Google attracts two-thirds of worldwide searches.
Still, you can reap dividends from impressing the search giant's closest rival, which happens to be neither Yahoo! nor Bing.
Its name is YouTube. In August 2008, YouTube outstripped Yahoo! for the first time in total US search queries, becoming the second-largest search giant, eclipsed only by its owner, Google (yes, Google's main competitor is itself).
Since then, the massive video-sharing site has retained its lofty position. So, you must know how to "broadcast yourself" - or your small business - and make a splash on the site, which was founded by three former PayPal workers just five years ago and now receives 24 hours of video every minute.
The good news: because everyone fixates on wooing Google, YouTube is, by comparison, seduced easily - all the more so because less secrecy shrouds its machinations. Find out how to catch YouTube's roving eye and ride high in its ranking.
Six secrets to rank higher on YouTube
1. CAPTIVATE THE CAMERA
The footage you produce must be engaging and short, said the founder of a web-marketing business (internet-engine.net) focused on search engine optimisation, Thom Disch. "A minute is probably fine but five minutes is probably too long," Mr Disch said. Whatever the length, ensure you have something to say. Technical quality matters little but the video must grab the viewer through humour, for example, or by solving a problem. To see witty classics that demand to be viewed, run a YouTube search on "Will it Blend".
2. SLANT THE SCRIPT
A clever or provocative title and description, along with appropriate tags, are key to YouTube popularity, according to Mr Disch. Take a stance, like marketingprofessor.com - a small-business site that hosts a clip catchily titled "Top Twitter Blunders".
3. GO MOGUL
Instead of just recruiting a third party or marketer to upload your video to an external channel, take charge. Launch your own channel, advised video-marketing expert Donna Davis, who lectures on the art of climbing YouTube's ladder. A channel devoted to promoting your business enables you to spread the word with rank-boosting "channel tags" and keywords.
4. GET CONCEPTUAL
When choosing keywords, instead of crassly repeating your business name, enlist popular search phrases. For instance, if you are a kitchen design firm called ABC Kitchens, embed keywords such as "kitchen ideas", Ms Davis suggested. YouTube visitors are pragmatists on the hunt for how-to videos. Enlighten them.
5. FEED FORWARD
When visitors are drawn to view, rate or respond to your video, that boosts your ranking. Fuel involvement by making a call to action - a formulaic statement such as "please rank and comment on this video" or "post on your Facebook page" will do the trick, according to Ms Davis. Build engagement by "pinging" - issuing updates about your business through your YouTube channel's inbuilt RSS (really simple syndication) feature. Submitting the RSS feed to distribution sites (rss-specifications.com/rss-submission.htm) will give your channel wings - miniature news- network reach.
6. SPREAD THE LOVE
Finally, reach out. Add friends to your YouTube channel, subscribe to other people's channels and praise other people's videos. To be more sociable still, comment on similar videos. "If you liked this video, you'll want to see this one," you could say, embedding a link to your video in the comment. Remember, every time someone watches your video, your budding channel gains visibility, paving your way to YouTube ascendancy and perhaps even a smidgeon of social-media stardom.
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