The art of search engine optimization is meant to get web pages to one of the top spots on Google’s search engine results page (SERP). Companies that dedicate time to researching keywords, producing content and performing SEO tactics on their web pages and social media are at a huge advantage over competition, but just how much?
Recent case studies have proven the value of SEO in 2016. The amount of clicks and traffic gained by the top spots is staggering. Just look at the value of being king of the mountain:
The top spot gets 33% of traffic
The more web traffic you get, the more chances you have of selling clients on your products or services, and when you are the top spot on Google it is anything but lonely. Traffic is money.
The number one result gets a whopping 33% of all search traffic for a key term! It also received 53% of clicks. This finding alone validates the use of SEO. In fact, the leader of the marketing study said “the importance of SEO is clearly quantified by these latest statistics.”
Aside from a catchy headline or keyword-specific title that a user is looking for, your best bet to get attention is by being #1. The second spot, while still extremely valuable, is worth half as much.
More than 60% of traffic share is in the top 3 results
It should come as no surprise that being in the top 3 is a major advantage over the competition, but when the numbers were finally made known from a major online ad network study, even we were surprised. The top 3 results get 61% of traffic share! From there, it steadily declines. Being fifth or lower means you get 6% of clicks at best.
Although advertising angles such as Pay-Per-Click are still worthwhile, and new SERP designs could change the layout of things, these findings are very similar to the same study conducted in 2010. Despite all of the major changes to Google’s algorithm, the value of these 3 spots has remained the same.
Only 8% of traffic goes to the rest of the pages
There are times when users will scroll past the first page. They are often looking for very specific or rare data, or they might have mistyped their entry and be struggling to find what they are looking for. The study showed that nearly 92% of all traffic goes to the first page. Without ranking high organically, there is little hope to get web traffic or clicks.
93% of online experiences begin with a search engine, and 70% of clicks go to organic links. When you add to this that 92% of all traffic goes to the first page, you can see the importance of SEO. Getting to the front page means lots of views, clicks, and sales leads – and a great SEO campaign is the only way to get there.
