John Mueller was asked if the search results overlapped with smaller sites, creating a situation that favored larger companies. Mueller acknowledged that it would be difficult for big companies to compete. But he also showed that advantages are not unique to company size.
As you will see, large websites have some disadvantages that small websites can take advantage of to gain a competitive advantage.
Are there opportunities for small companies?
The person who asked the question asked John Mueller if small companies were at a disadvantage over larger companies because of how ads displayed for certain search queries pushed organic search results down the page, further blurring the search visibility of small brands.
Someone in a Google Office Hours Hangout asked:
“Is it unfair in some industries for Google Shopping ads to run alongside ads shown at the top of search because it pushes organic search results and smaller organizations further down the page?
Do smaller organizations have a chance to compete with larger companies? “
It’s hard to compete with big companies
The question is very specific, but Mueller’s answer addresses it in a more general sense, since his answer doesn’t even mention the situation in which ads push down organic rankings.
Mueller’s answer also touched on the idea of whether Google favors big brands.
John Mueller replied:
“I don’t know…I think it’s almost a philosophical question.
From our perspective, we’re definitely not trying to focus on big sites or anything like that.
But from a purely practical point of view, it’s clear that if you’re a small company and you’re trying to compete with big companies, it’s always going to be difficult. “
Competition has nothing to do with scale
Mueller next uses the actual history of search rankings to show that competition has always been about creating an effort to optimize the site and user experience, not the size of the site.
What he said was true. It’s easy for small brands to outcompete big brands because it took big companies years to realize the value of SEO.
Big brands’ fascination with Macromedia Flash doesn’t help their SEO, but it’s great for smaller sites that learn more.
Mueller continued:
“On the web in particular, one of the things I’ve noticed over time is that in the beginning, a lot of the big companies were basically incompetent on the web and they made terrible websites.
Their visibility in search results is really poor.
Small sites are easy to get into, like saying, well, this is my little site or my little bookstore, and suddenly your content is visible to a large number of users.
You can have early moments of success.
But over time, as big companies also saw the value in search and the web in general, they’ve grown their sites.
They have a very competent team who work very hard to create a great web experience.
For smaller companies, that means it’s much harder to get a foothold there, especially if there’s an existing market that’s very competitive.
It has nothing to do with big companies or small companies.
Overall, it’s really more about the playing field. “
Small companies should focus on competitive advantage
While it may seem that big brands have an insurmountable advantage, this is not the case.
A common reason I’ve found that a small company can’t rank is because the SEO head basically just knows”instruct” understand how to do SEO. But they don’t really understand how search works.
While knowing rote instructions like “Put your keywords in the title and title“is the starting point for SEO, and it simply can’t compete with companies that have a better understanding of how search engines work.
It’s like the difference between knowing a recipe and knowing how to cook.
People with a recipe will use cream of mushroom soup and a can of Coke to make their pork roast.
With their limited experience, they feel like they can cook.
They know how to follow recipes.but they don’t actually know how to cook.
This is what tends to happen to some smaller sites that are struggling with the competition.
Sometimes (not always) it’s because there are knowledge gaps that keep them from realizing their Competitive potential of small venues.
John’s advice on how small companies can compete was helpful.
Mueller continued:
“That’s you, as a small company, you should probably focus more on your strengths and your competitors’ weaknesses and try to find an angle where you can shine and others don’t have the ability to shine.
This could be a specific type of content, a specific audience, or anything like that.
Kind of like how you do this in a normal brick and mortar business. “
Small Sites Have a Competitive Advantage
Mueller is right that smaller sites can have an edge and can do things that big brands don’t always have the speed or inclination to try.
Speed is an advantage for small sites. But it only works if there is a good plan behind it.
Another advantage is bold link building.
Larger brands don’t always have the guts to beg for links. A reluctance to take risks is a big disadvantage for brands.
After building small websites that quickly outperformed big brands, I’ve experienced firsthand that being bold is an advantage. There are top-ranking sites in all walks of life, and they start small.
Do small sites have a chance to compete with larger organizations? Yes, they do.
But 2022 will be more competitive, regardless of company size.
Citation
Can Small Sites Compete With Big Brands?
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