burger, multiple burger spots showed up in the autocomplete suggestions.
So we wonder, doesn’t this give some sort of edge to these brands? As a general rule of thumb, of course, it does! And that’s where the concept of the Search Box Optimization (SBO) came in!
What is SBO in Marketing
Defined as an optimization technique for Google’s search bar autosuggest, it allows businesses to display their names when users type relevant queries into the search bar, are looking for a specific product or service, or something specific closer to their locations.
By showing up first-hand for these queries through Google SBO, these brands do indeed get a major edge over their competitors. And it goes without saying that this becomes an early launchpad to increase click-through rates, organic traffic, and tap into new audience segments.
According to this report, it is a relatively new technique as compared to some old, set-in-stone SEO traditions we follow to this day. The strategy for Google search box optimization inserts business labels with targeted keywords, which include locally and nationally targeted keywords.
With search box optimization, there’s a lot more than what meets the eye. Like, when a business pops up in autocomplete predictions, it grabs the opportunity to be present in front of the target audience even before they hit enter. In a way, you’re there right at the beginning of the search phase, and you manage to captivate the attention of users completely. This positions the brand front and center, and captures attention at a moment when user intent is just taking shape.
And if they click on your business from the autocomplete predictions, then this means as if they’ve looked up your business or product directly instead of searching for the supplementary keywords without the brand name in it. This opens up a bundle of growth opportunities by having the page one all by yourself instead of fighting tooth and nail for a spot on the first page of the Google results.
Who is it for?
Now this discourse comes down to the important question of who this Google autosuggest optimization is for. Well, the simple answer would be it depends upon your industry, business goals, targets you’re trying to hit, vision, nature of the business, financial aspects, and other multiple factors too. But if we shortlist all the important reasons to give you a general idea of what businesses it does work for, then it simply comes down to following important things:
- Any business out there in this digital realm can reap the benefits of search box optimization, but it works tremendously well for the businesses that rely on search engines for their big chunk of their sales and conversions and are already enjoying the fruits of SEO campaigns through organic and paid marketing.
- It’s suitable for online businesses that function on the model of converting traffic to leads and long-term customers
- If your business is working in a specific geographic area, you just can’t miss out on the impact of the search box on user behavior, because it simply increases your chances of being discovered by your target audience.
- Through search box optimization, if the business manages to take the first spot in Google’s autosuggestions, then it means that it owns that tiny territory that can help it win bigger battles. For instance, someone is likely to see and click on its name first rather than your competition down the list. And that’s also the rare case of you beating your competition
Benefits of SBO
Top-of-the-mind awareness
If you manage to win Google’s algorithmic trust so much so that it not only ranks you but also makes your brand’s name appear in autocomplete suggestions, then this helps you create top-of-the-mind awareness and contribute to top-of-the-mind marketing. When your brand or business effortlessly pops up in the search bar whenever a user is typing the relevant keyword, the brand marketing kicks off at that point, which is the initial phase of the user’s research.
Enhanced Visibility
It goes without saying that on-SERP search box optimization is conducive to the enhanced visibility of the brands in the search realm. Because in times when there are millions of search results for billions of queries daily, a well-executed search box optimization allows brands to access early exposure even before the users explore the list of organic results. This carries a lot of weight in boosting brand recognition at the early research phase and increases the online visibility tenfold.
Overshadow Competition
In case you haven’t noticed, the search box gives you a chance to outshine your competition in the form of predictive text suggestions. Securing the first spot just below the typed query automatically makes you a preferred choice for so many people out there; they can be drawn to the first option present right in front of them before any other names or brands down the list. To put it simply, beating your competition doesn’t start with organic SERPs but in search box suggestions.
High CTR
Having a golden placement in the search box suggestions leads you to a higher click-through rate. This simply means more leads and conversions, too. In addition, there’s a chance that a higher CTR might be bringing in people who may not have explored your brand before, and this may be their first time landing on your website through search box suggestions. This way, there’s also a chance that you may be welcoming a new stream of audience and increasing your customer base.
Established Credibility
As a rule of thumb, when users see your brand showing up for their search queries, they associate your brand identity with trust and authority. And that’s also because algorithms picked up the positive signals and reviews for this brand to notice it and put it in the autocomplete suggestions for all the users to see. This adds up to building a robust brand authority, helping you stand out from the rest of your competition.
Improved User Experience
Search box optimization delivers an improved user experience by aligning search intent with the relevant autocomplete suggestions, streamlining discovery, and saving users from aimless web surfing.. So that users can curtail their research process and don’t waste time surfing the internet to find the right products and services.
Challenges with Search Box Optimization
With the incredible perks that come with search box optimization, there also lie some challenges that shouldn’t be ignored, as they can lead to some unpleasant consequences. Take the time to understand their depth and significance as they further cement your understanding of the search box optimization and how it works.
Unpredictability in Results
We know that the Google algorithm is evolving every day with announced and unannounced core updates. It keeps improving its components to provide helpful results on the search. In the same context, these changes also reflect in the predictive autocomplete suggestions as they’re also influenced by multiple significant factors, including algorithm changes, search volume, click-through rates, personalization, trending searches, mentions on the web, etc.
According to this Google support document:
“To determine what predictions to show, our systems look for common queries that match what someone starts to enter into the search box, but also consider:
- The language of the query
- The location a query is coming from
- Trending interest in a query
- Your past searches
In addition to full search predictions, Autocomplete may also predict individual words and phrases that are based on both real searches as well as word patterns found across the web.”
Ethical Concerns
In your strategies to optimize search suggestions, it is utterly important to stick to white hat practices. Otherwise, you can put your brand’s credibility at high risk or, worse, can receive a damaging penalty from Google itself. Always remember, Google strictly recommends and promotes ethical SEO practices and may take direct action against brands that exploit search box suggestions through unethical techniques.
Limited Control
There’s nothing like absolute direct control in search box optimization. All you can do is implement the right strategies, play by the SEO rulebook, and increase your chances of landing a precious placement in predictive suggestions, a spot which your competitors are likely to be fighting for too.
With organic SEO and PPC, you still can make choices and have some level of control. whereas the control and guarantee are kind of non-existent when it comes to search box optimization as it depends upon other eminent factors, like ever-evolving algorithms, user behaviour, search patterns, relevance, and more.
High Competition
Indeed, search box optimization is a highly competitive arena. With a humongous number of brands competing for the coveted spots in search box suggestions, the competition keeps rising every day.
As more big labels acknowledge the undeniable significance of the search box optimization, it’s becoming somewhat more difficult for growing ventures to achieve visibility. The only way brands can secure a strong foothold in this fiercely competitive realm is with consistent efforts, long-standing strategies, and by applying ethical site search best practices.
Optimizing for Search Box Suggestions
Here’s the breakdown of some useful strategies tailored to the search box optimization. When combined, they offer a cumulative power to increase your chances of popping up in suggestions at the top. So, without further ado, let’s explore some Search box SEO strategies.
Pick the right Keywords
Nope, a basic understanding of keywords and surface-level research won’t favor you here. You need to go deeper, as choosing the right set of keywords for search box optimization requires you to understand the user intent of your target audience through and through.
Of course, that calls for comprehensive research, going above and beyond your limit to figure out search patterns, studying search trends, taking a closer look at the audience’s behaviour, and developing the ability to predict what they’re likely to type in the search bar.
Keeping that in mind, you’re supposed to craft custom strategies that match your business niche, make the right use of the keyword research tools, keep an eye on Google trends, and use the balanced combination of short and long-tailed keywords to multiply your chances of showing up in search box suggestions.
Create Quality Content
Nothing comes close to the power of incredibly written, high-value, unique content. The content that solves problems, provides answers, and straight up addresses users’ needs. When your brand maintains a record of rolling out rankable and link-worthy content, it increases the possibility of algorithms picking up your authority signals and reserving a spot for you in predictive suggestions.
Website Metadata Optimization
Pay attention to your site’s metadata and optimize it with meticulously picked keywords and other important details about the webpage and site. As title tags and meta descriptions help Google better understand what a certain page is about, this allows the algorithm to show your brand name for the related search queries.
Invest in Brand Reputation
It’s nothing but a fact that Google identifies strong brand signals across Search. As these brands have spent years building their brand reputation from the ground up, they now have an edge over their counterparts in terms of rankability, visibility, and traffic.
In some way, a strong brand reputation also works like a loophole as it creates coveted spaces in every digital avenue for the said brand. So, what you can do is invest time and energy into building a positive brand persona along with keeping your efforts consistent. Contribute to the ongoing discourse related to your industry, address audiences’ concerns, encourage positive reviews and mentions across the search, and land high-quality backlinks.
Apply ethical SEO Practices
It can’t be emphasized enough that you always have to take the legit SEO practices route for search bar optimization. While black hat shortcuts may look promising at times, they can make you go lost in the sea of Search, never to be found again. Therefore, it’s better to stick to the conventional SEO rules and focus on growing your brand organically.
If you’re a local brand, optimize for local SEO
In case you’re selling products and services in some local area, and not in the entirety of the region, then it’s best to optimize your site and content for local SEO. In addition, find places where your local audience is present and engage with them, educating them about what your business is about.
Similarly, if your business is only serving an extremely limited geographical area, like a single neighbourhood, then hyperlocal SEO would be a more fit for your business.
Maintain a mobile-friendly website
It’s so important to have a mobile-friendly website because a large percentage of searchers may be coming to your site through mobile devices. And in case your site is not mobile-friendly, there’s a high risk of your users bouncing back even after they discover you in autocomplete suggestions. So, in order to avoid it, maintain a mobile-friendly site at all costs.
Conclusion
To get the most out of search box optimization, make sure to apply the aforementioned core strategies and analyze your progress.
And most importantly, prioritize fostering trust and meaningful relationships with your audience online for Google to pick up positive signals to land you higher in autocomplete suggestions.
Remember, consistency is key here. With the right direction, you can start seeing the desired results that will benefit you in so many ways.
