What is your goal when you create content online? Is it simply to get ranked or is it to get ranked within the top page in Google? And if you do 
get ranked in the top page of Google, how much traffic will I get if I rank #1 in Google…what about #2 or #3?
Today I would like to walk you through some of these numbers and also help you decide what your “content” agenda should be if you want to capture those top rankings and how you should approach SEO if you want to get the most traffic as possible.
First, let’s break down some of the numbers…
What Percentage of Google Traffic Makes it Beyond the 1st Page?
When you are creating content for Google, your ultimate goal is to get good rankings right? If you understand how to create content properly for search engines and the correct type of keywords to focus on within that content, this is actually not that hard.
Below is a chart (based on Chitika data) breaking down the click-through percentages (by Page) in Google.
As you can see from the graph above, getting ranked on the top page in Google is a big deal. In fact, 91.5% of all Google searches END on the first page, less than 8.5 percent navigate beyond this page.
If you rank on the 2nd page you are going to experience less than 1/20th of the traffic you could expect from a first page listing. Only 1 out of every 1,000 searches leads to someone clicking through the 7th page.
What do you take from this? I know what I think when I see these sorts of numbers. I want a 1st page ranking in Google if I am going to be creating content. But, ideally I want to also be within the top 3 searches and I am going to tell you why…
The Top 3 Positions in Google – By the Numbers
Your goal as a search engine marketer should be to get rankings on the 1st page of Google, but sometimes that is not enough to realize a decent amount of traffic. The top 3 positions in Google get over 60% of all the click-throughs (on average) and the remaining 40% are distributed between the remaining 6 results (and all of the other pages).
Here is a graph breaking down what sort of “expectations” you can have within any given position on the first page of Google.
As you can see, the Top 3 positions get 61% of ALL search traffic. Here is a break down of the search positions:
Position #1: 32.5%
Position #2: 17.5%
Position #3: 11%
And then by position 5, these traffic numbers really start to drop, dipping below the 5% level.
In a hypothetical scenario, if you were targeting a search term that got 100 searches per day and you held the #1 ranking in Google, you could expect 32.5 click-throughs to your website….and depending on the title of your search result, this number can deviate either up or down (I have seen captivating page titles get up to 70% click-through rates).
All in all, what does this mean to you and your online business?
If you don’t understand how search engines algorithms work and how to get rankings in Google, then you are not going to be getting much traffic. No traffic means no opportunity to earn revenue from your websites, so this is a mission critical.
(1) You need to learn how to get #1 rankings in Google. I recommend to you that you get some good SEO training and you learn how to properly build out your websites in a way that lead to them getting ranked in Google and other search engines.
(2) You need a way to capture low competition keywords. Keywords are the center of the universe for a marketer and if you don’t have access to metrics like competition, then you are going to be out of luck.
(3) You need to keep up to date with search engine trends. Far too many people get “burned” by Google Panda and Penguin updates because they are not ahead of the curve. If you are still getting “backlinks”, you think PLR is a good idea, or you are spinning content, I am speaking directly to you here. If you understand why Google ranks content and what they are looking for, you are going to be “living” in the top 3 positions.
So remember, your goal as a marketer is the top 3 positions in Google…with #1 being the ultimate goal. Don’t think that all rankings on the 1st page are the same, because plain and simple there are very stark differences.
If you have any questions about “getting to page 1 in Google” or you would like to offer your insights into Google rankings, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you right away!
So 90 % traffic will come from Google?
Will this be the same in Denmark or not?
Your location in the world doesn’t matter when you are on online marketer as you will be targeting the entire world. Google holds around 66% of the traffic online (this fluctuates marginally throughout the year and monthly), whereas the other main search engines Bing & Yahoo own the remainder of the search market. Generally speaking, most countries will be around the same percentages with their search traffic.
Thank you for your article.
I’m the kind of guy who like to get numbers, so this article is perfect! Before I was trying to get to 1st page, but as I see it’s way more important to try to get the top 3 position, even if it’s harder, now i’m sure it worth the effort!
The obvious goal is to be #1 overall, but all content you create will not make it there. That is just life. As you build out your website and build authority in the search engine though, you will be able to target more competitive keywords and get higher rankings over time (and they will last longer). There is endless amounts of traffic up for grabs if you know how to look for it.
Since backlinks aren’t that important any more, how do Google PR work? And how important is it to ranking?
Google PageRank (PR) is meaningless. Google has put almost all emphasis now on the actual content and they are very good at determining human language and which content is the highest quality. Although not perfect, they are getting really good.
The root of all rankings these days lies in the content creation process (quality, engaging content), social value and the dialogue created within the actual content.
So the issue is to get in the top 3 rankings and preferably the 1st by using appropriate keywords. Is there a site that helps you determine the optimum keywords that you should be using?
Hi Paul,
I personally use Jaaxy for all my keyword research. The thing that you are going to like about it is that you will be able to get access to the REAL competition for any given keyword, and depending on the account type you choose, you can capture this information 30+ keywords at a time. This will save hours of research time. I typically aim for keywords that have less than 300 pages in ALL of Google that have that particular search term on it.
Sounds far fetched, but there are MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of keywords like this out there and these are quickly revealed with Jaaxy. If you want to read more on this research platform, you can see my review here.
Hi Kyle, I read every answer you gave and the article itself, but there is still some things I do not understand.
What distinguishes “RANK” from being #1 on a page?
Assuming a difference, how do you learn the number of viewers.
Does rank only refer to websites, not articles.
This will do for a start, and I thank you in advance.
Rank refers to any ranking in Google, if a site is ranked #1 overall it has a #1 rank…#2 overall under that search term, it’s rank is #2. It isn’t any more confusing than that.
That makes content with UX intent critical, SEO and SERP secondary to reach page 1? Thank you for making me think, again.
Your content will always be the focal point and creating content that is helpful to the customer.
Remember, Google and other search engines are creating their sophisticated search algorithms so they can find the BEST content for their searchers. If they can do this, people using their search are happy and therefore they will use their search more. You create content like this and target lower competition keywords, you are going to be sitting at the top of the SERPS under a lot of keywords.
I’ve seen these numbers before but it’s always a good reminder. I’d say chase the longtail. I’m just getting started (w/ just youtube and a couple blogger blogs) but I have a number of pages of free content on page 1 with long tails and all are generating Clickbank sales. I do some basic obvious backlinking (social media, socialadr,digg,delicious, stumbleupon)and within a month they’re on page 1. I’ve got a vendor provided youtube video for a product showing up in spots 1,2,3 for different long tails and the hour I invested in uploading it, writing a description and backlinking is making me about $18/month, month after month, for 1 hour of work. All in all, I spend about 2 hours on longtail research, content creation and backlinking for each piece of content I publish. Over 80% is on page 1 and each piece of free content (2 hours work) averages me $11 per month. That’s $132 per year for every page of content I create and publish. My only problem is I’m lazy. I should be putting up a lot more a lot faster. On a side note, I had 2 Squidoo lenses in spots 2 and 3 respectively making about $31 each per month for over a year, but they were both locked recently as too spammy. I’m done with Squidoo for a while.
That is the reality of getting rankings in Google and other search engines. When you understand keywords and you understand competition, you can truly walk into any niche and get rankings at will (and more often than not, the top ranking…or at least in the top 3).
It is great to hear about your success in Youtube and with your other content (in Squidoo). Keep at it and you will only scale these residuals.
This is most interesting indeed – when I think back to my Google searches i realise how seldom, if ever, I went past the first page – I always found what I wanted there !!
Thnx a lot, Kyle !!
Exactly, you search like 90% of all people out there. Google has become better and better at pushing relevant, helpful results to the first page (that is their ongoing goal with every algorithm update) and thus people don’t really move past the first page when doing a search. As a marketer this means that you NEED to be on the first page of the results if you expect any level of traffic, ideally in the top 3.
Don’t you have to use PPC despite all the risk? The paid ads are always visible to searchers. Google Adwords is tough but Bing might be better for most of us. J
No, you don’t have to use PPC. This post was referencing the natural search results, PPC ads do get high click-through rates if you can write engaging ads and they typically attract a lot of buyers. I would recommend that once you understand your audience through natural search techniques (SEO) that you consider amplifying your campaigns through PPC.
And as you said, Bing is a little more forgiving as Google Adwords should only be used if you REALLY know what you are doing.
Much good stuff here…Thanks
In regards to your statement “I have seen captivating page titles get up to 70% click-through rates”
Depending on the theme used this would be the meta title and description? The meta title can be a bit different than the page title?
If so can you split this title and description that shows up in the serps? How long does it normally take for any changes to the meta title and description to show up in the serps…
Some times the page title that you want to rank for is not as exciting as the title that you could craft for the serps title that shows up.
Do I have this all mixed up?
If you are using the All in One SEO plugin, the page title will be the same as the meta title. I typically leave this as is (although you can manually customize it). If you are not writing a quality, engaging page title that is the first mistake that you are making (you should not need to write a separate meta title or description in other words).
Thanks Man…yep I was not thinking about it like that…I was thinking making it better in the meta title…but sure I should make it the best it can be and let that do the job…
Yep this is much better…Thanks
Let your actual page/post titles do the work. If you have the All in One SEO plugin in place, you don’t have to worry about creating your own manual meta title and descriptions as these are taken care of you. Just focus on creating captivating and keyword centric titles…along with quality and helpful content and you will be good to go.
That’s a real eye opener.
Forget where your website is, focus more on the keywords that you use. High search low competition.
So any posts that I have ranking after page 1, I’m better off forgetting and create new posts with more targeted keyword phrases which are being searched for.
So to take the top three spots you would need I take it to own the websites.
Exactly Neil, even low searches low competition works well too. I like to call this “cherry picking” keywords because there are million of these keywords out there that nobody wants to touch simply because they have low traffic volume. However, to me a ranking is a ranking, in particular if I can capture rankings within the top 3 positions.
Think of it this way.
If you have a keyword that gets 100 searches per month that you can get a top 3 ranking for, it only takes 30 pages/posts on your website before you are capitalizing on 3,000 searches per month and likely getting close to 1,500 of these to your website. That is $750 in free traffic (based on $0.50 per click).
If you try to rank under keywords that have 3,000 searches per month and come up empty handed (which is far more likely), then you have ZERO traffic.
I would rather take the cumulative approach.
Hi Kyle, there are indeed differences in traffic levels between the various ranking positions in Google. I have personally experienced a 100% increase in traffic by moving up to the #1 position from the #2 position. Low competition keywords are the key to ranking in the top 3, just like you said in some of your replies below.
Absolutely true, it is amazing what difference one ranking can make.
I expect big dollars from the No. 1 position. If you do your research diligently, it is possible. I built this site last weekend http://androidsystemrecovery.com/ and it gets 4400 exact match searches, the dot com was available, and it currently ranks No. 9 for it’s keywords. It’s a great site helping people solve a real problem. I expect G to rank it for the one spot soon.
I have been a WA Premium Member for 5 years plus and I rock the house. Thanks, Tom
That is awesome, wonderful to hear that you “get” how the ranking system works in Google. EMD (Exact Match Domains) still do have a lot of pull within the search engines and you will find that they tend to stick if you offer value and you build an authority style site. A weak content base on a website will typically trigger a good deal of shifting within the SERP’s.
I’m finding 1st page rankings to be quite difficult compared to what it used to be, and I mean with all quality content, no PLR, no spinning, etc.
Frustrating is when a garbage website ranks highly.
I target keywords that Jaaxy indicates would be a piece of cake yet no deal, often either fail to rank page 1 or can’t stay there.
Social seems to be the key, but when you are a nobody without a huge following, social is a high barrier to entry.
Roger
If you are using Jaaxy, try investing your time into 10 or so keywords that are under the 100 QSR threshold, closer to zero the better. This is a sure way to get rankings that will stick and I recommend this when you are working to get your platform of traffic and content base on your website.
Also, a website that is getting regular content additions versus one that remains relatively static will likely search much lower rankings in the serps. Make sure you that you regularly contribute content (pages/post) and make sure that you work to engage your audience Roger.
Perfect Timing; the #1 position is my next step! Thanks, will report back my results. 🙂
Awesome Sherry, make that your goal with whatever you do! When you produce quality content there is a side effect, you are going to get lots of rankings under search terms that you would have never imagined (because ALL of your content ranks). That is what happens when you create quality content and you center your content around helping people.
Great article Kyle! I would like to ask, in a nutshell, is it safe to say that the best odds of getting the #1 spot on Google for a competitive keyword possible via:
1. Good highly relevant content.
2. User engagement (comments that bring about discussion)
3. A good number of different link juices sources like articles via streetarticles that target different low competition keywords that when linked to your main page boost it’s rank on Google?
Vitaliy
Everyone but the last. Link “juice” as you call it can often times suck the life out of any SEO campaign. Focus on your first two points and you will be able to get good rankings. In addition to this I would say to focus on low competition keywords, ideally keywords with under 300 competing pages but if you can dip below the 100 mark for some of the keywords you target, you can ensure more rankings more often.
That is definitely incentive to continue growing my content that is already ranking well. It is great to see the statistics. Magistudios (Jay from WA) did a wabinar on how we view search results in Google just like we read (left to right up to down). These statistics that you have provided on the Google search results validate this. Thanks for more great content.
Absolutely Ryan, people do start at the top and work their way down through the results. They typically stop when then hit something that is “enticing” and that is why I suggested that the actual page/post title of your content is so important. You don’t want to just stuff a keyword in there and expect amazing click-through rates, you want to encourage people to view your content by writing a captivating headline.
Great post there Kyle, I was aware of the top positions on page one but not the positions on pages further down. Good to know. Page one is a must to be getting decent traffic.
It sure is Mark and that is why I put so much emphasis on the competition of any given keyword (and aiming to have a low competition) versus looking at traffic data first. There is no point in getting ranked under high traffic search terms if you are not going to capture top 3 rankings. Focus on the low hanging fruit and your traffic would cumulatively build and do so rather quickly.
Good article, Kyle. It explains why I make so little as an affiliate marketer. John
John, it all comes down to your selection of keywords and how you build your content. Choose low competition keywords over high traffic keywords and build your content for READERS, not search engines. Yes, you will have a target keyword theme within your content, but definitely do not stuff the content you create with that keyword or your will suffer the consequences of Google Panda and Penguin (keyword stuffing penalty).