How Important is Getting on the First Page of Google?

93% of purchases begin with online searching.

Here are some statistics from AOL’s Search log on click through rate based on your position in a search return.

1. The first ranking position in the search results receives 42.25% of all click-through traffic
2. The second position receives 11.94%
3. Third position on the first page obtains 8.47%
4. The fourth placed position on page one receives 6.05%
5. The others on the first page are under 5% of click through traffic
6. The first ten results (page one ) received 89.71% of all click-through traffic,
7. The next 10 results (normally listed on the second page of results) received 4.37%
8. Third page receives a total of 2.42 %
9. The fifth page receives a total of only 1.07%
10. All other pages of results received less than 1% of total search traffic clicks.

The average price of print advertising with a local trade magazine can range from $2000-$10000+ PER MONTH. For that 2-10k per month, you have NO WAY of knowing how many people actually looked at your ad and unless you have the proper lead tracking systems in place (unique phone numbers with call tracking, unique URLS), you’ll never know if your return on investment is paying off.

While getting on page one of Google is neccessary…….

…a poorly designed website will affect conversions as well. You’re on page one of Google? Great. If the visitor finds your site confusing or hard to use they will click off and try your competitors site.

Do not overlook the importance of a well designed, developed and functioning website. A professionally designed website is the single most effective tool for any business today. Web sites are selling for ridicualously cheap rates right now via affiliate programs and large overseas pools of contractors. Use caution! You may be tempted to skimp on the expense of hiring a skilled developer to deliver a highly quality functioning site. This will most likely would result in loss, the opposite of a website’s function.