Ifultech

For those businesses that rely on internet marketing to boost their sales and build their brand (which is most), you may have noticed a recent decrease in your site ranking on Google. No, this isn’t simply because you forgot to update your keywords or you forgot to pay for your links, it’s actually because of something that Google did! A recent Penguin update issued by the internet giant has caused internet marketers to make changes to the way that businesses draw their audience to their sites, otherwise, they will be left behind, in a sense.

What was the Google Penguin Update?

Periodically, you will find that in attempt to weed out the duplicate sites, spam or even those sites which are not quality, search engines will produce a new algorithm for identifying content to display. This updated algorithm, known as Penguin, was geared toward eliminating unethical backlinks, while helping to improve the ranking of those sites that are legitimately optimized for search engines.

The goal of the Google Penguin update was not necessarily to punish hardworking business owners and those that have personal sites, rather to make Google a more optimal search engine for its users.

Why Should I Care About the Google Penguin Update?

As business owner it is important to recognize that Google is one of the most popular search engines utilized by Americans today. That means that a large percentage of your target consumers and audience utilize Google to find your business website and connect with you, so if your business site is not optimized to the standards that the most recent Google update has set forth, it won’t be seen.

This update means that you, or your internet marketing company, must start paying closer attention to the SEO techniques that your business uses, and the way that you implement them into your site. For those businesses that do not take note of the specifications and changes that the Penguin has made to the way that you optimize your site, it will certainly affect your ranking and ultimately your business could suffer. That’s why you should care about this update!

For any business professional who has a website, or relies on their site for traffic to their business, it is important to update your website according to the new Google standards, especially if you want to maintain, or exceed, the ranking that you once had.

By Dorina Marie Elumbaring

I. Introduction

Everyone knows that the #1 spot on Google is where every website wants to be but not everyone knew how significant it is to be ranked there compared to being just #2. Close spot it is but based on statistics, there is more than 50% Click-through rate with the site in top 1 compared to top 2 sites.

A website on page 1 of Google will get around 20 times more traffic than a website on page 2 of Google, and 50 times more traffic than a site on page 3 of Google. If you are on page 4, you may as well be on page 100. Most searchers just don’t bother to go past the first page and in fact many don’t bother to go past the first 5 results.

II. Objective

Generally, this paper presents the effectiveness of Google Result Positioning.

Specifically this aims to:

· to raise awareness of the importance and value of SEO

· to help motivate businesses and individuals to optimize their web presence

· to encourage top ranked websites to improve the quality of their sites in an attempt to protect and improve upon their current rankings (and thus improve the quality of the web as a whole)

III. Google as Number 1 SERP

As shown in this image from Search Engine Land, most internet traffic rating services show Google to have 70% to 80% of the U.S. search market. Given the data below, it is no surprise that advertiser spend at large SEM companies are aggressively focused on Google.

 

I. Value of Google Result Positioning

It’s critical for websites to appear on Page 1 of Google, especially in one of the top three organic positions, as these spots receive 58.4% of all clicks from users, according to a new study from Optify.

With the case of ifultech’s site, www.ifultech.com, a SEO/Web design Company. Statistics shown below that as the ranking goes up, number of clicks and visits also increases.

 

 

Websites ranked number one received an average click-through rate (CTR) of 36.4 percent; number two had a CTR of 12.5 percent; and number three had a CTR of 9.5 percent. Being number one in Google, according to Optify, is the equivalent of all the traffic going to the sites appearing in the second through fifth positions.

Here’s Optify’s look at CTRs on the top 20 sites:

Basically, Optify concludes that moving up to the top spot in Google from second or third could triple visits to your website.

Optify’s study of U.S. Google search engine results pages, conducted in December 2010, analyzed organic keyword visits for B2B and B2C websites. Optify analyzed data from 250 randomly chosen sites and an initial set of 10,000 keywords.

Here are some of Optify’s other findings.

Importance of Page 1

The average CTR on Page 1 of Google was 8.9 percent, but the average CTR on Page 2 was 1.5 percent. Ranking first on Page 2 had a slight benefit over ranking in the last spot on Page 1 (2.6 percent vs. 2.2 percent CTR).

Optify concludes that, because predicting which position your site will appear in Google is basically impossible, your SEO efforts should first focus on getting on Page 1, and then on investing in working your way up to one of the top three spots. Also, ranking beyond Page 2, while good for tracking trends, has almost no business value, Optify noted.

I. Worth of Top Spot in Google

Optify looked at organic CTR in the hopes of updating one of the SEO industry’s long-time ROI calculators based on AOL’s leaked search records from August 2006, which Optify calls "old and dated," due to the evolution of universal search and integration of social search in recent years.

AOL’s data showed websites ranked first received 42.3 percent of traffic; second place got 11.92 percent; and third place had 8.44 percent:

Image via Red Cardinal

AOL’s data was based on 19,434,540 click-throughs, whereas Optify’s was based on 1,224,383. Optify isn’t the first using AOL’s data as a benchmark. Last May, two studies aimed to calculate Google’s organic CTR.

Neil Walker’s study, using Google Webmaster Tools data from 100 clients and 2,710 keywords, found position one gets 46.37 percent of organic click-throughs; position two gets 29.43 percent; and position three gets 19.81 percent:

Chitika’s study, which Jonathan Allen covered in "How Much is a Google Top Spot Worth?" reported that a top spot gets 34.35 percent of impressions; second position gets 16.96 percent; and third gets 11.42 percent. Chitika’s numbers were based on a sample of 8,253,240 impressions across its advertising network.

While the exact figures and data sets vary from study to study, they all confirm that ranking at the top of Page 1 on Google continues to be incredibly valuable. One of Optify’s final pieces of advice is to stay on top of SEO best practices and strategies. That’s something you can do by regularly reading Search Engine Watch’s Search Engine Optimization section.

 

 

I. Organic CTR by CPC

Otpify also tested the effects of the CPC (cost-per-click) value of a keyword on its CTR, comparing "expensive" CPC terms, over $1.50 CPC on AdWords, with "cheap" CPC terms, under $0.25 CPC on AdWords.

On page No. 1, position No. 1, expensive CPC terms register a lower organic CTR on position No. 1 than cheaper terms, 30% vs. 20%. In addition, cheap CPC terms will likely yield over double the CTR on the first page than expensive CPC terms:

For example, given two keywords with the same search volume where one is a cheap keyword and the other an expensive one, potential organic traffic is over 2 times greater on the cheaper CPC term.

I. Head Terms Vs. Long Tail

High-volume, more generic, head terms, (those with over 1,00 monthly searches (Google US)) perform differently than low-volume, more specific, long-tail terms (less than 100 monthly searches (Google US)).

For example, average CTR for head terms at position No. 1 is 32%, compared with 25% for long-tail terms:

Long- tail terms, however, deliver better overall CTR on page No. 1 (4.6% average CTR for head terms vs. 9% average CTR for long-tail terms):

The results suggest that if a brand is optimizing for head terms, it won’t likely register huge benefits until it reaches the top few positions. Brands that optimize for long-tail terms, however, can register relatively strong CTR almost anywhere on the first page, and there is less incremental benefit of moving up search results.

I. Conclusion

The benefits of ranking on the first search-engine results page (SERP) are more valuable than ever: 60% of clicks are generated by the top three SERP results, while the average CTR (click-through rate) for the top spot is 36.4%. It is therefore worth a ton – double the traffic of the 2nd to be precise.

When clients’ website reached the first page specially the top 3 spots, probability of being clicked, visited as well generate sales is far way better than any other rank on the search engines. In return, clients’ goal of being on the first which is to have their return on investment (ROI) is measurable, achievable, realistic and time specific.

Dorina Marie Elumbaring is an Internet Marketing Strategist for Creative Frappe Internet Marketing Solutions.

Search results over major search engines are now not calculated as they were a few years back. In the past couple of years search engine results have stopped being comprised only of traditional matches. As far as Google is concerned, it has started including images, videos, maps, social profiles and much more into its search results. These factors now have a very strong impact on the search results provided by search engines.

Here are some great tips that will help you optimize your website for most modern SEO requirements.

Local SEO: Google usually includes a significant number of Google places listings in its search results. Whether you like it or not, these results are going to influence the visitors too. A significant number of them are going to navigate on these links. Further, if your business is spread locally then having a spot in the Google places is highly essential for you. This can be easily done by using:

• Citations
• Google Places Page Optimization
• Reviews

Social Optimization: Social media channels have a huge impact on search results now. You cannot simply just ignore social networks such as twitter, Facebook, Google+ etc. Make sure that your search engine optimization campaign has a solid and effective social aspect associated with it. Try making proper use of twitter shares, Facebook likes, Google +1’s and social bookmarkings.

Keywords should be user optimized, not Robots: No doubt that robots play an important part in search results but Keyword optimization should be done according to the people who use search engines. You should know that people usually have a question in their mind when they search on the internet. Try to anticipate the most relevant questions that your potential clients may have in their mind when they search for services or products offered by you. Stop thinking of keywords as just data elements and think from the perspective of internet surfers.

High Quality Content Links: If you believe that you can somehow fool Google with paid or spam links then you are clearly mistaken and in for a lot of trouble. Content is the king and you should start treating it with respect. Good content writers are rare and you should make sure that you have a few who can provide original and informative content for your website and other purposes. Further, focus on guest blogging to blogs that are not a direct match to your industry.

Rely on KPIs: Personalized searches and private searches have made it essential to rely on simple key performance indicators (KPIs) rather than just focusing on ranking reports of keywords. Make proper use of Google Analytics and focus on aspects such as the number of landing pages, bounce rate of these pages, keywords that are driving traffic onto these pages etc.

The above mentioned tips would be very helpful in your search engine campaigns. However, for best results you can always hire a reputed and experienced web development company having proven capabilities in SEO and internet marketing as they would have many more tricks and expert professionals with them.

About Author:

Amy Patrix is an industry expert currently working in Xicom technologies, a renowned software development company and mobile application development company, as a subject matter expert for SEO and web based services. In his spare time, Amy likes to read novels and write blogs on informative topics.

 

Google has long been one of the most dominant names in the worldwide web; anything this giant does, from the seemingly insignificant to the groundbreaking, will always start a chain reaction and its after-effects be felt everywhere the internet is available, whether it is for companies doing web design in Reading, Pa or random online browsing in Oslo, Norway.

 

Matt Cutts of Google has released major news regarding Google’s above-the-fold algorithm update: as of the third week of January, 2012, Google has initiated an algorithm change that checks the amount of content and ads “above-the-fold” on a website. According to Cutts’ statement, sites that have gone overboard with ads and are deemed lacking in content will be penalized but on the upside, only 1% of websites will actually be adversely affected. He said that this is in response to heavy complaints from users who expect quality content upon clicking on a website, but instead are bombarded with ads and have to navigate through a tangle of these before finally reaching the content they initially searched for. In an effort to make user experiences better and more efficient, Google seeks to minimize the volume of such intrusive ads.

 

Ifultech, a Reading Pa web design firm, gets the idea of “above-the-fold” from the printed newspaper that refers to the top half of the page. According to studies, it is this portion that first draws a reader’s eye and holds attention, therefore it is here where the biggest headlines, the splashiest photos and in the case of websites, the most explosive ads are put in order to maximize readership or online time.

 

This new information from Google has left mixed reactions from both sides of the web. In lay-out and web design,  specialists and web owners have long relied on above-the-fold advertising to bring in more web traffic and as an effect, thoroughly cash in on their established sites. Though Cutts has said that only 1% will be affected, a lot of website owners and those in SEO have expressed concern that their rankings and ratings have dropped significantly since Google imposed the aforementioned algorithm. In addition, owners and experts have stated their annoyance at the lack of quantifiable standards regarding what Google considers “too many ads or too much ad space,” if there is a specific resolution that determines where the above-the-fold mark really is, how Google intends to determine which are ads and which ad networks are being targeted.

 

On the other hand, this news is heralded with a breath of relief from online users. In various reactions to posts related to Google’s algorithm change, users say that it would be good not to be forced to see dozens of ads upon immediately opening a website and it would make the browsing experience yield more satisfactory results in less time. Cutts has additionally cleared the issue on “too much ads” by explaining that the algorithm looks at ad space and how it is utilized, not the number of ads.

 

In light of this, our SEO specialists are now encouraged to make certain their work is not just customer-centered but user-friendly as well in order to avoid whatever penalties over stuffing websites with ads might entail. In the end, it’s the millions of online users that matter.

Responsive Web design techniques aim to automatically change the size and layout of a user’s screen, based on information sent by the user’s Web browser. Using responsive design techniques, Web designers can optimize their content for various screen resolutions and devices. Although this design tactic has existed for a long time, it has become prominent as a way to accommodate the growing number of mobile smartphone and tablet devices.
Web design Reading Pa clients want their websites to display properly on any device, regardless of screen size or resolution. In the past, this was easy because of the limited number of screen types. Now designers must decide between creating a different version of their pages for every conceivable device and creating a single design that dynamically adapts to the user’s environment.
Responsive Web Design: Pros
Attractive features of responsive web design make it an appealing approach for several reasons. A few of them are listed here.
A single solution.
Grid layout systems, image optimization, and CSS pages all play a role in responsive Web design. Their dynamic nature means they can adapt to any screen or window size and resolution. This means that most jobs need only one design.
Future proof.
Responsive Web designs can manage unknown future screen sizes and resolutions without requiring future revision. This eliminates the need for expensive and tedious revisions later on.
A consistent look.
Users access the same URL from different devices and still have a pleasing experience. Similarly, users can share URLs with people using devices.
Resizable.
Screen and window sizes and resolutions can change in real time, changing the presentation of a Web page. Responsive designs adapt to almost any configuration, providing a consistent look and feel.
Responsive Web Design: Cons
Despite its robust benefits, responsive Web design may not be the best solution for every job. Here are a few reasons why some people should choose traditional Web designs.
Complexity.
The complex nature of responsive Web design means projects take longer to complete. Also, this design approach requires skilled designers who could dramatically increase the cost of a project.
Browser compatibility.
As designers use responsive design tactics to adapt to carrying user requirements, browsers are still evolving to accommodate CSS3 and HTML5. This means that compatibility issues can arise among the various popular browsers. In the end, designers may need to accomplish the same results with different techniques.
Page load speed.
The extra server calls responsive designs need can make pages take longer to load, especially on mobile platforms. Images can also load slowly as they are resized.
Different objectives.
Sometimes designers need to serve functional pages to mobile platforms while reserving the full website experience to desktop browsers. When objectives differ depending on the client device, designers must produce separate versions.
As the boom in mobile Web browsing continues, however, the need to adapt content to multiple devices becomes more urgent. Although the majority of business owners should consider responsive Web designs, some may not benefit from that approach. A consultation with a Web design Reading Pa firm can help businesses decide which approach to take.