I have been in video production in Akron, Ohio for three decades. Our business is steady, our team has lots of exciting projects and we’re about to announce some pretty cool new additions to our collection of gear. I am in no position to complain about anything. With that, I would like to make one observation. Not a complaint but a simple objection to what has become the most powerful technology in business: the Google organic search results.

In keeping with my original claim that I have no right to complain, I will point out that Mosher Media ranks well when using my favorite search terms. As you might imagine, the terms are “video production Cleveland” and “video production Akron”. To see the results of my favorite search terms you have to use the newfound verb, Google. We don’t use the verb “search”, we use the verb “Google”. Go ahead and Google “video production Cleveland” or “video production Akron” and see how we rank. Just to see the impact of an additional geotag, Google “video production Cleveland Ohio” or “video production Akron Ohio” and you will see the SEO gods are quite pleased with whatever it is we are doing right.

Just for fun, Google “video production company Cleveland Ohio” or “video production company Akron Ohio” to see if it makes a difference. Either way you search it, as of the time of this blog post Mosher Media is ranking well. This is why I have no right to complain. Anyone in business or especially those who have gone out of business recently knows your Google organic ranking is life or death. SEO makes or breaks you. Or does it? Am I permitted to make a causal observation without sounding like I am complaining?

In the markets where I work most often including Cleveland Ohio and my hometown of Akron, Ohio, I feel like I know many of the video production companies. I certainly pay attention to the top companies who I view as respected competitors. I have worked in corporate and broadcast video production in NorthEast Ohio for nearly three decades. With that I feel qualified to determine who is doing really great work. I have observed through my careful study of the organic results of my favorite search terms that the companies I view as the best in the market rank lower than those who I suspect are not as experienced or qualified. In other words, in video production it may be possible that Google sees great SEO over great work.

Another interesting observation is that Google seems to overlook is the amount of time a company has been in business. No matter what industry you are in you can Google your favorite search terms you believe are the ones customers would use to find a business like yours and you may find a similar situation. A new and ambitious player in the market has poured a lot of money in to SEO and is ranking well, while the most qualified and trusted names in the industry were too busy to pay attention to digital marketing and now suffers the ultimate punishment: organic ranking on the top of page two in the search results.

The real solution is for those who are truly the leading brand or the trusted local business to find a way to reach their prospect before the Google search. Even better, the searching public needs to understand how to read between the results and determine which company is serious and which company is playing SEO games. One great example is that if you Google “video production Cleveland” and fifteen companies come up on the first page, count their reviews. If most of the companies have five to ten reviews, but one company has nearly one hundred reviews, it’s clear to see who the unscrupulous SEO scammers are.

The best way to shop is to look deep into the body of work of each company. Figure out who has been around the longest. Go deep in to page three. This is good advice, especially since it comes from a business owner who currently appears on page one in the organic search results. Right now it’s actually in my best interest to tell people to only consider companies at the top of Google’s search results. My three decades in video production qualifies me to point out this important fact: our most respected competitors are not doing well with SEO because they are too busy doing great work. The ambitious but under qualified are sitting high at number one because they have lots of time to write blogs and re-do their website.

Remember, Google is powerful. They have developed incredible technology. The company has billions of dollars in annual revenue. It’s likely they will take over the whole world. With that, the simple fact remains. Google’s web crawling spiders and bots can’t eat at the restaurants they recommend and can’t watch the videos created by the video production company they put at the top. At least not yet.

How hard would it be to just call around Akron or Cleveland and ask people an easy set of questions: What company should be at the top when searching video production Cleveland or video production Akron. If they put in to place a ranking system that was authentic and legitimate, the college kids would drop to the bottom and the legends of our industry would take their well-deserved place at the top. As I contemplate how profoundly simple this idea is I start to wonder where I should appear? I am neither a college kid or a legend in the business so I have no idea, but it’s most likely a full-page color ad in the Yellow Pages.