Search Engine Optimization Case Study

With our in-house brand of TopFlight for the aviation market niche, we have been developing initiatives to better market and promote Aviation in general. But, we have also been focused on building our TopFlight brand itself. We felt this would be a good case study due the nature of language, how we use words in the broadest sense, then how we tend to use Internet search engines to clarify our meanings and message.

"TopFlight" is a broad generic term in its most basic form. Though we developed our logo design in 1996, by the time we went to register a domain name, TopFlight.com was already taken by a label making company - the TopFlight Corporation. Interestingly, they have nothing to do with "Flight" - which is how we were able to secure the TopFlight.aero domain name which is reserved for organizations in the aviation and aerospace industry. To us TopFlight.aero is all about Aviation Marketing and Aviation Media.

However, if you search the broad generic term "TopFlight" we have yet to land on Google page-1; though TopFlight.aero has begun to show up on page-2, sometimes floating between there and page-3. Just "TopFlight" on the first two pages returns a wide array of business categories somehow using the term in their web presence: albums, labels, paper, grain, sports center, gymnastics, boys academy, reproductions, transportation, rocket recovery, travel guide, a farm, and graphic design. Top-FLITE even dominates the first two results on page-1 - go figure; no FLIGHT... aviation.

I said that as of this writing, January 2010, that neither our TopFlight.aero nor our TopFlight.TV was in the top 10 of Google page-1 for "TopFlight." But, looks what happens when we add a second word clarifier to narrow the scope to those results of TopFlight in Aviation - "TopFlight Aviation."

So, as you can see, Search Engine Optimization is very particular about how and when we use words. When we just used "TopFlight" as the search term, we were nowhere on page-1. However, when we clarified our aviation niche with "TopFlight aviation" we occupy #1, 2, 4, 5, 6, & 8, for a total of six-of-ten on page-1 out of 390,000 possible results. We are clearly more about aviation than anyone else. Compare TopFlight to other more generic words and see what happens to the major brand associated with the #1 search result:

• "football" = NFL.com as #1 out of 328,000,000 possible results
• "baseball" = MLB.com as #1 out of 122,000,000 possible results
• "hockey" = NHL.com as #1 out of 91,100,000 possible results
• "basketball" = NBA.com as #1 out of 138,000,000 possible results
• "racing" = NASCAR.com as #1 (below a couple current news clips) out of 169,000,000 possible results; and it did not even clarify "auto racing"

So, suffice it to say, as has long been the old adage, "choose your words wisely." At the end of the day, effective Search Engine Optimization boils down to the words people use to find what they want or need. Your challenge is to understand what your customers or clients are looking for, that you can be of service in, then tailor your message so your words, your site meets them at the crossroad of opportunity.

See more of our TopFlight.aero Website Development here

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