For the past eight weeks, I’ve been writing about how COVID-19 has impacted my work and my leadership approach. This week, I’m going to take a break from that theme and explore a completely unrelated curiosity of mine.

Each week, I write my leadership musings for a committed cohort of friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and avid fan followers. Some have been with me since the beginning, but most have joined along the way. I’ve been writing this blog for just about four years now. My readership has gradually increased over that time period.

Most of my readers found me through my posting on my internal company yammer site and through my ever-growing LinkedIn presence. I’ve also picked up a few via Facebook, Twitter, and Medium. I love harnessing the power of social media to make connections and spread ideas. I’ve written about that before. I don’t plan on covering that ground again. This article is about something different.

Google

While most read my articles from social media links or direct email subscription, a few find me as the result of their Google searches. For me, that’s nice to have, but not necessary. I spend very little time thinking about Search Engine Optimization, which is something website owners do if they are dependent on appearing in search results.

Yet, a few hundred make their way to my blog through Google searches every month. I’ve often wondered how that happens. Fortunately, there is an answer. Many have heard of Google Analytics, which is a great tool for understanding web traffic trends. Google has another tool, called Google Search Console, which serves up specific analytics based on search results.

As a website owner, Google lets me know every time they list my website on someone’s search results. They also tell me exactly what that person queried to make my site appear in their results. I also can see if they clicked or not. Pretty fascinating, isn’t it?

So, what makes a random googler visit zachonleadership.com? Let me tell you.

Searching for leadership from pop culture

My blog gathers the most search results listings from searches like “bring out your dead” and “trogdor the burninator.” However, these search results don’t make many people click. I have to guess at the reason. I suppose if you are busy googling for these terms, you don’t want to take the time to read a thought-provoking leadership article. You’re trying to do something else. Perhaps people are just trying to look for memes or videos.

Going further down the list a bit, I see searches like “peter gibbons” and “I know this because tyler knows this” do cause people to click. I think I know why. Office Space and Fight Club are cult classic movies that are loaded with deep leadership metaphors. If you are busy searching for these, you are probably open to learning.

On a related theme, I don’t show up very high in search results for “the matrix” or “jerry maguire” but if the word “lessons” is in there, I get clicks. Many that search for “lessons from the matrix” and “jerry maguire lessons” will find their way to my articles. There are a handful of writers that like to draw leadership lessons from pop-culture media and I am one of them.

Searching for a promotion

The Zach on Leadership blog is tailor-made for on-the-job leaders that are looking to refine their skills so they can become even more effective. Many have been in-position for a while, have put in their time, and are wondering what it takes to advance.

In times like that, it seems that some people take to Google with queries like, “how to go from manager to director” or “getting promoted from manager to director.” Queries like that will land you squarely in my “Rules for Advancement” series. It’s nearly four years old, but still gets a lot of search traffic.

Searching for leadership answers

Most leaders can relate to the feeling that sometimes, leadership can be lonely. Every leader has questions, but not every leader knows where to go for answers. The best solution to that is mentorship, but some have nowhere to go with their questions besides the google search screen.

I get a lot of search hits on queries like, “why do I change my mind all the time?” and “how do I reorg my team?” and “how to dress like an executive.”

Searching for googlers

Why did I write this article? Primarily, I wanted to satisfy my own curiosity, and I thought it might be fun to bring you all along for the ride. Each week as I painstakingly pound out these blog articles, I wonder to myself, “Will people like this one?” “Will they read it?” “Will they share it?” “Will some random leader halfway around the world find this article on Google and get impacted by it?”

So, the question I have to ask is this: How did you find Zach on Leadership? Are you one of the many that found me on LinkedIn or Yammer, or one of the rarer ones that found me on Facebook, Twitter, or Medium?

Finally, if there’s anyone that initially found my blog as a result of a google search, then started following me regularly, please let me know in the comments below. I’d love some hard evidence that this Google thing actually works.

For the rest of you, I hope you found this dive into human behavior and search engines interesting. Leaders need all the help they can get. Even from Google.

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