In a recent post, 3 Findings on Real-Time Trust and Influence in Online Communities, I wrote about how an inbound link from a very popular Facebook Fan Page, positively impacted my site traffic. Here's a screen shot of the Facebook Fan Page's inbound link, and the referral to its Fans about my blog post:
This Inbound Link and Relevant Keywords Helped One of My Blog Posts Achieve Page-One Results in Google Searches
This inbound link also had another important effect on my blog: placement of my blog post, 3 Social Media Tips for Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love, on the first page of organic Google search results. The post shows up in different places on the first page of organic Google Searches and Google Blog Searches (depending on the keywords typed into Google).
Here are some example screenshots where my blog post or my blog has shown up on the coveted Google 1st Page:
Page-One Google Results Drive the Most Click Traffic …
Earlier this year, iCrossing published research explaining why gaining a page-one result in organic Google searches is critically important:
* Potential customers begin their decision making process with a search engine
* These customers trust that a search engine will bring forth the best and most relavent results
* On average, 95.3% of all non-branded natural search traffic comes from a Page-One result from a search conducted in Google, Yahoo!, or Bing
* If your search result lands on the second or third page, you're likely to garner only 1.6% to 3.4% of the natural search traffic to your website – minimal impact
* The other way to look at this data — 95% of all users aren't going that deep into their search results because they stop after search result #10
… and the #1 Ranked Search Result Drives 34% of that Traffic
Here's a great graph from Chitika.com showing the Percent of Traffic by Google Result (or Google Search Position):
This picture further reinforces the importance of gaining a Page-One Organic Search Result. If you can't achieve the #1 search position, your goal is to earn positions #2 through #10. Why? Your opportunity to earn search traffic drops significantly if your search result land in positions #11 to #20 (e.g., your search result lands on page 2).
Conclusion
Google rewarded my blog post with Page-One organic search results for different keyword searches for two (2) reasons:
#1: A High Authority Inbound Link from a Popular Facebook Page
#2: Relevant Keywords in the Blog Post Title and/or URL.
It only takes one high authority inbound link or careful placement of relavent keywords in your blog post title and/or URL to improve your Google Search Rankings. These examples also underscore the SEO implications for carefully choosing the blog post titles and wordings in the URLs.
Furthermore, the research data reinforces why earning a Page-One search engine drives website or blog traffic. If you're fortunate to earn the #1 position, the top ranking search result always gains a disproportionate share of the click traffic. Therefore, looking for and understanding opportunities to improve keyword selection with our blog titles, URLs, and website content increases the likelihood of achieving a Page-One Search Result and earning more click-generated traffic.
BONUS SECTION
If you read this far in my post, I thank you. Here are links to the research I found on the value of Page-One Organic Google Results:
* Chitika.com Research: The Value of Google Result Positioning
* Seobook.com: What is a #1 Google Ranking Worth?
* eMarketer: Organic Search Still Reigns
* Accuracast.com: First Page Listings on Google Even More Important
* Wordstream.com: SERP – Why "SERP" is the Most Important Acronym for Your Business
* iProspect White Paper: Search Engine User Behavior Study April 2006
* Enquiro.com: Organic Click-Through Rates Not So Elusive Anymore
* eConsultancy: Report Reveals Google's Organic CTR (Click-Through-Rate)
People have been using Google and build its reputation, and now it will give confidence to local stars. Simply because the company is registered at the local does not mean that they have been around for some time, or who have no real meaning content of their website.
@Motorcycle, your comment is why Facebook threatens Google in search. Your point that just because a company is registered at the local level doesn’t mean that company has been around for some time points to the issue of social context.
Social context or the perspectives our social graph provides (e.g., the other folks we’re connected to) is what Facebook and Twitter can provide while Google cannot. Google’s failed acquisition of Groupon was an important attempt to provide greater context in their local search capabilities (an area of weakness).
However, I believe Google will figure this out. The recent management shakeup as well as the fact that Marissa Mayer (a trusted Larry Page / Sergey Brin confidante) is heading up Google’s local search initiatives is a market signal that Google is proactively working to address this weakness.
The bigger question is how quickly they’ll figure out the solution and then roll it out. The bureaucracy of 20,000+ employees is enough to slow any company down. Even Google …
My sincere thanks for your thought-provoking comment.
Im such a newbie when it comes to all this, thanks for taking the time to write this up, keep them coming! was a wonderful read.
@Internet Marketing Consultant – Thank you for coming back and checking out some of my other posts. Appreciate it!