Search Box Optimization Beats SEO: How To Rank On Page 1 For 'Pasadena Dentist'

by PRC Agency PR

Is Search Box Optimization Gonna Beat SEO?

Welcome, one and all, to the ultimate marketing strategy showdown - a match that will go down in history. In the red corner, the undisputed online visibility champion, SEO. And, in the blue corner, the contender, SBO. Tonight’s prize? Digital marketing domination!

I want a fair fight, you got it? No black-hat tactics, no tricks. Good luck! (bell rings)

Now as fun as it would be to ask two pro boxers to duke it out and settle this matter once and for all, we can’t really do that, obviously. Not only because no one would agree to do it but also because this is one of those things we really need to settle with words, not fists.

And that’s why we're here today - we're gonna see if SEO really is all that it's cracked up to be. After all, to paraphrase the great and late George Carlin, if it’s undisputed, what's all the fighting about?

SEO: How it Works & What it Does

We all know what SEO is. How it works though - well, that can either be really simple or really complicated. On the surface, it's simple - you optimize your website so that it pleases the Google algorithm gods and matches the user's search intent so that it would rank higher. On the other hand, though, it's sooo not simple - how do you know what pleases the algorithm gods? Besides, gods are a fickle mistress; what if they change their minds?

You got two options: 1) stay buried on page 2, or worse; or 2) pay an SEO expert for ongoing maintenance, also known as "Keeping up with the Algorithms".

I don't know about you - but neither sounds great to me.

And don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that SEO never works, or that it's dead; all I'm saying is, it's oversaturated - because literally everyone's doing the same thing - and it can get pretty expensive trying to keep up with all the changes. Not to mention that it can take up to 8 months before it gets any results - and in the today age, that's like 8 years.

When it does work, however, it's pretty great - make no mistake. Ranking #1 on Google for your target keywords is no mean feat. But what if we could make it faster, more consistent, cheaper, and - hey while we're at it - what if you could own the first 10 spots, not just 1?

Well....

SBO: What it Is, How it Works & What it Does

Okay, while SEO may be the undisputed champion of the marketing world, SBO is the new kid, the underdog. So we need to talk a little about what it actually is. SBO stands for search box optimization, but it's also known as 'autocomplete optimization' - and it pretty much does what says on the tin. It optimizes the Google search box. As to how it does that, that's where things get interesting...

Let's say you're a dentist in Pasadena, and your goal is to rank for "Pasadena Dental Implants Dentist", all you need to do is find a marketing agency that specializes in SBO. Then you just buy your keyword phrase and let them do the legwork. Their marketing experts will then get your target keyword phrase and brand name in the autosuggestions box on Google; for example, "Pasadena Dental Implants Dentist Dr. Doom" (though if you're a dentist I sincerely hope that's not your name).

Now all you need is for your prospective patients to start typing "Pasadena Dental Implants" in the search bar and Google will show "Pasadena Dental Implants Dentist Dr. Doom" as a suggested term. And this is important, because people are using autocomplete a lot - 71% of us use it, in fact. There's probably a more in-depth explanation as to why that is - but I like to put it in simple terms: people hate typing.

But that's not the end of it, of course. After all, I did say we found a way to get the 10 first spots on page 1. Which is exactly what people will see when they click on your term in the autocomplete box - a Google page 1 dominated by you.

SEO vs. SBO: Costs & Results Compared

So what's the catch? Is what you must be wondering now. And I'm happy to report that there isn't one. SBO is not some too-good-to-be-true gimmick that promises results overnight, for free. It's faster than SEO, but not that fast. It's also cheaper than SEO, but it's not free.

Where SEO will get you results in 6 to 8 months (that's best case scenario), SBO will get you results in 60 to 90 days. And, with SBO, the results are guaranteed and consistent because they don't depend on what your competition is doing or the algorithm gods.

Speaking