The Definition of Habit:

Cue ---> Routine ---> Reward

• A cue is something that triggers a person to do something
• A routine is the action or series of actions triggered by the cue
• The reward is the thing which gives the person pleasure or removes pain or in any other way makes the routine feel worthwhile

For a great overview of this system and marketing, see Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit, or check out his article "The Power of Habit" on Slate.com.

Why does Google Send People to Your Website?

In a very real sense, Google has become the most lucrative habit on the planet.  They have created an almost universal sensation that when I want to know or even experience virtually anything humanity can offer, Googling will bring me the satisfaction I seek.  Now let's talk about how this should totally reinvent how you look at your website and SEO.

Why Does Google Put Some Sites Higher Than Others?

Google stays in business, because Google nurtures the Googling habit.  Google's search business is rooted in sustaining people's Googling habit.  In other words, Google's primary reason for doing anything is to nurture in people the feeling "if I Google, it will come", or, "Google gives me what I want, I must now Google again".  

Want to know which site will perform best in a Google search?  It should always be the one that is most likely to encourage the searcher to search again.  Theoretically speaking, this will always be true.  There are always bugs in the system, but it tends to be Google's number 1 priority to fix those bugs, and punish those who would try to leverage them.  Google's search business model is predicated on the idea that the results they deliver will make people want to Google again.

How do I Use this Information to Get More Traffic to My Website

Good SEO must focus on two things:

1. Creating the content that will make your website's ideal clients happiest to have found it
2. Communicating to Google the following
   1. What your content is
   2. That your content has the a track record of making searchers happy for the terms you are targeting

Let's dissect this a bit:

Creating Killer Content

I'm a big fan of HubSpot.  If you want to know how to write good content and examples of great content along with the secrets of content / inbound Marketing  Check out their blog and the gazilliion articles and ebooks they give away for free.  It will tell you much more than I will here.

Communicating your content with Google

Best resource for how to communicate with Google is probably the Moz guides to SEO.  In a nutshell, it's about knowing a little bit about HTML (h tags, meta-descriptions, and a few other things).  And making sure not to do anything stupid like paying a bunch of crummy websites to link to your website.  

Showing Google that your content has a track record of making searchers happy

This basically takes two forms:

1. Links
2. Shares

The theory goes, if content is good, people will make reference to it and they will share it.  So how do you know if content is good?  See if it's been shared and linked to a bunch of times.  Pretty basic stuff

How to Make Your Website Your Market's Habit

It's obnoxiously simple, and obnoxiously hard:Think like Google.

What's the cue that will bring people to your site?

An email? A Social Media Post?  A Rainy Day?  What cue makes sense?

What's the routine you want them to follow?  Click on a call to action?  Download a book?  Follow you on Twitter?

What's the reward you can deliver?  Higher revenue?  Easier marketing?  Better flooring (shameless plug and backlink to my client in the flooring business, but I think it fits here, no?)?

Would love to hear your thoughts.  Just write below.