In today’s Internet-based and data-driven world, SEO is critical to a website’s success. Regardless of a company’s focus or industry, implementing a strong SEO strategy will help improve rankings and drive more traffic to their site, and a strong SEO strategy can help achieve page 1 and even #1 rankings on Google. However, SEO is challenging and staying in front of the 500+ algorithm updates Google puts out a year to achieve that ever-elusive #1 spot is certainly a lot of work. So what is it really worth? What exactly is the value of a #1 ranking in Google?

1. THE
VALUE
OF
A
#1
RANKING

2. In
today’s
Internet-­‐based
and
data-­‐driven
world,
SEO
is
cri8cal
to
a
website’s
success.
Regardless
of
a
company’s
focus
or
industry,
implemen8ng
a
strong
SEO
strategy
will
help
improve
rankings
and
drive
more
traffic
to
their
site.
A
strong
SEO
strategy
can
help
achieve
page
1
and
even
#1
rankings
on
Google
that
can
be
extremely
valuable
to
any
business.
However,
SEO
is
challenging
and
staying
in
front
of
the
500+
algorithm
updates
Google
puts
out
a
year
to
achieve
that
ever
elusive
#1
spot
is
certainly
a
lot
of
work.
So
what
is
it
really
worth?
What
exactly
is
the
value
of
a
#1
ranking
in
Google?
This
eBook
will
help
marketers
understand
why
being
#1
when
it
relates
to
SEO
really
does
maPer.
#1

3. UNDERSTANDING
RANKING
FACTORS
“ W e
l o o k
a t
i t
a s
s o m e t h i n g
d e s i g n e d
t o
t a c k l e
l o w -­‐
q u a l i t y
c o n t e n t .
I t
s t a r t e d
o u t
w i t h
p a n d a ,
a n d
t h e n
w e
n o 8 c e d
t h a t
t h e r e
w a s
s 8 l l
a
l o t
o f
s p a m
a n d
p e n g u i n
w a s
d e s i g n e d
t o
t a c k l e
t h a t . ”
Ma7
Cu7s

4. U N D E R S T A N D I N G
R A N K I N G
F A C T O R S
T h e
V a l u e
o f
a
# 1
R a n k i n g
To
get
started
in
SEO,
you
need
to
understand
the
key
factors
Google
looks
at
when
calcula8ng
rankings.
With
over
200
factors
contribu8ng
to
the
Google
algorithm,
it
can
be
hard
to
understand
exactly
what
goes
into
gaining
that
#1
spot.
And
while
both
Panda
and
Penguin
are
important
algorithm
updates,
the
overall
approach
is
that
quality
is
far
more
important
than
quan8ty.
Between
on-­‐
page
and
off-­‐page
SEO
efforts,
the
focus
should
always
be
on
the
quality
of
the
strategy,
tac8cs,
and
links
to
ensure
that
you
are
in
line
with
the
Google
best
prac8ces
and
quality
assurance.
That
will
give
you
the
best
chance
of
achieving
that
#1
ranking.

5. GOOGLE’S
TOP
ORGANIC
SPOT
So
just
how
important
is
that
#1
spot
on
Google?
Well,
as
marketers,
the
goal
almost
always
8es
back
to
ROI
which
means
the
first
step
is
to
understand
how
different
organic
Google
rankings
translate
in
terms
of
ROI
for
your
site.
While
there
are
many
intangibles
related
to
SEO
prac8ces,
there
are
ways
to
measure
varying
factors
in
order
to
understand
the
value
of
that
#1
ranking
for
you
and
your
company.

6. G O O G L E ’ S
T O P
O R G A N I C
S P O T
T h e
V a l u e
o f
a
# 1
R a n k i n g
Recent
studies
have
been
on
par
with
past
results,
and
a
2013
Chi8ka
study
was
similar
to
their
2010
research
in
that
nearly
33%
of
all
traffic
share
goes
to
the
number
one
posi8on
when
it
comes
to
Google
organic
rankings.
The
number
two
spot
holds
almost
18%
of
the
traffic
share,
number
three
has
11%,
and
the
drop
off
con8nues
drama8cally
from
there
(data
illustrated
below).
Considering
the
difference
in
traffic
volume
by
rank,
there
absolutely
is
a
higher
value
in
being
ranked
in
the
covered
#1
spot.
Now
that
there’s
a
clear
understanding
of
traffic
share
by
volume,
the
next
step
is
to
evaluate
the
revenue
associated
with
your
key
terms
and
review
that
against
the
posi8on
they
are
ranked
organically.
Since
this
will
vary
based
on
your
website,
business,
and
industry
among
other
factors
such
as
goals,
this
is
where
it’s
really
up
to
each
marketer
to
do
their
own
research
based
on
the
data
available
to
them,
specific
to
their
site.

7. G O O G L E ’ S
T O P
O R G A N I C
S P O T
T h e
V a l u e
o f
a
# 1
R a n k i n g
Google’s
Organic
Traffic
Share
by
Rank
32.50%
17.60%11.40%
8.10%
6.10%
4.40%
3.50%
3.10% 2.60% 2.40% 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

8. WHAT
THIS
MEANS
FOR
YOU
“ I t
i s
i m p o r t a n t
t o
r e m e m b e r
w i t h
S E O
i s
t h a t
i t
i s
n o t
a
“ s e t
i t
a n d
f o r g e t
i t ”
t y p e
o f
s i t u a 8 o n .
R e g u l a r
o p 8 m i z a 8 o n
a n d
u p d a t e s
a r e
r e q u i r e d
f o r
a
s i t e
t o
c o n 8 n u e
t o
fl o u r i s h
i n
l i n e
w i t h
a l l
o f
t h e
o n g o i n g
G o o g l e
a l g o r i t h m
c h a n g e s .
a l g o r i t h m
c h a n g e s . ”

9. W H A T
T H I S
M E A N S
F O R
Y O U
T h e
V a l u e
o f
a
# 1
R a n k i n g
By
conduc8ng
compe88ve
SEO
research
periodically,
a
company
can
track
their
site’s
staying
power
at
the
top
of
Google.
It
is
important
to
remember
with
SEO
is
that
it
is
not
a
“set
it
and
forget
it”
type
of
situa8on.
Regular
op8miza8on
and
updates
are
required
for
a
site
to
con8nue
to
flourish
in
line
with
all
of
the
ongoing
Google
algorithm
changes.
Targe8ng
the
right
terms
for
your
business,
coupled
with
research
to
understand
poten8al
search
volume
and
value
of
those
terms
is
the
founda8on
of
a
good
SEO
strategy.
Tracking
site
traffic
for
those
keywords
year
over
year
will
help
quan8fy
that
success,
and
determine
if
or
when
any
changes
need
to
be
made
to
what
terms
you
are
targe8ng.
Once
you
know
your
core
terms,
and
have
worked
to
op8mize
them
and
track
their
performance
over
8me,
tools
such
as
Google
Analy8cs
will
help
you
8e
traffic,
conversions,
and
leads/sales
back
to
your
SEO
efforts.
Knowing
what
terms
are
in
the
top
posi8on
in
Google,
and
being
able
to
quan8fy
their
value
through
cold,
hard
data
will
go
a
long
way
in
understanding
the
true
value
of
those
#1
rankings.
Tying
in
top
keywords,
their
posi8on
in
organic
lis8ngs,
and
their
data
from
Analy8cs
will
help
8e
all
the
pieces
together
to
quan8fy
the
results
of
your
efforts.
Keep
in
mind
that
SEO
is
an
ongoing
effort
and
while
organic
clicks
are
free,
the
effort
that
goes
into
obtaining
the
rankings
to
get
those
clicks
comes
at
the
cost
of
hard
work
and
resources,
be
it
internal
or
from
an
SEO
agency.
Understanding
the
cost
of
that
work,
tracked
back
to
the
success
of
the
targeted
terms
and
their
corresponding
revenue,
can
tell
the
true
value
of
SEO
and
those
#1
rankings.

10. WHITE-­‐HAT
SEO
Each
8me
Google’s
Webspam
Team,
headed
by
MaP
CuPs,
develops
and
deploys
an
algorithm
change,
the
impacts
can
be
felt
across
the
web
as
to
how
website
rankings
change.
While
many
online
marketers
and
SEO
specialists
prac8ce
white-­‐hat
tac8cs,
as
the
algorithms
are
updated
and
look
deeper
and
deeper
into
a
website’s
history,
past
issues
or
poor
tac8cs
can
become
a
source
for
ranking
decreases,
even
years
later.
To
prevent
this,
make
sure
you
are
always
staying
within
best
prac8ces
for
Google,
and
it
should
go
without
saying
that
a
long
term
white-­‐
hat
strategy
will
beat
out
any
short
term
quick-­‐win
when
it
comes
to
SEO.

11. W H I T E
H A T
S E O
T h e
V a l u e
o f
a
# 1
R a n k i n g
CuPs
and
Team
con8nue
to
update
algorithms
(over
500
per
year
on
average!)
in
a
constant
effort
to
deliver
the
best
results
for
the
end
user,
regardless
of
company
size
or
adver8sing
budget.
To
make
sure
you
are
in
line
with
what
Google
is
looking
for,
here
are
a
few
quick
bullets
to
keep
in
mind:
• Focus
on
building
links
from
high-­‐quality,
content-­‐
rich
sites
• Avoid
paid
links
completely
• Keep
link-­‐building
to
sites
that
are
relevant
to
that
specific
industry
• Avoid
overly
op8mized
anchor
text
links
• Create
a
content-­‐rich,
well-­‐wriPen
website
• Follow
all
generally
accepted
SEO
best
prac8ces
(i.e.,
no
black
hat
tac8cs)

12. CONCLUSION
SEO
is
not
something
that
can
be
measured
linearly
and
an
SEO
program
takes
8me
to
develop
so
a
liPle
pa8ence
is
required.
Calcula8ng
the
success
of
a
well-­‐
executed
SEO
strategy
is
more
than
coun8ng
leads
or
sales.
It
includes
monitoring
improved
rankings,
traffic
increases,
and
a
company’s
increases
in
ROI
and
profitability.
It
is
clear
that
the
top
spot
in
Google
organic
search
rankings
can
result
in
great
financial
rewards
for
any
company,
regardless
of
industry.
And
with
MaP
CuPs
and
his
Webspam
Team
at
the
helm,
companies
had
bePer
play
by
the
rules
of
organic
search
as
set
by
Google
or
they
may
find
themselves
suffering
a
penalty,
which
could
kill
their
business.

13. Teknicks has pioneered the art of link acquisition, engaging, and increasing quality
search engine rankings, traffic, and ROI since 2004. The company’s portfolio of
clients includes some of the most well-known brands in the world. The ever-
evolving, dedicated team of SEM experts at Teknicks is always learning how to stay in
lock-step with search engines, like Google, in order to implement the latest white hat
strategies before algorithm changes take place.
About Teknicks
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