Dictionary.com defines a monopoly as the exclusive possession or control of something. You may recall playing the board game Monopoly as a kid, or maybe even recently. Regardless, just like the game, you can consider page one of Google to be your own personal Monopoly board—a board we would all love to gain exclusive possession of or complete control of for our desired visibility and lead-generation goals. For those of you who are familiar with the game, let me refresh your memory and for those of you who aren't, let me give you a quick synopsis. In Monopoly, the objective of the game is to make as much money as possible, as quickly as possible. The main way you can do this is by buying real estate on the Monopoly board. Essentially, the more real estate you own, the greater the chances are that people will land on your properties and be required to pay you rent. The higher the property value, the higher the rent. The more people who land on your real estate, the more rent you get to collect. The more rent you collect, the faster you get to bankrupt your opponent(s) and earn bragging rights. So ultimately, you want to obtain as much real estate as possible, preferably those highest in rank (value), and develop them with assets to increase the real estate value for a larger payout.

Chapter 2 revealed that only 5 percent of people click past the first page of Google results.¹ Take, for example, a Google search for “automotive Internet sales.” There are over 147 million results, meaning that there are over 147 million listings that have some or all of the combination of words automotive Internet sales. Out of those 147 million listings, the vast majority of people (95 percent) will view only what is on the first page of Google. It doesn't make a difference whether there are 1,000 results, a million results, or a billion results. Ninety-five percent of people will not go past page one. Therefore, the first page of Google is the Monopoly board—hence the phrase and philosophy behind this book, “Googleopoly.” Each Google result listing is a piece of real estate, a property. First-position, “natural” Google is the equivalent of Boardwalk. It holds the prime real estate position with prime visibility, which generates the highest rent payout. The same logic applies to real-life real estate. I was born in the city of New York. If you are at all familiar with real estate in NYC, you know that it is extremely costly. The more prime position the property, the higher the value property and rent payout. The same goes for page one Google results. The higher the result listing, the more prime the result listing is.

The same holds true for the business that holds first position organically. Holding first-position, natural Google means your business is first to be seen, which means it is first to be clicked, and if the place the person is being sent to is designed to convert well, the payout will be significant. A quick side note: if you are going to spend a lot of time and resources making yourself visible online, make sure that the place you are sending people to, such as your website, is set up to represent you, your product, or your service to the best of its ability, otherwise it is all a waste. Make sure you create an awesome online brand (logo, graphics, and message). At the end of the day, being ranked in the first position on Google is just an opportunity to do business. It guarantees visibility, not that people are going to buy from you. That part is left to you. Think of the most well-known musicians in the music business. They are given a large opportunity to be backed by major labels and given major visibility opportunities. But at the end of the day, the musician must have talent. Record labels cannot force the public to become fans or purchase music or merchandise. The talent must exist, otherwise the visibility they are granted will be for naught. So I cannot stress enough that you need to make sure you are represented well. I have personally seen dealers who spend a fortune driving traffic to their website, but fail to convert sales and have an outrageous bounce rate. Don't let this happen to you.

Back to Googleopoly…first position is Boardwalk, second position is Park Place, third place is Pennsylvania Avenue, and 10th position is Indiana Avenue (the final position and opportunity for visibility). It's not worth as much as Boardwalk, but it is still valuable nonetheless and has the potential to take over top real estate. It's simple…the more times that you show up on the first page of Google, the fewer times your competitors, third-party providers, ads, and so on, can show up. What makes the game even more interesting is that you can increase your property value even further and in turn increase your chances of generating more revenue by developing it with the addition of houses and hotel pieces. As it pertains to Google, you too have ways to increase your “property value” even further. This can be done with the utilization of videos and images, for example. When played strategically, some properties worth less “naked” can become worth more than even Boardwalk if developed correctly. There are certain things you are going to learn in this book that will show you how to combine tactics to create the ultimate monopoly with Boardwalk and Park Place loaded with hotels. For example, Chapter 5 covers video search engine optimization, which is one of the most powerful tools you can use to gain additional real estate and property value and ultimately win the game of Googleopoly.

Going back to the example of automotive Internet sales, when you review the results for search terms automotive Internet sales, you will see that there are only nine pay-per-click ads, one video, and the Google top 10 list—a grand total of 20 listings on the first page of Google. For this specific example, out of 147 million listings, almost everyone will look only at the first 20 listings, as I discussed.

You cannot win the game of Monopoly with just Boardwalk. As a matter of fact, it will be difficult to win even if you had both Park Place and Boardwalk, as well as hotels on each of those properties. The same goes for Google! You can't have just one website and expect to win the game of Googleopoly. It doesn't matter if you had the most awesome website. It is still only one website with one domain and can rank only one time on the first page of Google.

You might be thinking, “How can I own Google real estate?” Simple—you have to have content that ranks on the first page of Google. You need to understand that dominating Google is way more than just having a website. To be specific, there are two types of search engine optimization (SEO):

1. Onsite
2. Offsite

Onsite SEO is the optimization of everything on your website:

• Title
• Description
• Meta-tags/keywords
• Site navigation
• Anchor text
• Keyword density
• Alt tags
• Images
• Videos
• Sitemap(s)
• Video sitemap(s)
• Load speed
• Relevant content
• Unique content
• Structured data/rich snippets
• Adherence to Google algorithms and updates

By properly optimizing your website, you will be able to have your website rank and get prominent placement on the first page of Google (that is the goal).

Here is the problem with that. Even if you have the most incredible website with the most incredible SEO, you are only one rowboat in the ocean of the Internet—meaning you have only one opportunity to show up on page one of Google and inhabit one real estate space. Having a website alone, even an awesome website, is not enough to dominate Google and drown out the competition, all of the pay-per-click ads, top 10 organic listings, images, videos, news, and so on. To accomplish this, you need to be more than a rowboat—you need to become the naval fleet, the Spanish Armada. You do that with offsite SEO.

Offsite SEO is the optimization of everything else:

• Social media and social media optimization
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Google+
  • NING
• Images/pictures
  • Flickr
  • Photobucket
  • Pinterest
• Video and video search engine optimization
  • YouTube
  • Vimeo
  • Any video search engine
• Focus sites/microsites
• Online reputation
• Blogs
• Mobile marketing
• Press releases and news
• Music/audio
  • ReverbNation
  • Vevo
  • SoundCloud
  • iTunes
  • Beats
  • iHeartRadio

People are surprised to find out that all of those categories have search engine value. That's right—social media isn't just a place for you to go and chitchat with your friends. Social media optimization is a very powerful opportunity to earn real estate on page one of Google, in addition to providing the consumer with another form of information. Part of Google's algorithm is content that is connected or linked to another site. To be exact, a more powerful site that gets tons of traffic will add instant credibility to that content. Let's take Facebook, for example. Facebook has over 1 billion users on its network and has hundreds of millions of views per month. So, if you have content on Facebook, that content is properly optimized, and there is engagement on the Facebook page and on individual posts, then there is a very strong chance that the Facebook page and/or that post on Facebook will rank and possibly be on the first page of Google! Social media, specifically Facebook, in this scenario will act as an SEO incubator for the content.

Another example is images and image optimization. Let's use Flickr.com or Pinterest.com for an example. Both sites can be classified as social media sites and/or image search engines. Either way, individual pictures can be uploaded to Flickr or Pinterest, and once they are on those sites, they can be fully optimized. Once optimized, the individual images will have their own unique URLs and each image will also have the opportunity to rank on the first page of Google. Let me be crystal clear here. I am not merely saying that if you optimize pictures on Flickr or Pinterest, your Flickr or Pinterest page will rank. I am stating that if you upload individual images to sites like Flickr and Pinterest and those pictures are search engine optimized correctly, then those individual images can rank and achieve first-page placement.

The same scenario is valid for video and video SEO. Each individual video that is properly optimized can show up on the first page of Google. Video, for example, is the most consumed form of content—period. Google prefers video content over static content. So if you have video content properly optimized, it can and will rank faster and more prominently than a traditional website!

Think about how powerful that could be for you, your business, and your overall strategy. If someone is searching for you, they will find not only your website, but also on the first page of Google your:

• Videos (one to three of them!)
• Images
• Social media (your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Your blog
• Your customer reviews on Google+ and/or Yelp
• Focus sites/microsites

Do the math. That is six to eight out of the top 10 listings and 60 to 80 percent of the first page of Google! Remember, the more you show up on the first page of Google, the less your competitors, third-party providers, ads, and so on show up.

Another way of explaining this strategy of content diversity is like investing money. Let's say you have $10,000 and you can invest it all in one stock and hope that the stock does well. The reality is that it might or it might not do well. That is a lot of money to invest in a hope. Another option is to take that same $10,000 and invest it into mutual funds, spreading the funds out. Basically, a mutual fund comprises several stocks—for this example, let's say 10 different stocks. So instead of putting the entire $10,000 into 1 stock, you are putting $1,000 into 10 different stocks. That is 10 opportunities to make something happen. The benefit of a mutual fund is the ability to maximize the investor's opportunity while simultaneously minimizing the risk.

Most people do not realize this, so they only buy or build a website and expect that their website is going to take them to the promised land of clients, fans, business, and opportunity. The reality is that a sole website is not enough. As a matter of fact, onsite SEO or a website should be only 25 percent of the strategy. That means that 75 percent of your visibility/digital marketing strategy should be dedicated to offsite SEO.

You need to diversify your digital marketing strategy to maximize your visibility and minimize your risk(s).

In the previous chapter, I dissected the different elements of page one of Google. You have pay per click (PPC), and you have the organic top 10 list. When you are creating your Googleopoly strategy, you want to remember to put first things first—meaning that you want to focus on dominating page one of Google in a priority order. You want to spend your time and in some cases money where you get the biggest bang for your buck. That, of course, is going to be with the organic top 10 listings. Some people skip that and just try to create a PPC campaign without a viable organic presence or strategy. This is a complete waste of time and money. People who make their money in PPC are going to be perturbed by my philosophy, but deep down they too know the truth. Remember Google, not Sean V. Bradley, CSP, tells us that only a minority of people actually click the PPC ads. The vast majority of people skip the PPC ads and go to the organic listings.

The counterargument to me is usually something to the effect of, “Wait a minute, Sean—if this is “pay per click,” then I only pay per click. What is the problem? You pay only when someone actually clicks your ad. If no one clicks, you don't pay anything. I get that, but here is the problem. If you only have a $1,000 or $10,000 advertisement spend, or whatever amount of budget, and you allocate the majority or all of that budget to PPC, that is only 6–12 percent click-throughs. Why would I eat up most or all of my digital marketing budget on a 6–12 percent opportunity? Why not invest that money in the organic opportunity, which represents an 88–94 percent opportunity? Furthermore, once someone clicks a PPC ad, there is nothing to show for it—game over. On the other hand, with organic SEO, whether it is a website, focus site, social media sites, online reviews, images, or videos, they are there organically. Click, after click, after click, with no budget to exhaust. And with a proper organic SEO strategy, those pieces of content will permanently hold their first-page positions and the more content you create, the more you can saturate the engines and become more prominent.

It just makes logical sense to first invest your time, energy, and/or money into the opportunities that have the biggest reach, with the longest residual value, organic SEO. There is absolutely no question. And one of the most important reasons and the best part about why organic SEO is the best strategy is the fact that it is free! That is right—especially if you take everything you learn from this book, you will be able to create a very powerful and free SEO strategy and have more impact than most people or companies that are spending thousands or tens of thousands of dollars per month on PPC.

Some food for thought and something to keep in mind is that Google is one of the most powerful companies in the world. Google is a multibillion-dollar publicly traded company. That means it does not share the same mission as the Red Cross. It is a for-profit corporation. Google makes the majority of its money in ad revenue, specifically PPC ads, retargeting, pre-roll, etc. Google is not going to advocate to the public how to beat its system. Google wants to keep the secret strategy of its search engine quiet—hence the updates discussed in Chapter 2, like Hummingbird and Panda 4.0. Does a state trooper want every speed-crazed motorist to have a radar or laser detector? Heck, no! Google, on the other hand, will promote the benefits and awesomeness of PPC and all of its monetized advertising strategies. And it is right! All of Google's strategies have value. They can make sure you are visible. I do not want to insinuate that Google peddles snake oil. I merely want to be clear that you need to put first things first and make sure you focus your attention and money on the most powerful efforts that will yield you the most powerful results with longevity. That is one of the most important aspects of the Googleopoly strategy.

To be specific and in this order, I will lay out the strategy for how to win the game of Googleopoly and unlock the secret strategy of the Google search engine:

• You want to focus on dominating all of the organic opportunities on page one of Google. The following is a brief list, which will be discussed shortly:
  • Your main website
  • Video SEO
  • Image SEO
  • Google+/Social Media
    • Local listings
    • Maps
    • Google reviews
  • Knowledge Graph
  • Online reputation/business directories
    • Yelp
    • Merchantcircle
    • Angie's List
    • Yellow pages
  • Press releases/news feeds
  • Focus sites/microsites
• Then you can focus on the pay-to-play opportunities, like:
  • Pay per click (PPC)
  • Retargeting
  • Display ads
  • Mobile ads

Just as I said in the beginning of this chapter, you can't win the game of Monopoly with only Boardwalk. Even though it is the single most valuable property in the entire game, it is not enough. The same holds true in the game of Googleopoly. You are going to need a complete synergistic strategy between both the organic and paid strategies to win the game of Googleopoly.

Do you remember the example I mentioned earlier of automotive Internet sales? If you Google those keywords you will find the following on page one of Google (see Figure 3.1):

• 147 million results
• Nine PPC ads
• Ten organic listings
• One video
• A grand total of 20 listings on page one of Google
• (Only 5 percent of people go past page one of Google)

Guess how many of those 20 listings out of 147 million belong to me?

Four! That is right—four listings are owned by Dealer Synergy Inc. Let me break down where the four come from:

• One PPC ad campaign
• One video (optimized)
• One listing for www.automotiveinternetsales.com, which is a social community created for Dealer Synergy clients
• One listing for www.internetsales20group.com, which is a three-day workshop put on by Dealer Synergy Inc.

What is crazy is that the company's main website is www.dealersynergy.com, and it didn't even rank on the first page of Google! It slipped to page three! Now that is in part because there is fierce competition for the keywords automotive Internet sales. Google changes its algorithms 500–600 times a year! So, things happen. SEO is a constant process, constant tweaking, constant evolution. My point is that if my multimillion-dollar company only had www.dealersynergy.com and someone was Googling “automotive Internet sales,” I would be invisible, like the vast majority of people and companies online. However, since I am a Googleopoly master not only did I show up on page one of Google, but also I did it first-position, natural Google, as well as three additional times. I didn't merely show up on the first page of Google out of 147 million listings once, twice, or even three times. I showed up organically on page one of Google three times organically and once “paid.” That is a grand total of four times on page one of Google out of 147 million results. That, my friends, personifies the Googleopoly strategy!

It can even get better than that! The example I just shared is a very extreme example to impress you and show you the true power of the Googleopoly strategy. The reality is that most of you reading this will not have to compete with keywords, phrases, and searches that have 147 million results. I own a national training and consulting company focused on the multibillion-dollar automotive sales industry. There are over 17,500 franchised dealerships in the country and over 250,000 automotive sales professionals. The keyword search I used as an example was a national search in a very large industry. If I was able to create a powerful page one dominance (POD) strategy like that, can you imagine what you can do in your industry? Can you imagine if you weren't national or didn't need or want to start national? If you only wanted or needed local traffic or local business? It would be so much easier and so much faster. Now combine that reality with the comfort of knowing that most people have no idea how to do this and how to dominate Google. And even some of these so-called experts and consultants and SEO gurus have no idea of this powerful Googleopoly strategy. Most people do not use a diversified approach to engage, tackle, and dominate page one of Google. If you use the strategies that I am outlining in this book, not only will you create a POD strategy, but you will also create an unfair competitive advantage in your market. You will crush your competition and conquer their prospects and opportunities for you and your organization. You will win the game of Googleopoly.

Now that I have explained the concept of Googleopoly, I am now going to break down each and every section of the Googleopoly strategy by chapter. The remainder of this book dives deep into each of the important and critical areas necessary to diversify your visibility and maximize your potential for search engine dominance. We are going to unlock the secret strategy of Google.