Is Website Ranking Important?

The term "website ranking" is a popular way to define website performance. Unfortunately, most business owners do not understand how a website's ranking affects a website's performance. And digital marketing firms often promote website ranking services for specific keywords without detailing the advantages (or possible disadvantages). The presumed "value" of a high website ranking is taken at face value.

By promising a high website ranking, a digital marketing firm may make a good impression--but the promise is often empty. For website owners, empty promises translate to wasted money.

The situation is confused because website ranking is often not clearly defined by digital marketing firms. Alex Stepman, the founder of SEO Sparta, notes that many people confuse website ranking with PageRank. 

So what's the deal? What is website ranking? And what is PageRank?

Website Ranking & PageRank

In the SEO community, website ranking is often correlated with (or confused with) PageRank--Google's first dedicated algorithm for sorting and ranking web pages. When it was introduced, PageRank worked on the premise of links:

"PageRank work[ed] by counting the number and quality of links to a page to determine a rough estimate of how important the website is. The underlying assumption is that more important websites are likely to receive more links from other websites" (Source).

In the past, SEOs emphasized links to achieve high placement on the SERP (search engine results page). During this time, PageRank was logically linked with "website ranking." The higher your PageRank, the higher your website ranking. At the time, PageRank was easily identified in the Google Toolbar. Website owners could see the "value" of their website based on a simple, numerical system. The most popular websites enjoyed a PageRank of 10. The least popular had a PageRank of 0."

When PageRank was the only ranking factor, a 10 was a good indication of popularity. Today, however, Google uses more than 200 ranking factors, and PageRank's importance has diminished.

When a user performs a Google search, Google delivers the most relevant results, but even on the first page results, not all websites enjoy a high PageRank. Even without a high PageRank, many websites appear on the first SERP. These sites have optimized for other factors, including quality content.

Recently, when speaking to a few Philadelphia-are clients of SEO Sparta's SEO services, Alex said:

"Do not confuse the issue. A PageRank score is not the same as a website ranking. Your website ranking is the spot your site holds on the SERP, which can be revealed by a simple Google search or by trying any number of tools."

Is Website Ranking Important?

A few years ago, Search Engine Land asked, "Do organic keyword rankings matter anymore?"

"With the evolution of paid advertising and expansion of universal search," wrote Julia Connors, "as well as Google's continuous efforts to provide consumers with content that resolves their demands...the opportunities attached to traditional keyword rankings are diminishing at an alarming rate."

Still, a high ranking is not without value. Industry studies about website ranking often reveal similar results: The first SERP attracts most of the traffic (some estimates say up to 90%). 

However, a high website ranking alone does not necessarily equate to profits. First, you must attract a click--and then a conversion.

And this is why equating website performance with website ranking is misleading. As Connors notes for Search Engine Land:

"One of the problems with keyword rankings is that any consumer can click through to a website and immediately leave because the title tag and meta description didn't align with the content of its associated landing page. Ranking first on Google does not mean that every visitor is going to turn into a paying customer because of how limited keywords are for understanding granular details associated with online consumers."

So website ranking matters, but not as much as a click and a conversion.

Beyond Website Ranking: Website Optimization with SEO Sparta

Alex Stepman founded SEO Sparta to help small to medium-sized businesses build and promote websites that inspire clicks and conversions. For more information, call Alex at SEO Sparta today: 215-900-9398.

Photo Source: "What is in PageRank? A Historical and Conceptual Investigation of a Recursive Status Index"

If you are interested in transforming your website into a money-making tool or are interested in exploring opportunities to outperform your competition, we encourage you to contact SEO SPARTA.

We combine traditional marketing methods and organic SEO--emphasizing natural website optimization--to design thoughtful, inspiring, and effective marketing campaigns.

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