Just How Important Are Top Rankings?

[thejenn]

Authored by: Jennifer Laycock

Full Text: http://www.searchengineguide.com/laycock/007391.html

A Snippet:

While much has been said recently (by myself and others) about the over-emphasis placed on search engine rankings, it is still important to keep track of how placement impacts things like branding, searcher impressions and even overall search usage. That's why a recent study put together by iProspect caught my eye.

[NiftyGaloot]

Good article! I agree that 'going after the long tail' is what many small and new businesses should do. I've found it especially true when using adwords, there's no way I could compete for the popular keywords, but going for targeted key phrases, the results are better without all the competition.

[St0n3y]

Good article Jen! Of course, if personalized and localized search ever takes over then search engine rankings really won't matter, only because everybody will get different results. It'll then become a game of Marketing Optimization or Optimization Marketing, take your pick.

I recently read a blog post by Jill saying pretty much the opposite on the whole long tail issue. Jill, I believe, was making a different point and while I agree with you that the long tail is worth going after, I think companies should not shy away from the high-traffic keywords either. We take a dual approach with our clients in order to hit both. The long-tail keywords, when used effectively help build the foundation for the high-traffic phrases to be ranked as well. Those phrases may take quite a bit longer to achieve, but by going after both, you get the more immediate traffic from the long tail while creating a slow build for the others.

[jmjj215]

I agree. I've seen the higher-traffic keyword rankings as "gravy" more than anything else. It's nice to be diversified.

[vangogh]

Thanks for the article Jen and I agree. I think far too many people think getting a top spot in a search engine is everything when it comes to making money in their business. Mu business being just me it would be impossible for me to answer all the rquests were I to show up #1 for some competitive keywords. I'd never have any time to do the work that would bring in revenue.

I prefer a more manageable growth. While I want to increase my traffic and my visibility in search engines I'm not in a rush to be #1. I'd rather focus on converting the visitors I do get into clients and as I grow and can afford to hire others to take on some of the work I'll be happy to see my search presence grow.

While it may seem odd at first thought, too many customers can be just as bad for a business as no customers. If you can't handle all the requests you run the risk of angering many of your customers and losing both them and the trust in your brand.

[thejenn]

Stoney,

I totally see your point and do want to clarify one thing.

I don't think it's wrong to go after "big words." What I think is nuts is for the small mom and pop shop to go after "unrealistic" big words. You and I know that Joe Smith starting up a small shop out of his basement to sell hand crafted wooden flower arrangements isn't going to compete for 'flower arrangements" or "flowers."

Thus, the small business world needs to learn about realistic keyword targeting. Plus, anytime they target those little phrases from the long tail, they are also targeting the big ones.

If Joe optimizes his site for:

unique flower arrangements
wooden flower arrangements
etc...

You and I both know that "flower arrangements" and "flower" are also getting optimized for. Thus, the good thing about this strategy is that it lets them target realistic phrases that they can build their business on while they slowly target those bigger phrases.

Amazon, ebay and Craigslist all started out as teeny, tiny small businesses. They grew.

[Ralph]

Interesting article Jen. I can understand what Vangogh is saying for himself and his business. What do his clients think? I believe they maybe more hung up on the 90% figure. He and his clients may represent both sides of the article. We work in real estate, and our clients in a resort environment, think being on page one is a big deal. Being #1 on page 1 is what they all want. Others who work in a local primary home environment have a web site for other reasons but do not want to be bothered by a lot of hits fishing for general information about the location. Their site is more to provide information/answer questions for the potential client who has already walked through the door or at least first made a phone call. The site has to meet the expectations of the owner. That is helping him meet his goals. That’s where the second tier key words come in and get challenging.

[vangogh]

Jen I agree completely. Newer sites just aren't going to be able to compete on the more generic keywords and I always advise clients to start out by targeting the search tail. Like you said if you do you've still optimized for the more competitve keywords.

Going after the tail allows you to still drive traffic to your site while you build links to compete for the generic keywords. The other benefit to the search tail is that people using longer search phrases are generally closer to making a purchase where those searching on shorter phrases are often still in the information gathering part of their search.

Ralph some of my desire for the manageable growth is due to me being the sole person in a service oriented business. There's only so many websites I can develop at one time and I'd rather not get a reputation as someone who can't handle the client requests. I place a high value on being there quickly when my clients need something done. In time I'd like to hire people to help me grow, but I'm not at that stage yet.

You're right that most of my clients would like to be #1 tomorrow. I don't really do a lot of seo work outright for people in part because most of my clients are small businesses who can't really afford to keep paying me month after month. I tend to do more consulting and I do advise they target the search tail when they start out. I generally advise patience when it comes to seo.

I try to convince people upfront not to look for magic formulas when it comes to optimization. I see too many people agonize over exactly what keywords to use in their meta tags or looking for the perfect keyword density in their content, when I don't think either will make any significant difference. I think the better stratefy is to go after keywords in the tail to drive traffic and as you build more and more links you can target the more generic terms which you've already optimized for within the tail.

[Anitaa]

I agree with you Jen, its like a Marketing strategy. Its always nice to know new keywords.

[AndrewHealth]

Good article - it was interesting to see how the numbers have changed from 2002 to now. Thanks for sharing!