What does a first page Google position really mean?

By Liam Lally 29th July 2010 Blog & 1 more

All search engine optimisation companies talk about getting your website on to the first page of Google.

But what does this mean in terms of actual visitor numbers or potential business.

Research carried out by Chitika Research – looked at the results of over 8.2 million impressions across their entire network, and broke this down based on the positions each result occupied in the Google Natural Search listings results.

The results were as follows:

Google Position 1: 34.35% of the total traffic
Google Position 2: 16.96% of total traffic
Google Position 3: 11.42%
Google Position 4: 7.73%
Google Position 5: 6.19%
Google Position 6: 5.05%
Google Position 7: 4.02%
Google Position 8: 3.47%
Google Position 9: 2.85%
Google Position 10: 2.71%

What is even more interesting is the significant difference between the bottom of page 1 of Google and the top of page 2 of Google – which was a difference of 143% between the two results. Positions on page 2 of Google received the following levels of traffic:

Google position 11: 1.11%
Google position 12: 0.85%
Google position 13: 0.70%
Google position 14: 0.57%
Google position 15: 0.48%
Google position 16: 0.39%
Google position 17: 0.33%
Google position 18: 0.28%
Google position 19: 0.27%
Google position 20: 0.29%

If you were to assume a figure of 2,000 exact match searches per month for a particular key phrase then the top three positions in Google based on these results would be:

Google Position 1: 687 visitors
Google Position 2: 339 visitors
Google Position 3: 228 visitors

This highlights two things – first the research you need to undertake before embarking on any quest to get your website on to the first page of Google for a particular keyphrase. Make sure that the words you choose are WORTH IT. There is no point in paying £1000’s to get a keyword that brings 200 new visitors to your website, of which you convert 2 into paying clients that make you £50 a time.

Secondly, if you ARE looking at search engine optimisation, then you really need to be looking at the competition in those top three positions, this includes how established they are, how old their domain names are, how many links they have coming into their website. I would also look at their page rank (only as a guideline) as to how their website has been “seen” by Google. Generally the older the domain, the more trust Google has for the website – don’t get me wrong, it is not impossible to get a new site listed on the first page (we have just done this for a fishing reels website and we haven’t even put the correct content in yet!!), however if every page in those top 3 positions are very well optimised, have loads of good quality links AND have old domain names, then you will have a real fight on your hands to “dethrone” them from their positions.

As I have mentioned many times before research (your keywords), research (your competition) and research some more (what is the value of a new client to you via your website).

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I recently attended one of Liam's training courses on how to get the best from LinkedIn for business. It was a most informative yet enjoyable morning and I am still not sure how Liam managed to pack so much in to half a day. The pace was just right - lively but totally inclusive - with all the verbal content being backed up by an easy to follow takeaway guide for later use. I look forward to growing my LinkedIn network with all my new knowledge and would thoroughly recommend the course to everyone who is (or wants to be) on LinkedIn.
Sandra Bird - An Shen Acupuncture

Liam has helped me get the most out of LinkedIn ensuring that I have the building blocks to create a great network. He took his time to go through the building of the profiles, all the way through to creating groups and the advertising opportunities. Liam is very passionate about what he does and this shows. He wants all his clients to succeed and really does put in the extra effort. I would recommend Liam to anyone and look forward to using his services again.
Justin Stockdale - Sense Financial Solutions

I had the pleasure of attending a Business Club Lincolnshire meeting where Liam was the guest speaker. The subject of the presentation was "Generating Business Through LinkedIn". Liam clearly demonstrated his passion for the subject and his in-depth knowledge of Social Media as a business tool. Liam was very keen to share that knowledge with the group and was very open and helpful when questions were raised. Liam's presentation was very professional and I would not hesitate to recommend him if you are looking for advice or assistance with Social Media for your business.
Julia McGinn - Stone Moor Business Services

Liam has delivered 3 excellent workshops to employees of Bassetlaw District Council and also to local business owners/managers as part of our business support programme. He is an expert in social networking, search engine optimisation and google adwords and has the rare ability to make the most technical subjects understandable at all levels. Delegates have always left his workshops very much the wiser and enthused to use the knowledge to develop their businesses. We will use Liam's services in future programmes and have recommended him to other training providers.
Steve Walker - Retford Enterprise Centre

I've known Liam now for a few years and its clear he enjoys his work and has a very deep understanding of his subject matter. I've had the pleasure of attending several of Liam's courses as well as seeing his hard work put to good use on several websites and Google AdWord campaigns.
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