SEO and the Truth about SERPS

So many businesses approach SEO with the aim to be number one in Google...with little thought to what they are ranking for and how this will affect their bottom line. 

However, your website rankings don’t tell the whole story.

Performing in search engine result pages is obviously a very important aspect of online success, however, if you want your rankings to have real business benefit then you will need to make sure that you are ranking for relevant key phrases for your business, and also that these keyphrases are working for you. 

Always remember, rankings are not the only things that are important in e-commerce. 

Make sure that if you are performing for relevant key phrases, that you are also showing a rate of conversion for the same keywords.

Increased Conversion - If you are number one in Google SERPS for your chosen keyphrase, but no one is visiting your website, or buying your products, then you haven’t really succeeded. You may have managed to increase traffic through solid key phrase research, which is good, but if you haven’t increased your sales its time to question why this is. If there are barriers to conversion on your site it won't matter if your have 2,000 visitors a week or 2,000,000 because you wont be fulfilling your true sales potential.

Performing in Google for Specific Terms - this helps improve brand awareness and visibility, which makes it a very smart move for any online business. Occupying the top of organic and paid search listings can not only pay off in terms of performance marketing – it can also have a big impact on consumers perception of brands, according to a Google sponsored study from Enquiro Research. [Source: Enquiro via Econsultancy blog, December 2007]

Case Study: Honda

Using Honda as the test brand and fuel-efficiency as the test brand attribute, the Google-sponsored study focused on consumers that were at an early stage in the process of selecting and buying a car.

– It found that when Honda appeared at the top of the paid search and organic rankings, consumers were 16% more likely to think of the manufacturers cars as fuel efficient than when its brand didn't appear on the page.

– Participants were also 42% more likely to recall Honda if it was highest in both listings, rather than just top in the organic rankings.

So if you want to suceed in the online world, it's vital to ensure that you are performing for the key phrases that will help improve your brand awareness and that any negative press in relation to your brand is dealt with quickly, constructively and quietly.

It is vital to see the bigger picture in relation to SEO, because the companies that don't fully make use of the internet within their marketing strategy are likely to be left behind by their competitors who are more ahead of the game.