A common question asked by businesses who look into search engine optimisation is how important is a high search ranking position in relation to how much traffic will come through to their website. The general assumption (and correctly so) is that the trend is the higher the rank, the higher percentage of total click-throughs to the respective page.
What is surprising however is the percentage at which the top positions command. Recent studies by web based organisation Chitika has mapped click-through usage for positions 1-10 (the first page of Google). The results came back as follows:
Chitika Study Results
Google Result Page Rank |
Average Traffic Share |
1 |
32.5% |
2 |
17.6% |
3 |
11.4% |
4 |
8.1% |
5 |
6.1% |
6 |
4.4% |
7 |
3.5% |
8 |
3.1% |
9 |
2.6% |
10 |
2.4% |
These results can startle many – with position 1 on average receiving 32.5% of the click-through traffic, and the top 3 results taking 61.5% of total traffic. Overall the top 10 results account for 96.5% of ALL total traffic – meaning it is essential that you be ranked on the first page of Google at the very least should you want to receive any reasonable traffic levels for your business. US web design company FT Web noted that they receive a 900% increase in traffic and subsequent flow on leads, when their average position increased from 10 to 2 in their local area – you can imagine what is possible with your business.
What if I’m not on Page 1 – what can I do?
The only way to effectively move your business to Page 1 from it’s current position is to fit Google’s algorithms. Google is the kingmaker in their domain – and accordingly have huge numbers of parameters, guidelines and preferences that they like to see websites use. Those who fit these requirements will rank greater than those who have websites which do not. This can mean a knowledgeable SEO business can optimise your website and build strategies to consistently improve your position to the desired level. Be wary of cowboy operators in the industry who promise fast results – fast results can lead to Google catching onto less than legitimate strategies which can result in ranking penalties being placed on your website, or even complete delisting making it impossible to be found in searches. A recent study from Martin Burundi at www.investburundi.com noted that the majority of respondents who stated they have inferior results with SEO, also had expectations of their SEO provider to provide page 1 results in less than 30 days.
What if my website is on page 1, but the lower ranked positions (5+ position on the page)
That’s actually not so bad. Getting onto the first page of Google is the hardest task for SEO – with a skilled professional it’s possible to improve your rankings towards the more coveted 1-3 position. Likewise it’s worth noting that having first page rankings has ancillary benefits – studies have shown that the majority of searches involve multiple first page click-throughs – if the higher ranked sites do not fit the searchers needs or are poorly built to reflect the quality of the business, it leaves opportunities for your website to outperform and gain traction.
Do you want to get to the top Google ranking positions for your website?
The ClickBurst team can provide a no-obligation discussion about your needs and strategies to get you more customers and grow your business. Connect with Adelaide’s leading SEO professional team today.