Getting the Right Search Engine Result Position

Search Engine Results are the results displayed when you search for something using a search engine. Sometimes, its the page that brings people to your website, this is called the organic search. Search Engine Result Position or SERP, is the position which your website or blog is found for a given keyword or phrase. For the major Search Engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN, everyone wants to be found for Position #1, after all that's the juicy spot with the highest clicks, right?. If everyone is striving to be #1 what do you do? after all, we can't all be #1 or can we? In this post I'll see if I can made the quest for #1 a little easier...

There was a research carried out by AOL a few years ago (2006 to be exact) pertaining to SERPs. Based on their statistics, they outlined the click percentage for the various positions on Google search displayed.

• Position No 1 took 42.3% of the clicks, 
• Position No 2 took 11.92%,
• Position No 3-9 had 32.5% and 
• Position No 11+ had less than 10% of the remaining clicks. 

That means more than 60% of clicks are done on the first page. That's the reason why there's so much fuss and fight for 1st position and being found on the first page (I got these figures here, they are quiet outdated by now but it gives an insight as to how the average Internet user thinks). Having a look at the screenshot, just imagine if two of your blog pages or website are found on the first page. That means you will have almost a doubled chance of being clicked on, that's the reason why SEO people always work towards getting double page listing but ultimately, it's up to Google.

The right SERP would be No 1 for all intent and purpose. But it's not all about being No 1, you have to be No 1 for the right keyword. Sometimes #1 for the 'right keyword' is quite impossible to get, I would know! It's absolutely pointless trying to be No 1 for "SEO Blog" worldwide because the competition is totally outrageous, so I'll rather cut my coat according to my material and stick with SEO Blog Nigeria. I'm not quite No 1 for that, but we're getting there... This is one of the reasons why you have to have a good keyword research foundation to help you know where you're going and of course stick with it.

Sure, you don't always have to work that hard to be No 1. After all, you could go for Sponsored links, known as Pay-Per-Click (PPC). Sometimes it appears before the the normal results (also known as organic results) depending on the level of competition for that keyword. But as usual, you get what you pay for, woe betide you if it's a highly competitive phrase. However, that might be the best solution for a company trying to get into a very competitive market, until they've gotten better branding and awareness. That said, it really is not something I would recommend for a personal blog like mine, after all, I don't have that kind of money to burn (yet).

All in all, SERP has a lot to do with Keyword research. If you do your research properly, you would be ranking well for a decent keyword or phrase in no time, even if your website is new. However if you have big dreams and just rush out to start big, then you don't stand a chance...

I know this isn't a formula for getting the right search engine result position however, it's not rocket science or riding a bicycle but step by step, we'll get there. It might take a week, a month or even a year, but eventually we will...

As usual, feedback, please ;-)


P.S.

Hope you guys saw my post for my iPhone Boot Camp London Scholarship! It means I might be a bit quiet on my blog for the next few weeks cos I'll be studying, believe it or not! But I will definitely try to update my twitter when I can and post some other articles which I worked on before this came along...