The challenge for small websites: Competing with big brands

In an interview published on YouTube, Google's Gary Illes gave advice to small sites that they should consider if they want to compete with Reddit, Amazon and other big brands.

Dominance of big brands

Google's Gary Illyes answered questions about SEO back in May that went underreported so I'm correcting that oversight this month. Gary answered a question about how to compete against Reddit and big brands.

Illes answered a question about competing with Reddit and big brands. While Illes seems to question Reddit's dominance, he doesn't deny it. His answer was about the core of the problem - competing with big brands in search results (SERPs).

History of big brands in SERPs

Gary's answer encompasses the entire history of big brands in the SERPs and the SEO response to that. About.com was a website about virtually any topic of interest and it used to rank for just about everything. It was like the Wikipedia of its day and many SEOs resented how About.com used to rank so well.

Gary's answer covers the whole history of big brands in the SERPs and SEO's response to it. About.com was a website about almost any topic and it ranked for almost everything. It was like the Wikipedia of its day, and many SEOs resented how well About.com ranked.

Small sites can compete with big brands

Gary next shares that the history of SEO is also about small sites figuring out how to outcompete the bigger sites. This is also true. Some big sites started as small sites that figured out a way to outcompete larger big brand sites. For example, Reviewed.com, before it was purchased by USA Today, was literally started by a child whose passion for the topic contributed to it becoming massively successful.

Illes went on to share that the history of SEO is also about small sites figuring out how to compete with larger sites. This is also true. Some big sites started as small ones that figured out how to compete with big brands. For example, Reviewed.com, before it was bought by USA Today, was literally founded by a kid whose passion for the subject made it a massive success.

Long tail keywords and other strategies

Gary next talked about long tail keywords. A lot of newbie SEO gurus define long tail keyword phrases with a lot of words in it. That's 100% wrong. Long tail keyword phrases are keyword phrases that searches rarely use. It’s the rarity of keyword use that makes them long tail, not how many words are in the keyword phrase.

Illes went on to talk about long keywords. Many newbie SEO gurus identify long-tail keyword phrases with many words. This is 100% wrong. Long tail keywords are key phrases that are rarely used in searches. The frequency with which a keyword is used makes it long, not the number of words in the keyword phrase.

Small sites can be powerful

Illes is right, there is a lot of traffic in long keywords and new trends. Small sites should remember that large sites move slowly and need to go through layers of bureaucracy to make a strategic decision. Speed ​​and the ability to take bold steps are the superpowers of small sites.

• 📌 Even small sites can compete with big brands.
• 📌 Long-tail keywords are rarely used keyword phrases, not multi-word phrases.
• 📌 Small sites can use their speed and flexibility, unlike large sites, which are often slow and bureaucratic.