A major Search Engine Optimization (SEO) goal that we hear from small businesses is they want to rank on page one of a Google search. This means when a potential customer searches for the business’ core product or service offering, that business will appear on the fist page of the query results.
While getting to page one of Google is a vital first step for small business SEO, it shouldn’t be your end goal. Below we’ll share some fresh insights into why ranking on the first page isn’t enough:
Google Search Results Are Increasingly Complex
The increased visibility of Pay-Per-Click ads, Google’s new shopping feature, and personalized and localized search results have all pushed organic search results further down page one. For example, a search for “Tucson sunset” from a Tucson-area IP address returns the time of the sunset that day, images of local sunsets, and then organic search results toward the middle of the page.  With this added competition for space at the top of a Search Engine Results Page (SERP), businesses that want to see more clicks should strive to be as high up on page one as possible.
The Top Three Results Win the Most Clicks
Being on page one is a start, but did you know that more than half of all searchers will click on one of the top three results? This makes results four through 10 seem almost obsolete! In research conducted by eConsultancy and reported by Search Engine Watch, 48% of searchers click the first result, 12% click the second, and 8% click the third. The remaining seven search results receive a combined 32% of click traffic. Another study by Agent SEO shows that clicks drop by about 45% between results three and four, and the click rate continues to diminish throughout the remaining results through number 10.
The above information should illustrate the difference between being on page one of Google and being in the top half of the results. The SEO experts at Anchor Wave can help your small business steadily improve it its SERP position and even calculate how many clicks you can expect to gain by moving up a position. To learn more about SEO for your Tucson business, contact us today at (520) 622-3731.
