Sphinn - Enough Already! Stop Worrying About Keyword Ranking Reports

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Enough Already! Stop Worrying About Keyword Ranking Reports

Posted By: St0n3y 424 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.smallbusinesssem.com)
Category: SEO

On behalf of search marketers everywhere, I urge you: Put down your rankings reports. They’re not providing you nearly the value you think they are. Rather than focusing on how Google and Yahoo rank your site, focus on how your human visitors rank your site.

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from scurtin 424 days ago #

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I agree with the general premise but would temper it. “Put down your 'over-blown' ranking reports”. Business owners should be looking at the entire marketing/sales funnel, starting with visibility. Ranking reports should be used more strategically, making sure you have the share of voice in the SE's on the right keywords that drive qualified customers to your site to satisfy your business objectives. And don't stop after the click - drive the right user action. I think that's the real take away from this post.

from planetc1 424 days ago #

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Glad matt took the time to write this. I get emails all the time that say... "I googled [keyword] and I was not at the top of the list." For many I speak to, that is the 'only' way they measure.

from MattMcGee 424 days ago #

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Thx for the sphinn, Stoney. And thx for the good comments, scurtin and Michael.

from qwerty 424 days ago #

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Amen!

from SearchBuzz 424 days ago #

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Matt,

I agree with this post and feel some get fixated on rankings (I am raising my hand as one).....shoot I know in-house SEO's that get bonuses for hitting ranking benchmarks.

With that aside...do you feel this applies to all industries equally?

As an e-comm site, certainly I pay attention to bounce rate, page views, conversions, but without high rankings, and heavy traffic, those numbers wouldn't exist.

I realize usability and the end user's are very important factors in the equation, but assuming all those ducks are line, would you still feel as strongly about rankings?

Good post...

from earlpearl 410 days ago #

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As an seo and business operator I'm concerned about rankings. I'm concerned about more. I'm really concerned about rankings and conversions. If I had 50,000 keyword phrases, as Rand referenced, that is too many for a single person or group of people. Like any modern business I'd need reports that categorized those keywords/products to be able to act on them and would need groups of people to take appropriate reactions.

If I have a managable set of keywords and kywrd phrases that lead to conversions I'd be focused on the steps of the sale, which is always like a funnel. Rankings are at the top of the funnel. The higher the rankings the more opportunities for clicks. Next comes the snippet under the ranking, it helps create a click, then comes the landing page for the keyword, etc. etc. etc.

Ultimately I need to check on all the steps within the funnel. The widest part of the funnel and the opportunity for the most traffic are rankings. It is an appropriate thing in which to be focused but is also only one of the steps.

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