Once upon a time, not so long ago, rankings were the be-all and end-all of internet marketing. Businesses hiring a team of SEO consultants would expect their brand to appear on the top page of Google permanently, and some were willing to pay for this result regardless of the techniques employed.
This focus on visibility over credibility or ethics led to websites carrying hidden content, keyword-stuffed text (which was all but unreadable for users), and paid links from poor-quality sites. Since then, thankfully, search engines have clamped down on such behavior, rewarding domains which rely on solid content and smart techniques while penalizing those with black-hat methods.
Today, rankings and rankings alone are not a good marketing goal; there are more important things in a successful campaign. Here’s why.
Rankings Do Not Equal Conversions
High rankings alone do not give you a flock of visitors willing to put money into your pockets. You can achieve high rankings for quality keywords and receive a glut of traffic, but this might not result in extra income.
Keywords are only worth pursuing if they are truly relevant to the products and services offered on your site. Misleading customers, or bending the truth even only slightly, will quickly lead to high bounce rates. For example, if you specialize in discounted men’s designer goods only, with no women’s products at all, using ‘cheap Prada dresses’ as a keyword may help to drive traffic, but visitors are unlikely to stick around.
Use only relevant, honest keywords. Building trust with your potential customers and finding them organically is worth far more to your reputaiton and revenue than gaining empty traffic.
Rankings Will Fluctuate Over Time
Throughout a single day, you may notice your rankings change. While you might hold the top spot at noon, by four you could have dropped a place or two. This is par for the course in the world of digital marketing, and you have to expect these changes from time to time.
Focusing your energy and creativity on maintaining the same ranking for days, weeks, and even months on end is unlikely to bear the fruit you expect. Instead, target your attention on keeping your site the best, most relevant experience it can be for users.
Geo-Targeting Affects Rankings
Thanks to geo-targeting, users’ results are refined by their location. For example, when Google knows you are searching for ‘hair salons with nail painting’ in Phoenix, it will bring you a localized selection. Searching for the same term in Chicago or New York City will achieve equally different results.
Geo-targeting means you cannot expect your rankings to remain the same for every user, and is another reason you should not judge the success of your SEO campaign on rankings alone.
As an experienced Orange County SEO agency, we can help your business boost conversions and enjoy greater visibility through tried-and-true techniques. To learn more about what we can do for you, just give us a call!