Web Design Book - Why getting top on Google doesn’t matter

Too many search engine companies promise to get you “to the top of Google”. That’s not what matters. What’s important is using Google to help get more visitors to your website and then turning those visitors into paying customers.

Being top of Google DOESN’T matter

The most successful web businesses are often NOT top of Google. However they DO get lots of visitors. How? Because they’re on the first or second page (but not top) for literally hundreds of key words.

Think about it. Supposing you run a talent agency in Kent. How many people are likely to search for “talent ageny Kent”? A few, but probably not a lot. Trying to get top for one or two keywords is like putting all your eggs in one basket - if it doesn’t work you’ll go hungry.

It’s much better to be on page 2 for 100 keywords than get the number 1 spot for only 1 or 2. You’ll end up with more visitors overall.

What’s more, if somebody bothers to look at the bottom of the first page for the second page of Google then they’re a determined customer. They REALLY want what you’re selling.

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What makes a site do well in Google?

Is it meta tags, page rank or inbound links? The truth is, different people will tell you different things.

So how do you know who’s right and who’s wrong?

This article from SEOmoz is co-written by 37 (that’s thirty seven!) of the world’s top SEO experts. This is priceless information:

Search Ranking Factors

Looking at your website statistics is very funny sometimes.

My two sites, Web Design Book and Richard Quick Design both rank well for key phrases you’d expect like “web design portfolio”, “web design book”, “in easy steps” and “web design Cornwall”. However, they also pop up for some really bizarre searches, including:
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A lot of people think SEO is sleazy, but actually it’s a perfectly legitimate strategy that’s misunderstood by a lot of web designers.

Here’s a great post explaining why SEO isn’t sleazy.

The BBC recently posted an interesting article on some of the dodgier aspects of SEO, like link bombs and hidden keywords.

If you’re a beginner and want to know more, then check it out.

‘Cheating’ the search engines