THE VALUE OF A #1 RANKING

In today’s Internet-­‐based and data-­‐driven world, SEO is cri8cal to a website’s success. Regardless of a company’s focus or industry, implemen8ng a strong SEO strategy will help improve rankings and drive more traffic to their site. A strong SEO strategy can help achieve page 1 and even #1 rankings on Google that can be extremely valuable to any business. However, SEO is challenging and staying in front of the 500+ algorithm updates Google puts out a year to achieve that ever elusive #1 spot is certainly a lot of work. So what is it really worth? What exactly is the value of a #1 ranking in Google? This eBook will help marketers understand why being #1 when it relates to SEO really does maPer.

#1

UNDERSTANDING RANKING FACTORS

“We l o o k a t i t a s s ome t h i n g d e s i g n e d t o t a c k l e l ow -­‐ q u a l i t y c o n t e n t . I t s t a r t e d o u t w i t h p a n d a , a n d t h e n w e n o 8 c e d t h a t t h e r e

w a s s 8 l l a l o t o f s p am a n d p e n g u i n w a s d e s i g n e d t o t a c k l e t h a t . ”

Ma7 Cu7s

UND E R S T A N D I N G R A N K I N G F A C T O R S T h e V a l u e o f a # 1 R a n k i n g

To get started in SEO, you need to understand the key

factors Google looks at when calcula8ng rankings. With

over 200 factors contribu8ng to the Google algorithm, it

can be hard to understand exactly what goes into gaining

that #1 spot. And while both Panda and Penguin are

important algorithm updates, the overall approach is that

quality is far more important than quan8ty. Between on-­‐

page and off-­‐page SEO efforts, the focus should always be

on the quality of the strategy, tac8cs, and links to ensure

that you are in line with the Google best prac8ces and

quality assurance. That will give you the best chance of

achieving that #1 ranking.

GOOGLE’S TOP ORGANIC SPOT

So just how important is that #1 spot on Google? Well, as marketers, the goal almost always 8es back to ROI which means the first step is to understand how different organic Google rankings translate in terms of ROI for your site. While there are many intangibles related to SEO prac8ces, there are ways to measure varying factors in order to understand the value of that #1 ranking for you and your company.

GOOG L E ’ S T O P O R G AN I C S P O T T h e V a l u e o f a # 1 R a n k i n g

Recent studies have been on par with past results, and a 2013 Chi8ka study was

similar to their 2010 research in that nearly 33% of all traffic share goes to the number

one posi8on when it comes to Google organic rankings. The number two spot holds

almost 18% of the traffic share, number three has 11%, and the drop off con8nues

drama8cally from there (data illustrated below). Considering the difference in traffic

volume by rank, there absolutely is a higher value in being ranked in the covered #1

spot.

Now that there’s a clear understanding of traffic share by volume, the next step is to

evaluate the revenue associated with your key terms and review that against the

posi8on they are ranked organically. Since this will vary based on your website,

business, and industry among other factors such as goals, this is where it’s really up to

each marketer to do their own research based on the data available to them, specific

to their site.

GOOG L E ’ S T O P O R G AN I C S P O T T h e V a l u e o f a # 1 R a n k i n g

Google’s Organic Traffic Share by Rank

32.50%

17.60%11.40%8.10%

6.10%4.40%

3.50%3.10% 2.60% 2.40% 1

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WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU

“ I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o r emembe r w i t h S EO i s t h a t i t i s n o t a “ s e t i t a n d f o r g e t i t ” t y p e o f s i t u a 8 o n . R e g u l a r o p 8m i z a 8 o n a n d u p d a t e s

a r e r e q u i r e d f o r a s i t e t o c o n 8 n u e t o fl o u r i s h i n l i n e w i t h a l l o f t h e o n g o i n g

G o o g l e a l g o r i t hm c h a n g e s . a l g o r i t hm c h a n g e s . ”

WHA T T H I S M E A N S F O R Y O U T h e V a l u e o f a # 1 R a n k i n g

By conduc8ng compe88ve SEO research periodically, a company can track their site’s staying power at the top of Google. It is important to remember with SEO is that it is not a “set it and forget it” type of situa8on. Regular op8miza8on and updates are required for a site to con8nue to flourish in line with all of the ongoing Google algorithm changes. Targe8ng the right terms for your business, coupled with research to understand poten8al search volume and value of those terms is the founda8on of a good SEO strategy. Tracking site traffic for those keywords year over year will help quan8fy that success, and determine if or when any changes need to be made to what terms you are targe8ng.

Once you know your core terms, and have worked to op8mize them and track their performance over 8me, tools such as Google Analy8cs will help you 8e traffic, conversions, and leads/sales back to your SEO efforts. Knowing what terms are in the top posi8on in Google, and being able to quan8fy their value through cold, hard data will go a long way in understanding the true value of those #1 rankings. Tying in top keywords, their posi8on in organic lis8ngs, and their data from Analy8cs will help 8e all the pieces together to quan8fy the results of your efforts. Keep in mind that SEO is an ongoing effort and while organic clicks are free, the effort that goes into obtaining the rankings to get those clicks comes at the cost of hard work and resources, be it internal or from an SEO agency. Understanding the cost of that work, tracked back to the success of the targeted terms and their corresponding revenue, can tell the true value of SEO and those #1 rankings.

WHITE-­‐HAT SEO

Each 8me Google’s Webspam Team, headed by MaP CuPs, develops and deploys an algorithm change, the impacts can be felt across the web as to how website rankings change. While many online marketers and SEO specialists prac8ce white-­‐hat tac8cs, as the algorithms are updated and look deeper and deeper into a website’s history, past issues or poor tac8cs can become a source for ranking decreases, even years later. To prevent this, make sure you are always staying within best prac8ces for Google, and it should go without saying that a long term white-­‐hat strategy will beat out any short term quick-­‐win when it comes to SEO.

WH I T E H A T S E O T h e V a l u e o f a # 1 R a n k i n g

CuPs and Team con8nue to update algorithms (over 500 per year on average!) in a constant effort to deliver the best results for the end user, regardless of company size or adver8sing budget. To make sure you are in line with what Google is looking for, here are a few quick bullets to keep in mind:

•  Focus on building links from high-­‐quality, content-­‐rich sites

•  Avoid paid links completely

•  Keep link-­‐building to sites that are relevant to that specific industry

•  Avoid overly op8mized anchor text links

•  Create a content-­‐rich, well-­‐wriPen website •  Follow all generally accepted SEO best prac8ces (i.e., no black hat tac8cs)

CONCLUSION

SEO is not something that can be measured linearly and an SEO program takes 8me to develop so a liPle pa8ence is required. Calcula8ng the success of a well-­‐executed SEO strategy is more than coun8ng leads or sales. It includes monitoring improved rankings, traffic increases, and a company’s increases in ROI and profitability. It is clear that the top spot in Google organic search rankings can result in great financial rewards for any company, regardless of industry. And with MaP CuPs and his Webspam Team at the helm, companies had bePer play by the rules of organic search as set by Google or they may find themselves suffering a penalty, which could kill their business.

Teknicks has pioneered the art of link acquisition, engaging, and increasing quality search engine rankings, traffic, and ROI since 2004. The company’s portfolio of clients includes some of the most well-known brands in the world. The ever-evolving, dedicated team of SEM experts at Teknicks is always learning how to stay in lock-step with search engines, like Google, in order to implement the latest white hat strategies before algorithm changes take place.

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