Is Website Ranking Important?
The term "website ranking" is a popular way to define website performance. However, most business owners do not understand how ranking effects a website's performance. And digital marketing firms often promote website ranking services for certain keywords without detailing the advantages (or possible disadvantages). The presumed "value" of a high website ranking is taken at face value.
By promising a high website ranking, a digital marketing firm may make a good impression--but the promise is often empty. Unfortunately, for website owners empty promises translate to wasted money.
The situation is confused, too, because the phrase itself, website ranking, is often not clearly defined by digital marketing firms. Alex Stepman, of Stepman's SEO, notes that many people confuse website ranking with PageRank.
So what's the deal? What is website ranking? And what is PageRank?
Website Ranking & PageRank
In the SEO community, website ranking is often correlated with (or confused with) PageRank--Google's first true algorithm for sorting and ranking web pages. When it was introduced, PageRank worked on the premise of links:
"PageRank work[ed] by counting the number and quality of links to a page to determine a rough estimate of how important the website is. The underlying assumption is that more important websites are likely to receive more links from other websites" (Source).
Naturally, in the past, SEOs emphasized links to achieve high placement on the SERP. During this time, PageRank was logically linked with "website ranking." The higher your PageRank the higher your website ranking. At the time, too PageRank was easily identified in the Google Toolbar. Website owners could see the "value" of their website based on a simple, numerical system. As the Wikipedia article on PageRank explains:
"The most popular websites [had] a PageRank of 10. The least [had] a PageRank of 0."
When PageRank was the only ranking factor, a 10 was a good indication of popularity. Today, however, Google uses more than 200 ranking factors, and PageRank's importance has diminished.
When a user performs a Google search, then, Google delivers the most relevant results, but even on the first page results not all websites enjoy a high PageRank. Even without a high PageRank, many websites appear on the first SERP. These sites have optimized for other factors, including quality content.
"Do not confuse the issue," Stepman says. "A PageRank score is not the same as website ranking. Your website ranking is, simply, the spot your site holds on the SERP, which can be revealed by a simple Google search or by trying any number of tools."
Is Website Ranking Important?
Last year, Search Engine Land asked "Do organic keyword rankings matter anymore?"
"With the evolution of paid advertising and expansion of universal search," wrote Julia Connors, "as well as Google’s continuous efforts to provide consumers with content that resolves their demands...the opportunities attached to traditional keyword rankings are diminishing at an alarming rate."
Still, a high ranking is not without value. Industry studies about website ranking often reveal similar results: The first SERP (search engine results page) attracts most traffic: 91.5%, for example, according to an analysis by Infront Webworks, a web development and marketing company.
The same analysis revealed that the first three organic spots on the SERP attract more than 50% of all clicks.
This analysis agrees with a 2013 study from Chitika, that revealed the first result receives 33% of all traffic; the second about 18%; and the third 11%. Chitika also found the first page attracts nearly 92% of all traffic.
However, a high website ranking alone does not necessarily equate to profits. First you must attract a click--and then a conversion.
And this is way equating website performance with website ranking is misleading. As Connors notes for Search Engine Land:
"One of the problems with keyword rankings is that any consumer can click through to a website and immediately leave because the title tag and meta description didn’t align with the content of its associated landing page. Ranking first on Google does not mean that every visitor is going to turn into a paying customer because of how limited keywords are for understanding granular details associated with online consumers."
So website ranking matters, but not as much as a click and a conversion.
Read "How to Analyze Three Key Website Data Points to Improve SEO"
Beyond Website Ranking: Website Optimization with Stepman's SEO
At Stepman's SEO, Alex Stepman helps small to medium-sized businesses build and promote websites that inspire clicks and conversions. For more information, call Alex today: 215-900-9398.
By promising a high website ranking, a digital marketing firm may make a good impression--but the promise is often empty. Unfortunately, for website owners empty promises translate to wasted money.
The situation is confused, too, because the phrase itself, website ranking, is often not clearly defined by digital marketing firms. Alex Stepman, of Stepman's SEO, notes that many people confuse website ranking with PageRank.
So what's the deal? What is website ranking? And what is PageRank?
 |
| A graph of PageRank, as visualized by a University of Amsterdam study. |
In the SEO community, website ranking is often correlated with (or confused with) PageRank--Google's first true algorithm for sorting and ranking web pages. When it was introduced, PageRank worked on the premise of links:
"PageRank work[ed] by counting the number and quality of links to a page to determine a rough estimate of how important the website is. The underlying assumption is that more important websites are likely to receive more links from other websites" (Source).
Naturally, in the past, SEOs emphasized links to achieve high placement on the SERP. During this time, PageRank was logically linked with "website ranking." The higher your PageRank the higher your website ranking. At the time, too PageRank was easily identified in the Google Toolbar. Website owners could see the "value" of their website based on a simple, numerical system. As the Wikipedia article on PageRank explains:
"The most popular websites [had] a PageRank of 10. The least [had] a PageRank of 0."
When PageRank was the only ranking factor, a 10 was a good indication of popularity. Today, however, Google uses more than 200 ranking factors, and PageRank's importance has diminished.
When a user performs a Google search, then, Google delivers the most relevant results, but even on the first page results not all websites enjoy a high PageRank. Even without a high PageRank, many websites appear on the first SERP. These sites have optimized for other factors, including quality content.
"Do not confuse the issue," Stepman says. "A PageRank score is not the same as website ranking. Your website ranking is, simply, the spot your site holds on the SERP, which can be revealed by a simple Google search or by trying any number of tools."
Is Website Ranking Important?
Last year, Search Engine Land asked "Do organic keyword rankings matter anymore?"
"With the evolution of paid advertising and expansion of universal search," wrote Julia Connors, "as well as Google’s continuous efforts to provide consumers with content that resolves their demands...the opportunities attached to traditional keyword rankings are diminishing at an alarming rate."
Still, a high ranking is not without value. Industry studies about website ranking often reveal similar results: The first SERP (search engine results page) attracts most traffic: 91.5%, for example, according to an analysis by Infront Webworks, a web development and marketing company.
The same analysis revealed that the first three organic spots on the SERP attract more than 50% of all clicks.
This analysis agrees with a 2013 study from Chitika, that revealed the first result receives 33% of all traffic; the second about 18%; and the third 11%. Chitika also found the first page attracts nearly 92% of all traffic.
However, a high website ranking alone does not necessarily equate to profits. First you must attract a click--and then a conversion.
And this is way equating website performance with website ranking is misleading. As Connors notes for Search Engine Land:
"One of the problems with keyword rankings is that any consumer can click through to a website and immediately leave because the title tag and meta description didn’t align with the content of its associated landing page. Ranking first on Google does not mean that every visitor is going to turn into a paying customer because of how limited keywords are for understanding granular details associated with online consumers."
So website ranking matters, but not as much as a click and a conversion.
Read "How to Analyze Three Key Website Data Points to Improve SEO"
Beyond Website Ranking: Website Optimization with Stepman's SEO
At Stepman's SEO, Alex Stepman helps small to medium-sized businesses build and promote websites that inspire clicks and conversions. For more information, call Alex today: 215-900-9398.
Is Website Ranking Important?
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