You On Top

Conventional wisdom says 97 percent of Google searchers don’t click past the first three pages (or 30 results). With about three-quarters of the active online population in America using search engines, according to Nielsen/NetRatings (.pdf), and 40 percent of shoppers choosing Google to locate stores and comparison shop, the difference between a high and low ranking can literally be the difference between a thriving online business and Chapter 11.

This got me wondering: How much is it worth to a company’s bottom line to place near the top of Google’s search rankings?

A recent study conducted by OneUpWeb among their clients. The study analyzed Web sites entering Google’s first, second, or third SERP for the first time in 2004. Of the 114 search terms tracked using the company’s ROI Trax analytics tool, 56 were three-word terms; 50 were two words; 7 were four-word terms; and one a single-word term. Brand name keywords were not tracked.

In the first month a site appears on Google’s first SERP, its conversion rates rise 142 percent, according to the study. The second month, conversion rates nearly doubled (194 percent) compared to the month prior to entering the top SERP. In terms of unique visitors, the average site appearing in Google’s top natural SERP could expect a 337 percent increase in traffic in its first month and a 627 percent increase in the second month.

“The important thing to note is that when a company first gets listed on Google’s first page, the traffic in the first two months goes up almost exponentially, and conversion rates also improve strongly,” said Rachel North, Oneupweb’s marketing director. “It draws a more qualified customer that converts more frequently.”

For sites that make their initial appearance on Google’s second and third SERP, the study found the number of unique visitors to the site increased 517 percent in the first month and 942 percent the next (compared to the month before the site first appeared on either the second or third page).

Because sites ranking below page three don’t generally convert, the study didn’t chart conversion rate increase for a site appearing on Google’s second or third SERP. “While conversion rates tripled from the first to the second month, the rates are very low (300 percent of nothing is still nothing),” the study concludes.