A Mass Market or a Mass of Niches?

In my last post I commented on how to achieve a solid distribution of product, news and PR by targeting both online and offline distribution channels.

I was reminded earlier by a conversation I had this week with Simon Wharton my MD. He was telling me of his love for obscure bands (having been a rather passionate goth in his younger years). It surprised me to hear that Simon tracks such bands down using mySpace.

I’ve been doing some reading recently on the ‘New economics of culture and commerce’ I’ve been made aware of something that, although its not new to me, it has changed the way I think about search.

Chris Anderson puts it like this A TV Channel directs one show to millions of viewers. The internet however, directs one viewer to millions of shows.

The key is knowing how to use this to your advantage. The bands that Simon listens to are no longer in the Top 40 (I’m not even sure if they ever where) and yet they still have a presence on the internet and still have a fan base. To understand this we probably have to understand our high street stores. HMV could not possibly stock all of the music the internet can; there just isn’t enough shelf space, so they limit themselves to the most recent or bestselling products only. The internet doesn’t do this, so although there maybe millions more competitors, you all start in the same position.

How can I change my position?

Using solid Search Engine Optimisation techniques is a great way to boost your sites performance in search engines results. Some of the ways that you can achieve this is to build your site to WC3 Accessibility Standards and to increase the number of inbound links to your pages by Link Building.

If you implement these techniques well you will soon start to see an increase in traffic and better performance in the search engines.