07/04/2020
What is the difference between and ?
Answer:
Analogies are so powerful.
They help you understand things in a way that is not only creative but also so intuitive.
Our VP, Marketing once asked me to explain to him in simple language what is the difference between and .
This was after months of discussions in which I tried to explain to him about Search in general and what kind of marketing we do in search.
I thought all night and came up with this:
Say there is a Shopping mall – owned by Google. You want to hire a space in that mall on the ground floor for your shop because there is a huge footfall in that mall.
You approach and say that I am relevant to the customers walking into your mall – can you give me space for setting up my shop. Google says, Cool! If you are relevant to my customers I will give you space for free but you will have to keep up your game all the time to be relevant to my customer otherwise I will shift your shop to 2nd Floor.
That’s in principle (Search Engine Optimisation) for you.
Now Google, says ‘You know something, I am running out of space in my mall and there is hell lot of demand for Ground Floor positions. If you are ready to shell out some money, I will give you ground floor position to set up your shop and on top of that you can also put a board in front of your shop to display the offers/marketing message you want from time to time but yes you still have to be relevant to my customer’s demand’
That’s in principle (Search Engine Optimisation) for you. A mix of relevance and investment.
Result: Sir was happy that he finally got the intuition behind it and I was relieved that I could explain it simply.
It made me think about the power of simplicity – simple words, brevity and innovative way of looking at things. This analogy may not have been completely accurate but served its purpose I guess.
Have you ever explained something to someone using a creative analogy? I would love to know your thoughts.
