Comments on: Stop Worrying About Rankings

By: The Koi Man

The Koi Man — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:42:31 +0000

Currently, I don’t think the searchwiki will affect the organic search results much. It would make a big difference if everybody had a Google account but that isn’t the case. I don’t know the reason behind the concept of searchwiki but it might have something to do with minimizing spammers and blackhat seo. On the other hand, searchwiki may backfire on Google. In order for people to categorize what they want to see when logging into Google account, they first must type in whatever keywords they are looking for. The end result would still be the same because in order for people to searchwiki rank your site, your site still has to show up on the first 2-3 pages of Google search results for a particular keyword. So, straight to the point, this gives the more reasons for spammers to spam the search engines because the only way to get bookmarked by these individuals is to get listed on the top pages. I could be wrong but I think this is an invitation for spammers to do more harm to current major search engines.

By: Matt Mernagh

Matt Mernagh — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:04:55 +0000

this is potentially great for people who create exciting original content who find they can only hit a niche market. more interaction on with a search engine will benefit those who have rabid followings who want to promote their favorite creator. fascinating reading. M

By: Dave Bascom

Dave Bascom — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:21:41 +0000

Great points, Dan. Search is a means to the end of getting new customers and growing your business. It should be looked at as part of a complete marketing mix–not your entire marketing plan. It would be a huge mistake to risk the success or failure of a business on the unpredictability of the search engines.

By: Dan Schulz

Dan Schulz — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:54 +0000

Hi Dave,

I have one minor issue with something you said in today’s post. That is “Things have changed with the search engines to the point where rankings are no longer the best indicator of SEO success.”

I’ve always felt that rankings have never been the best indicator of SEO success because having a site listed at the top of the search engines won’t mean squat if the site cannot convert that traffic into new customers (and thus higher sales), feed subscriptions, member registrations, requests for services, or whatever other goal the site was set out to accomplish when it was designed in the first place.

Search rankings also fail when the top listings are for the wrong non-competitive (as in long-tail) keywords that don’t bring in as much traffic (or any for that matter) to begin with. Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m not bagging on long tail searches; instead I’m saying that many people may be choosing the wrong “long-tail” keywords to target, or even relying on long tail search terms to begin with while ignoring the primary and even secondary keywords and phrases they need to be targeting anyway.

In fact, you hit the nail right on the head when you said (and again, I quote) “You should be focusing on how much traffic is coming from search, which keywords are driving that traffic, and most importantly, which keywords are driving sales.”

That is what I’ve been telling people for the past year. One of my friends even went so far as to say that if search is comprising the vast majority of your traffic, chances are very good the Web site is not even being marketed properly (I countered his statement by saying that one exception to his “rule” would be if the site was new). Search engine optimization and marketing should be seen as a means of complementing (instead of replacing) traditional marketing and promotion strategies (especially where branding and word of mouth are concerned).

I guess I’m just saying that search marketing should be viewed as part of a balanced marketing strategy and that (as you said), people should not be so obsessive over where they’re at in the rankings to the point that they start “putting on the blinders” or ignoring everything else they’ve been doing.

But then again, I just build Web sites, what do I know about SEO?

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:09:49 +0000

And you hit on the most important phrase…. “and isn’t ruined by spammers” Is there anything that doesn’t get ruined by spammers?? As soon as spammers and black hatters find a way to exploit this, it will be irrelevant and useless.

By: Devasish Gupta

Devasish Gupta — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:51:08 +0000

Now it’s the turn of web users to decide what they want to see instead of offering what they should see.

Google is utilizing the power of user generated choices to serve the users. It’s like self-service for the end user.

By: MANOJ JAIN

MANOJ JAIN — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:38:32 +0000

It’s a nice post. And I fully agree with you that “Things have changed with the search engines to the point where rankings are no longer the best indicator of SEO success. Keywords are important for driving traffic and hence sales.”