While everyone has long known that getting on the first page of Google or other search engine’s results pages was important, a new study from Chitika found out just how critical it is. The study confirms that a full 95% of all search engine traffic clicks on one of the results on the first page. This leaves just 5% of all traffic for the second page and virtually nothing for any pages beyond that. This shows just how important it is to have your site ranking on the first page, and ideally in one of the top few positions if you want to get the traffic you need.
The study breaks it down even further showing that the first spot on the first page gets nearly one third of the total traffic. If you’re in the seventh position on the first page, that number drops down to just 3.5%. This means to get any significant percentage of the search for a given search phrase it is essential to get to the top three or maybe four results. This is, of course, easier said than done for most people.
Successful marketers are able to get on the first page, and often to the top of the first page through many of the same tried and true tasks that have worked for years. Focusing on user experience by providing them with top notch content that they can actually use is essential. Using the approved SEO tips such as meta tags, proper headings and other ‘white hat’ activities is also very important. Basically a site should be built with the user in mind and any activities that are specifically directed at the search engines should be secondary at best.
SEO strategies today need to be thought of in long term plans which will help get a site ranked and keep it ranked long into the future. When done properly people can often get to the first page or two of moderately competitive keywords, and then slowly climb up the rankings by regularly posting excellent content that their readers will enjoy and share. The great thing about this method is that it drives traffic from other sources so even without a top ranking on Google it is possible to get a steady stream of visitors.
