Determine the Value of Search Results
Many businesses today are scrambling to rank on the top page of Google search results. After all, this is the primary goal of every SEO strategy. But how does appearing on the first page impact your business? While this predominantly depends on your search engine result position (SERP), determining SEO value also helps you know the significance of first-page ranking.
For instance, how many times has your website ranked high on the SERPs without attracting corresponding organic traffic? Simply appearing on the first page signifies a significant landmark for your website, which is truly undebatable. However, the rankings are only impactful if they translate to a significant amount of traffic. In this article, we dig deep into SERPs, SEO ROI, and how to determine the value of your search engine placement.
Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs)
SERPs refer to the result you get when you submit a query in a search engine. These results are primarily from organic searches, local listings, and pay-per-click ads.
But whether it's a paid ad or organic search result, a top-ranking spot on the search engine has its rewards. The higher your SERP rankings, the more attention your site gets. That means ranking within a Google top page will have a tremendous impact on how many users click through your web content, hence—brand authority and high conversion rates.
Search engine optimization (SEO) strategy has turned SERPs more competitive, given vast majority of visitors only pay attention to the first-page results, and Hubspot published a statistic that only 25% of these people even bother to scroll down the page to all the results listed. However, SERPs are also becoming much more unpredictable as a measure of CTR. Many studies are in the pipeline to determine the number of clicks most high-ranking websites receive.
The studies on the relationship between search engine results page and click-through rate will also be a vital determinant of your site’s search placement value. Currently, you can still apply a little calculation to get an insight into the reward for all your SEO efforts and the overall SEO ROI.
SERP Positions and Click-through Rates (CTR)
It’s now a common tendency for all website owners wanting to rank top for their target keywords. This desire to claim the top position in the search engine results page pushes companies to invest more in strategies that guarantee a higher SEO Click-through rate.
The Search Engine Journal reports that over 25% of visitors click the first Google search result. After position one, the average CTR falls sharply, with the second and third positions having lesser click-through rates. Highly ranking Paid ads on Google also enjoy this high CTR. But since organic traffic CTR is often higher than paid searches, websites that perform well organically benefit from a strong SEO ROI than those relying on paid search.
Further statistics reveal that websites ranking in the first position are ten times more likely to generate a higher click rate than those on the second and subsequent pages. Only a paltry 0.80% of all Google users click on websites ranking on the second page.
According to SEO statistics on Impact Plus, top results on Google pages also receive 3.8 times more backlinks than those ranking lower. These backlinks encourage clicks, and improve placement, increasing the overall search traffic. Besides, 72% of Google users prefer clicking on the organic search results instead of pay-per-click ads.
Ideally, there is a strong relationship between a website’s SERP position and the overall amount of clicks it gets. So, leveraging this relationship to your advantage can be a sure way to elevate your organic traffic from search engines.
Determining the Value of Your SERPs
Many studies have illustrated drop-offs in click-through rate in comparison to organic search result page location. This highlights the importance of knowing your traffic as a primary step in establishing your SERP value and evaluating the performance of your SEO strategy.
Experts opine that relying on your organic data is more helpful in proving both your SERP and SEO value. This makes sense, considering SERP formats are ever-changing and affecting the click-through rates in the process. Here are a few ways you can determine the value of your SERPs.
The simplest way to determine actual value of your keyword search result is;
1. Determine average volume of the search query you are targeting- Many tools offer this feature including SEMRush, Brightedge, Google Keyword planner, Ahrefs and many others.
2. Determine the average CTR of the spot you want to or currently rank in. Backlinko had the newest numbers of CTR by position that seemed to align with my last analysis (although page one bottom fold numbers have dropped significantly over that time frame).
3. Once you have keyword query volume, and % CTR by position, you will need to identify the average cost per click for that query. SEMRush has a Keyword Magic tool that will show you cost per click on your desired keyword and associated variations. You can also see the average CPC that advertisers pay when a user clicks on their ad.
a. Assume you have a keyword that is searched 10,000 times per month, your company sits in the second position (24.71%), and the cost per click is $1.75:
b. The CTR is 24.7%, because it is a percentage, we divide 24.7 by 100. Putting this into the formula, we get (.247)(10,000) = 2,470
c. Then, simply multiply the cost per click ($1.75) times the projected click through number. 2,470 x 1.75= $4,322.50
So, assuming your position stays the same, and search volume isn’t cyclical in the market your query is in (also stays relatively the same), you would be grossing right around $4,322.50 a month from your search result.
If you wanted to take this one step further, you would factor amount spent, minus projected return, and get a projected Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
Keyword Searches
A keyword is any term that contains anything searched on a search engine. To better learn your keyword searches, you'll have to conduct a keyword search analysis for a given period. If you are your client are in a cyclical market (a market that changes from one season to the next), you will want to run them quarterly.
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There are many approaches to leverage. For instance, you can opt for a keyword gap analysis. Here, you'll quickly identify which keywords you're ranking strongly for and the ones where you're weak. In addition, the Keyword tool can be an additional resource to know the number of keyword queries made in that period.
Organic Traffic Generated
Organic traffic is the number of site visitors generated from click-throughs. This type of traffic is targeted, and it's ideally what your site needs. If you need a comprehensive view of your website against similar high-ranking sites on SERPs, consider Google Analytics, it is the most popular and common analytics tool,but there are otherslike the ones here; traffic Analytics tools. The tools will allow you to understand your organic traffic and how users are visiting your site.
Furthermore, these tools will grant you a closer look at your traffic by relying on the total number of visits. This analysis also entails other traffic sources like direct searches, referrals, and paid searches.
How to Improve Your SERP Rankings
SERP rankings are driven by over 400 ranking factors (Search Engine Land has a great SEO Periodic Table outlining the different factors) you should always work on constantly. And by understanding how to leverage the SEO strategy, you’ll also understand the essential workings of search algorithms. Below are ways you can adopt to improve your SERP rankings.
Keyword Research
The journey with SEO first starts with understanding the keywords you are ranking for and which ones you should be ranking for. When deciding on your keywords, the best approach is to find ones that generate high rankings and organic traffic. It is recommended you do a keyword portfolio and assign your website pages to keywords you want to rank for (keyword mapping) so you don’t have multiple keywords competing for the same terms.
After you find which keywords you want to focus on, you should turn your attention into researching them for semantic terms as well. This is just one way of ensuring your maximizing your placement potential. Remember, keywords are the primary attraction of traffic and qualified leads for your website.
Understand Why Other Sites are Ranking Higher
A successful SEO strategy is where you’ll devote your time to learn why other websites and pages are ranking higher on SERPs. Acquiring this knowledge will let you understand what you exactly need to do.
Some of the findings you’ll come across will include aspects to do with increased referring domains and website authority. Depending on your results, you should always have a strategy to help you gain an edge.
Some great SEO Tool suites for competitive analysis are;
Keep Track of Your Rankings.
When you spend time and resources to invest in SEO strategy, it’s only fair that you keep track of the results. This will help you understand your site rankings and your keywords even before spending on the SEO.
Achieving the right results through SERPs requires that you keep track of your website from the day it’s launched. Luckily, tools like the ones previously mentioned are at your disposal if you want real-time updates of the ranking on targeted keywords.
Benefits of Ranking High On SERPs
Your website’s SERP value is an integral part of your SEO strategy since it influences your content visibility. Higher SERP value means you'll have tremendous success with your inbound marketing. The following are the benefits of being at the top of Google's search engine results pages.
1. Greater Authority and Authenticity
Besides increasing traffic to your site, increased SERP rankings boost your authority. The rankings change your audience perception in regards to your offering. The psychology behind SERP rankings is that most web visitors view websites at the top of the SERPs as more authentic than those below.
Whether you’re an established business or a startup, better rankings give you the advantage. Your brand value is also more likely to grow as a result.
2. Reduced Inbound Marketing Costs and longer returns
You've probably come across businesses paying for ad slots on Google. This is because they need visibility for their brand, but their websites can't rank high to attract the attention they want. But as a company, you also know the value of SEO and how you can quickly reduce your inbound marketing costs through high SERP rankings.
The truth is, most of the leads generated through inbound marketing are directly from organic search results. So, the higher your SERPs, the better for you. High SERP rankings can reduce your advertising costs effectively. But this will only work out if you step up to the competition.
3. Builds a Greater Image
With the internet increasingly becoming a competitive place for inbound marketers, ranking top on Google is not guaranteed. But once you break out with better SERP rankings, it becomes even easier to cultivate a good image. Better SERP rankings mean a better impression to your would-be clients, translating to increased business opportunities.
Bottom Line
To quantify successful SEO it’s vital to understand what your Return on Investment (ROI) is and consistently work to improve it.
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1yMichael, Thanks for sharing!
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2yVery good your article.