Author Topic: No one use google anymore? (Read 1767 times)

Chris · « **on:** February 02, 2011, 08:13:05 PM »

Second page for "medieval strategy games" phrase - 23 visits per month
Second page for "space empire game" phrase - 5 visits per month
First page for "mmog" word - 129 visits per month (it's a joke, right? 4 visitors daily for the first page on such keyword?)
First page, second place for "ninja mmorpg" - around 400 visits per month
First page, first place for "samurai mmorpg" - around 400 visits per month (this one include also my usual visitors since the domain is samuraimmorpg.com so some simply enter it into search field, so the new visitors number is lower)

Does people still use google search nowadays?

CygnusX · « **Reply #1 on:** February 02, 2011, 09:49:48 PM »

The size of the photo is relative to the number of page hits per day. So, I say google is still used. Your search term just has to land on the front page.

PS. Word of mouth is still > google.

codestryke · « **Reply #2 on:** February 02, 2011, 11:48:49 PM »

Quote from: Chris on February 02, 2011, 08:13:05 PM

Does people still use google search nowadays?

Yes they use it to search for everything other then games. If they are looking for games they either look at what there friends are doing on Facebook or search Facebook for games.

Sim · « **Reply #3 on:** February 13, 2011, 11:25:19 AM »

90,500 searches a month for "mmog"
3,350,000 searches for "mmorpg"

Murzim · « **Reply #4 on:** February 24, 2011, 04:25:13 AM »

In the age of hyper-information, people have fewer and fewer time for anything.

DV8 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 24, 2011, 04:51:55 AM »

Only if you suffer from ADD, otherwise you can filter the cream from the crap and not get distracted.

JGadrow · « **Reply #6 on:** February 27, 2011, 08:07:14 AM »

My browser "homepage" is set to google.com so... yeah... I use it.

Chris · « **Reply #7 on:** February 28, 2011, 08:15:02 AM »

Quote from: JGadrow on February 27, 2011, 08:07:14 AM

My browser "homepage" is set to google.com so... yeah... I use it.

Have you used it to find a new game (read: a game which name you didn't know)? Let's say, at least once in the past 2 years?

CygnusX · « **Reply #8 on:** February 28, 2011, 08:51:06 AM »

Quote from: Chris on February 28, 2011, 08:15:02 AM

Quote from: JGadrow on February 27, 2011, 08:07:14 AM
My browser "homepage" is set to google.com so... yeah... I use it.
Have you used it to find a new game (read: a game which name you didn't know)? Let's say, at least once in the past 2 years?

I think the answer to this question would vary greatly by age. For older people, I doubt google is used much for bbg searches. For younger people, I'm willing to be its still heavily used. The key is targeting your game for the right search terms.

Chris · « **Reply #9 on:** February 28, 2011, 08:59:53 AM »

Quote from: CygnusX on February 28, 2011, 08:51:06 AM

Quote from: Chris on February 28, 2011, 08:15:02 AM
Quote from: JGadrow on February 27, 2011, 08:07:14 AM
My browser "homepage" is set to google.com so... yeah... I use it.
Have you used it to find a new game (read: a game which name you didn't know)? Let's say, at least once in the past 2 years?

I think the answer to this question would vary greatly by age. For older people, I doubt google is used much for bbg searches. For younger people, I'm willing to be its still heavily used. The key is targeting your game for the right search terms.

Do you imply that being on the first place of the first page for "samurai mmorpg" phrase is the wrong search term?

Or maybe that "samurai mmorpg" does not appeal to young people?

CygnusX · « **Reply #10 on:** February 28, 2011, 09:06:50 AM »

When I was younger, I remember searching often for:

free web based game
free browser based game
free text based game

Today, I would associate mmorpg with W.o.W. and Maplestory. If I came accross samurai or lords while seaching for these terms, I'd probably pass up your site. However, I'm curious how samuraifreebrowsergame or lordsfreebrowsergame would do in terms of google reference success.

CygnusX · « **Reply #11 on:** February 28, 2011, 09:14:50 AM »

In doing some research, I found this:

https://adwords.google.com/o/Targeting/Explorer?__u=1000000000&__c=1000000000&ideaRequestType=KEYWORD_IDEAS#search.none

browser based game - avg. monthly global search - 33,000
browser games - avg. monthly global search - 550,000

I may need to change the url of my site....

Chris · « **Reply #12 on:** February 28, 2011, 09:17:00 AM »

Quote from: CygnusX on February 28, 2011, 09:06:50 AM

Today, I would associate mmorpg with W.o.W. and Maplestory. If I came accross samurai or lords while seaching for these terms, I'd probably pass up your site. However, I'm curious how samuraifreebrowsergame or lordsfreebrowsergame would do in terms of google reference success.

I'm not talking about players or those who register. No. I'm talking purely about visitors who leave immediately after arrival (these are google analytic stats of the homepage not of register page or anything). Assume it is not a browser game but downloadable one like WoW, whatever. Why it got only 400 visitors a month?! Plus, since the game name is "Samurai & Ninja MMORPG" plenty of these visitors are not a real new ones but just old players who were too lazy to enter the domain name and just did the search instead.

How??? Explain me, how such search term positioned so high could get a mere 400 visitors a month? Just raw visitors who just checked the homepage, nothing more.

CygnusX · « **Reply #13 on:** February 28, 2011, 09:24:16 AM »

That is interesting.

90,000 searches monthly for mmog in google
129 visits per month for your site, that is on the first page

I'm stumped on this one. Only explanation that fits the data is people see lordsgame.com while looking for MMOG, and don't think your url matches the search they're after. Either that, or the data is faulty.

Chris · « **Reply #14 on:** February 28, 2011, 09:59:18 AM »

Quote from: CygnusX on February 28, 2011, 09:24:16 AM

That is interesting.

90,000 searches monthly for mmog in google
129 visits per month for your site, that is on the first page

I'm stumped on this one. Only explanation that fits the data is people see lordsgame.com while looking for MMOG, and don't think your url matches the search they're after. Either that, or the data is faulty.

That's simple. I'm on the second page for mmog term. Google nowadays assumes that mmog is misspelled mmo, so it never displays anything more than first page (or shows mmo instead, hard to tell, they change it constantly), unless you explicitely request it.

When you are checking google position logout from the google account, otherwise it will show you personalised results (and google already learned that you perceive lords as top mmog so it put it on top for you

).

toxin · « **Reply #15 on:** February 28, 2011, 12:51:28 PM »

Chris your number 7 for my search. Not sure if you use xmarks but you looks like your players do http://www.xmarks.com/site/www.lordsgame.com/

JGadrow · « **Reply #16 on:** March 01, 2011, 10:36:32 AM »

Quote from: Chris on February 28, 2011, 08:15:02 AM

Have you used it to find a new game (read: a game which name you didn't know)? Let's say, at least once in the past 2 years?

If you'd have said any less than 2 years, I'd have been screwed. But with 2 years, yup, I sure have.

CygnusX · « **Reply #17 on:** March 03, 2011, 04:17:19 PM »

I was thinking more about this topic today, and searched the term 'browser based game' in google. 6-7 years ago, a handful of choices such as archmage, dominion, or magewars would have been at the top of the list. Today, the choices are freebrowsergamer, bbsgames, wikipedia, bbgsite, etc. Basically, not very many browser games are listed in the top search index of google, but many many browser game top sites are. The reasons are obvious. Tons of links from various sources coming in, many diverse links going out.

So, call me crazy, but what we if we established a bbg network? Ie, we all commit to linking to each other through small banner, text links, etc..... and get actual, playable games back into the top search results for 'browser based games'? I think this would help the genre as a whole tremendously as I am personally very interested in clicking on google links to urls that sound like a game, and not links that sound like just another top site.

Harkins · « **Reply #18 on:** March 04, 2011, 12:17:58 AM »

How many people even have bbg-related blogs? I only infrequently write and link bbgs and I think I might be the most active.

JGadrow · « **Reply #19 on:** March 04, 2011, 04:34:41 AM »

Not I. Heck, I had to pay a SEO person $25 for back-links just to light a fire under my butt to get a SERVICES page on my Company website.

It's really difficult to motivate myself to work "for free" for myself when I have paying customers waiting around... lol

chrisjenkinson · « **Reply #20 on:** March 04, 2011, 11:31:42 AM »

I'm writing a blog for Xiphos development. http://www.xiphosgame.com/forum/xiphos-blog

CygnusX · « **Reply #21 on:** March 04, 2011, 11:45:30 AM »

I don't think you have to have a blog. Why not show support via a link on the front page of your own site?

codestryke · « **Reply #22 on:** March 04, 2011, 12:43:08 PM »

Live by Google, die by Google.

Our traffic from Google is actually up and has been climbing for quite a few months with no effort from us. This makes me nervous as I don't like to rely on Google at all for traffic, for me, this is considered bonus traffic. I was knee deep in the dot com bust and I saw what happened to a lot of colleagues who put all there eggs in one basket. Today it's Google and I've read countless stories from people with top positions fall to the bottom overnight, these were legitimate listings, not someone trying to work the system.

With the increase of traffic from Google we are going after a LOT more for top site / game directory traffic. So when Google does there next index we have traffic built from other sources so it's doesn't affect us as greatly.

The next step is branching out to the social networks.

Chris · « **Reply #23 on:** April 16, 2012, 04:28:27 AM »

I was talking with my players about it and one of them raised an interesting point. In recent years there was an influx of multiplayer capabilities in consoles and other devices. In short, nowadays people have much more variety of online gaming platforms so browser games market share has shrunk.

News:

Author Topic: No one use google anymore? (Read 1767 times)