Apologies in advance if this reads as a snarky post, but I just gotta rant.
One of the really frustrating points coming to UKBF and reading the discussions on SEO is that people keep talking about "ranking on Google" and being on the "first page", and looking at the number of search results as an indicator of competition.
Here's a big pointer:
There's no point ranking for a search term that delivers no conversions
SEO is all about getting not traffic quantity, but traffic quality, and leveraging volume of targeted traffic to increase conversions, whether in terms of sales, signups, or similar.
A lot of times I've read people posting about ranking for keyword searches, but the pointer isn't simply to rank, but to rank for something that matters.
Additionally, the number of search results returned is absolutely not an indicator of how difficult it is to rank for a keyword - it's simply a statement of keyword frequency in Google's documents.
How difficult a keyword is to rank for is determined simply on how many people are chasing it.
You can rest assured that the second keyword is *far* more competitive than the first, because a lot of people will be targeting the second keyword, and not the first.
OVERALL - having a presence on Google means nothing unless that presence is noticed, and the more it is noticed in a very targeted way, the more likely you are to be able to convert the traffic from that attention.
So please, stop thinking in generic terms about "ranking on Google" - think more about having a "targeted presence".
That way, you can focus on what really matters: bringing real customers to your website more effectively - rather than focus on meaningless indicators which will deliver you nothing in real terms.
I agree with you and it's something I've pointed out myself on more than one occasion. The problem is that your comments will be buried under a pile of newer threads within a week all asking the same old questions.
There's plenty of seo companies who don't understand the points you're making so if they don't get it, how can the customers?
I agree with Brian insofar converting traffic is the only traffic worth having, and that may come from high organic ranking, PPC, referrals, offline marketing etc.
But Brian is pointing out the results not the competition. It is a relevent phrase for that business that will attract the right visitor in order to create the conversion, based on as little competion as possible. But looking at the results they appear comparable, which I thought was the point.
Mick
Quote:
Originally Posted by RayB
I agree with Brian insofar converting traffic is the only traffic worth having, and that may come from high organic ranking, PPC, referrals, offline marketing etc.
However, I do want to correct this example, because to see who is competing for a phrase you need to enclose the phrase in "" speechmarks.
But Brian is pointing out the results not the competition. It is a relevent phrase for that business that will attract the right visitor in order to create the conversion, based on as little competion as possible. But looking at the results they appear comparable, which I thought was the point.
Mick
Thats the way i understood the point as well.
I also agree with what Brian is saying.
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Chris Jones
Searchlogic Online Marketing Agency
0845 634 2804
Ok, just to clarify, if I had the words pink, elephant and london on a page - anywhere on that page, and not even next to each other, then my page would be one of those 2 million results.
Using the speech marks tells us the competition which is only 2 pages - a heck of a difference!
Very true RayB, but when people are searching they don't tend to use quotation marks.
In fact, if you take a look where the two companies that do show up on the "" show on the search without quotations, they are no-where to be seen.
The only thing to focus on is getting to converting traffic. If you can get to page one with the right traffic, then you will have more 'correct' visitors than if you were on page two with the same keyword.
But Brian is pointing out the results not the competition. It is a relevent phrase for that business that will attract the right visitor in order to create the conversion, based on as little competion as possible. But looking at the results they appear comparable, which I thought was the point.
Mick
Indeed, was my original point.
The trouble with speech marks is again, it doesn't really tell you the level of competition involved.
For example, here's a less obtuse example:
"read a book" - nearly 2 million results, but how many companies are actively and aggressively trying to rank for that keyword search?
Again, all it's telling you is how frequently the keyword/phrase is found - but tells you nothing about just how competitive it is to rank top for that keyword.
More to the point, would it actually deliver any decent level of conversions for a site, if ranked?
Very true RayB, but when people are searching they don't tend to use quotation marks.
Quite agreed, but the reason I posted what I did is because Brian said
Quote:
How difficult a keyword is to rank for is determined simply on how many people are chasing it.
and then gave examples of searches not encased in "" - which DOES NOT show how many people are chasing it - so again - it was a point of clarification.
Also, I was not correcting this to be pedantic - but for the benefit of SEO novices who read these threads trying to learn stuff
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