Why are high search engine rankings important?

      In the article What is search engine optimization we discussed and defined search engines and search engine optimization. Now, we’ll go further into detail about why high search engine rankings are so important.

     Basically, it comes down to this: Web surfers get hit with 185,000 search results in .07 seconds! Can they really be expected to scan through to page 27 of the search engine results pages—where a perfectly relevant site might be hiding? No. In fact, people rarely look past page 1 of Google or other search engines' results pages.

     That means that without a high search engine ranking, your site will be buried in the annals of the internet. It will be lost. It might as well not exist.

     That said, one way to get on page 1 of Google is to pay for it. The sponsored links—the sites listed on the right-hand side of the page in the shaded box at the top—all pay to be there. In some cases they pay a lot, with little return—especially when competitors click on ads for the sole purpose of costing the ad owner money. In addition, research has shown that Web users spend the most time looking at the real search results on the upper left part of the page—not the ads.

     Therefore, the more reliable, more affordable way to get on page 1 of Google is to score a high search engine ranking the natural way. These “naturally” top-ranking sites require what’s called “organic” search engine optimization. That is—no tricks, no scams, no dummy sites with a hundred ads. Just well-written, content-rich, optimized Web pages.

     According to SEO experts, original, optimized content is the one thing that will stand the test of time with search engines and result in consistently high keyword rankings. Organic optimization is also more flexible and far-reaching. Your content can be optimized for multiple search terms and keyword phrases, meaning your site can have a search engine ranking for each one.

     For example, a site about cats might rank 20th when someone searches for “cats,” 2nd when someone searches for “cat care,” 6th when someone searches for “cat breeds,” and 50th when someone searches for “cat toys.” Maybe you don’t care about having a low ranking for “cat toys” because that’s not really one of your themes. But maybe it is. In this case, you’d need to work on optimizing your site so you rank higher for “cat toys.”

     If your main theme is a highly competitive keyword or keyword phrase, like “cats,” high rankings for your secondary keyword phrases (“cat toys”) can be just as important as for your main theme. Sometimes they are even more important, depending on your site’s objectives. Either way, scoring high search engine rankings for related keywords can drive up your ranking for your main theme. Therefore, the more keywords and phrases for which your site is optimized and ranks high on search engine results pages (SERPs), the better off you’ll be.

     Of course, all this means you’ll need to write more unique, optimized online articles. Or, you can hire a professional Web copywriter to write them for you. There’s no hard and fast rule as to how many articles you should have for each of your site’s sub-themes. But the more keyword phrases you optimize for, and the more niches you can cover—the better your ranking on SERPs will be. Count on spending about two hours on each article, after doing your theme and keyword research. See the next article for an in-depth discussion of the importance of quality Web content and how much you’ll need.

Contact us to learn how Hired Gun's SEO experts and Web writers can help you make the most of your Web site with high-quality, affordable SEO content.

           Read the next article: The importance of optimized online content for Web site: Improving your search engine rankings.

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