Another memorable snippet of internet insight which stuck in my mind a while back from an “Online PR” course I did (yes, training works at least to that extent), was that: “On the internet, there is a God, and he is called Google.” Disconcertingly, however, it would seem that we are dealing with a divinity pandering to the basest impulses of mortals. (Note: I discover that this Google/God notion seems actually to be taken quite seriously in some quarters)

No-one knows what Google’s “algorithm” is. It is a Mystery worthy of medieval theology, beyond human understanding. Ours as mere mortals indeed not to understand, but merely to please the divine whim.

To push the metaphor a bit further, how do we mortals (web-users) demonstrate our devotion? Search engine optimisation, of course. We turn to the internet gurus (you see? religious imagery abounds in this area) to seek enlightenment: how do I please Google so people will come to my site? And before I move on from the religious metaphor, of which the reader is doubtless tiring, I cannot but note one nice little point: the Mystery. As the gurus invariably point out, not without a geekily admiring frisson, no-one knows what Google’s “algorithm” is. It is a Mystery worthy of medieval theology, beyond human understanding. Ours as mere mortals indeed not to understand, but merely to please the divine whim.

Which is, as I say, disconcerting, given that this deity seems to have a predilection for sex, porn and Britney Spears.

“God vs Google’s trademark lawyers” Flickr by zimpenfish

Where do we fit in all this? Simply that my mind has turned to the question of how it is that people end up looking at a site, ours specifically. According to our figures for the new elections website, just over half of the visits to the site are via direct links, just over 30% come from referring sites, with the rest coming from search engines, a.k.a., for practical purposes, Google. This blog, with much lower traffic, sees about 60% direct visits, 37% referrals and just under 4% from search engines. It goes without saying that in both cases we need a dose of search engine optimisation.

Or does it? A new breed of gurus are telling us that it’s not about scattershot supplication on the big bad internet, but about networking, interlinking (which itself helps with Google, of course) and the “quality” traffic of participants in the Great Conversation. Others still – shall we call them Wise Men, will tell you that all that hocus-pocus is all very well, but what really matters is Content. If it’s good, they’ll find you, and when they find you – neglected point this – they may also read you.

Your regular web-editor Everyman, undersigned, can only see as through a glass, darkly. As ever, I suspect that all are right, from tricksters to sages.

Meanwhile, I am just curious to see whether an article titled and tagged as this one is, especially when these terms appear in tempting conjunction with “European Parliament”, gets any bump in traffic.