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SEO: Is It Really That Important Anymore?

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SEO important

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) should be a core component of every businesses online marketing plan.  But every day I am asked the same question over and over again.  Is SEO really that important anymore?

The answer is a resounding yes.  Actually it’s probably more important now than ever. But don’t’ take my word for it…let’s look at the hard numbers.

Users Use the Search Engines

According to eMarketer.com – a TNS Global report showed that 81% of all internet users worldwide used search engines to find information.  So when you consider that in the US there are approximately 230 million internet users simple math will tell you that 186 million people are using the search engines to search for information and products.

Green Widgets, Inc. Forgoes SEO

So let’s take a hypothetical company and see if SEO is an important activity for them to invest in.  Please welcome our old friend Green Widgets Inc.  Through their own research Green Widgets has determined that its potential market consists of approximately 2.4 million consumers who use the internet.  So during any given year it is safe to assume that 1.94 million of Green Widgets current and potential clients will be using the internet to conduct a search.

If Green Widgets decides that search engine optimization is not important enough anymore to be part of its online marketing plan – well – there goes 1.94 million potential clients that may never find what Green Widget is trying to sell.

Here is one more set of facts to drive the point home.

Position Does Matter

While the search engines do not reveal the click percentages based on position, researchers have determined that over 89% of all clicks occur on the first page of search results and fewer than 10% of clicks occur on page two.  This means that less than 1% of clicks occur past page two of any search result.  This fact alone is proof enough that not being found at least within in the first two pages of search results is simply….1,000’s of missed opportunities.

Now consider the following. Over 42% of all clicks occur at the number one position of search results. The percentage of clicks drops to under 12% at the number two spot or three and half times less traffic. The third spot receives 8.5%, fourth 6% all the way down to 2.99% at position ten (14 times less than the number one spot).

So what does all this mean? Take a targeted term such as “left handed golf clubs”, according to Google Adwords this term receives approximately 22,200 searches on a monthly basis. That means, if you were to have a site ranked in the number one position for this term you could expect approximately 9,300 clicks to your site…every month.

So What Are You Going To Do?

So to answer our original question SEO is absolutely an important part of any successful online marketing campaign. Failing to optimize your site for the terms your potential customers are searching for greatly diminishes your chances of being found when one of your customers has recognized a need for what you offer and begins their search for information or worse yet searches for your product or service and you are nowhere to be found.

This is equivalent to building a fantastic new brick and mortar store with all the bells and whistles – out in the middle of nowhere.   You’d lucky if anyone ever found you.

Filed Under: SEO

About

Tom Dwyer is former senior interactive marketing executive where he brought cutting edge online solutions to Fortune 500 companies and small business owners all over the country. Tom now spends his time consulting and strategizing with businesses and organizations on how to be heard in today’s crowded interactive world. Learn more from Tom at www.talkinwithtommyd.com.

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{ 25 Responses }

  1. Gregg Camp says:
    SEO is important so that our potential customers increase, so that our products and services gets noticed by more people. It is a long process so it demands that one should be updated about the latest developments from the seo world.
  2. Rose says:
    Hi Tom, Thank you for nice info. All I can say is that 60% of my sales (at the moment) come from search engine, and also my clients. ;)
  3. Steve Hanlon says:
    Great article, I agree. Google is the main player, they still say that keywords and killer content are the main factors for SEO but I suspect as others have said that popularity via back links is also one of the major factors to obtaining a good ranking in the serps. It is a shame also that black hat techniques are still widely used and still gain unfair advantage.
  4. Richard says:
    SEO still matters but I do wonder how it's going to pan out in the future. Google's move towards personalising search based on cookies, whether you're signed in or not, will mean that those at the top of the results now have a greater possibility of staying there from one day to the next. Also domain age is something that is going to have to be looked at. It will get to stage where it is impossible for new companies to get a look in.
  5. karthi says:
    SEO should be a natural process rather than submitting to directories. It must be built in a natural way with more hard work. I have a post called SEO capsule - from a logical perspective , in my blog. i have explained there in detail .-= karthi´s last blog ..NOTHING WILL COME OVERNIGHT =-.
    • karthi says:
      find the natural way through my post in http://mybrainstock.blogspot.com/p/miscellaneous.html .-= karthi´s last blog ..ARE YOU LEFT ALONE TO DECIDE? DON'T WORRY! =-.
  6. Dennis Edell says:
    I do any/all my SEO during the proofreading process when the post is written; works OK for me. ;) .-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..UPDATED – THREE Plugins Needed – What Do You Recommend? =-.
  7. Tom says:
    I totally agree! No matter how popular social media get's, people will still be using the search engines to find the answers to the majority of their problems online. .-= Tom@Free Squeeze Pages´s last blog ..The Aweber Code….And Why You Need To Promote It! =-.
  8. Latief says:
    SEO is about what people search, so if your goal to get visitors from search engines you must do your SEO. My question is what SEO factors that really important for a blog? The most important? Thanks for this great article, love it!
  9. chandan says:
    I have one question, thats will SEO will die, as SMO is going more popular? I am seeing that most of SEO firm now want to promote staff by SMO rather than SEO, I am working on one SEO firm and they prefer SMO strategy to promote staff. .-= chandan´s last blog ..New program at google work at home affiliate network-February 10, 2010 =-.
  10. lawmacs says:
    yes seo is very important for organic search results but i still believes that we should always consider our readers first and foremost writing good content and having a good structural design is equally important .-= lawmacs´s last blog ..Write For Readers And Design For Bots =-.
  11. Trevor Bandura says:
    I also agree with Anne, way to many people get obsessed with SEO and trying to rank in the SERPS for their keywords. They think that they will get indexed and ranked in a short time, and when they don't, they quite. Good SEO ranking takes time. One other thing, where did you get the Google buzz button for your blog? I have been searching for one but can't find it anywhere.
  12. Dana says:
    Yup, SEO is still important because almost all of people use search engine to search their needs in internet. .-= Dana @ Blogging Update´s last blog ..Yes, This Blog is Having BuySellAds.com (BSA) Advertising Space Now =-.
  13. Anne says:
    I think way too many people are SEO obsessed. The whole point of the (in)famous Google algorithm is that you can't really reverse engineer and analyze it to control the SERP's. You can try all the SEO tricks in the book and just get yourself penalized. .-= Anne @ b6s.net´s last blog ..I’m Not Posting Today =-.
    • Tom Dwyer says:
      Hi Anne - You are correct...some are obsessed with SEO and if they are using SEO tricks or "Black Hat" tactics to try and get rankings they will more than likely be penalized. But there is a side to SEO this is very legitimate and can return an enormous ROI when done correctly. I always tell my clients to follow one simple rule: "Build your site with the user in mind first and the search engines will like it too." There is no magic, no secret sauce. True SEO is hard work and takes time. It is a long term investment that can pay huge dividends if done correctly. Thanks for thoughts Anne. .-= Tom Dwyer´s last blog ..Would You Get Same Response As Kevin Smith Did? =-.
  14. Tom Dwyer says:
    Hey Keith - Thanks for the comment. You are absolutely correct that without compelling content SEO is almost pointless. But I think they go hand in hand or better yet it's a case of the "what came first? the chicken or the egg?" Any real SEO effort must include targeted unique content that fills a need and not just the page. I think that you should develop content with your user in mind first and then, along with other SEO techniques, begin the optimization process. .-= Tom Dwyer´s last blog ..Would You Get Same Response As Kevin Smith Did? =-.
  15. Karen says:
    It certainly seems to be the big abbreviation at the moment and though I do try my best to produce good SEO on my website, but sometimes it all just gets a bit overwhelming, but I've found that posting on my blog on a regular basis with what I think to be the correct keywords etc, certainly seems to be doing something. .-= Karen @ Blazing Minds´s last blog ..The Google, The Buzz and The Ugly! =-.
  16. Shabnam Sultan says:
    Nice read :) .So much has been discussed about SEO in blogosphere. SEO is long time thing which should be done properly for better results. But to be in first page of SERP you need to have killer articles. .-= Shabnam Sultan´s last blog ..Astronomy and Valentine's Day =-.
  17. Keith says:
    While I certainly don't discount SEO per se, I think that getting on the front page of a SERP will get you no where without content that compels a conversion. So, yes, SEO is very important, but a balance of multiple factors actually makes you money and that is what I concentrate on with my products site(s). Position definitely matters, and I would go further to day that top 3 means 70% more clicks than 4-10 on the front page (above the fold, which can be different depending on whether or not "local" is involved). Overall Tom, I agree with you that SEO should be a priority for any online business.... .-= Keith´s last blog ..Drooling On PageRank =-.