Small Business SEO Case Study: Reaching The First Page Of Google Is Not Good Enough

Straight Talk From a Small Business SEO Specialist

I hear talk from business people about how they want to see their business on the first page of Google. Each week, I get calls from solicitors claiming they can get my website on the first page of Google for this keyword or that keyword.

As an SEO specialist, I can tell you this: Don’t believe the hype about getting on the first page of Google. You have to dig a little deeper and really understand what that means.

Searching for Small Business SEO?

Let me share an example from my own website at mikemunterseo.com.

I am on the first page of Google for the keyword “small business seo”. This is a term that in September 2011 got 2400 exact local monthly searches according to data I extracted from Google’s Keyword Tool.

What this indicates is that 2400 times inside the United States for the month of September, searchers typed the exact words “small business seo” into Google, in that order, as part of their query. In the course of this exact same time, my web site bounced about the lower half of page 1, perhaps reaching as high as the 6th position, but usually on page 1 – at least it was each and every time I checked, which was about once per week. Let’s assume my average position was #8.

Looking at my Google Analytics data, I can see that during this same time period, I received exactly 16 visitors from the keyword “small business seo”. Wow! That is less than 1%.

What About “Affordable Small Business SEO”

Let’s take a look at a different term I am ranking for – affordable small business seo. This term received 170 exact local searches in September. I’d guess that in September I probably spent most of my time in 4th position, so I got a 2% return, having gotten 3 visitors from this term, during that time frame.

As you can see, in order to generate a good volume of qualified traffic to your website, you need to be high up on the page for keywords that a lot of people are searching for. (I’ve heard that the #1 spot gets close to 50% of the clicks.) The next time you hear a claim of being on the first page of Google, you will know that there is a lot more to the story. Best of luck in your rise to the top!

Mike Munter is a small business SEO specialist who works with clients to help them generate more leads for their business using the vast power of the internet. He works hard to get them high atop the first page of Google search results. Find him online at mikemunterseo.com.