Are search rankings really that important?

All in the SEO business know the importance of rankings. We sweat blood and cry actual tears to get clients as high up the ranking ladder as we can. No one is really satisfied until the top of Google`s head page is reached and held for time immemorial. So it may come as a shock to hear that in the grand scheme of SEO marketing strategies, the value attached to rankings could be misplaced.

Jill Whalen of High Rankings, http://searchengineland.com/080131-071244.php, and Vandelay of Website design, both cite reasons why rankings are not the be all and end all of search marketing campaigns. The first reason is that rankings are in a constant state of flux. It`s impossible to get a true impression of a company`s ranking when its position in a search engine isn`t stable. As much as marketers like to think they can predict the search habits of Internet users, fickle and unpredictable human nature always comes to the fore and ensures that nothing can be guaranteed. As a result, sites rise and fall in popularity on the whim of the people.

Second, rankings don`t translate directly into targeted traffic, and as Whalen adds, they don`t even translate into untargeted traffic. The use of worthless key word phrases (by incompetent or unscrupulous SEO companies) can give clients the impression that their rankings are very good, even though no one is searching for those phrases. This makes the SEO companies look good, as they`ve brought you the rankings that you require. But in reality no one actually visits your site and your entire marketing strategy is wasted.

Which brings us neatly to the fact that rankings don`t always convert into sales. Your site may boast significantly high rankings, but an inability to reach your target market and attract target traffic, will be reflected in a stagnation of sales.

Vandelay, http: //vandelaydesign.com/blog/blogging/blog-rankings/, cites the following reasons for regarding rankings as relatively unimportant:
1) Rankings can be manipulated, for example Technorati`s ranking system is vulnerable to the creation of link trains, which misrepresent ranking figures.
2) Inherent flaws in some ranking systems, which may have a negative effect on rankings.
3) Also listed is the fact that high rankings don`t automatically mean that company goals have been achieved. This is similar to Whalen`s reasoning that rankings don`t always translate into targeted traffic and don`t always convert into sales.

As far as Whalen is concerned, success should be measured by more tangible means, such as reaching and attracting targeted traffic to your site. But, even more important than that, is being able to provide clients with a positive return on their investment. That means that the marketing strategy must result in significant conversions and sales.

Letting go of the idea that high rankings are the standard by which success is judged can be difficult for many SEO company CEOs, and even for some clients. Rankings have been the traditional standard for so long that aiming for them is second nature to most SEO marketers. Clients are also under the impression that high rankings indicate their company`s success in relation to their competitors. Running the risk of low rankings may impact negatively on their sense of achievement and make them question the wisdom of choosing you as search engine marketers. Increased sales and targeted traffic, however, should soon have them coming round to your way of thinking, as they reap the benefits of creative marketing and a ranking-free system.