22 replies to this topic

[ewo]

I've just discovered that I'm number two and three of page one in Google SERP for a key phrase I've been targetting - so I'm a happy bunny - and, of course, it's all down to the helpful folks at HR.

Now I don't want to be a one-week wonder - so what do I need to do to stay there? More of the same (link building, attention to copy/content), or is there a retention strategy I should be following?

[OldWelshGuy]

My take on google is. once you hit the top 10 put the pen down. Make changes to the home page only when you have to, but keep on with the link building and other marketing work.

[ewo]

put the pen down

Thanks for that, OWG. But I'm already getting withdrawal symptoms. What should I do with my hands? Should I take up smoking?

[OldWelshGuy]

LOL when you get to number 1, if you have done your homework right, your hands will be plenty busy counting the money daily

Just keep on doind what you have been doing, but put a little more thought into making any changes to core elements like home page content and internal navigation structure links etc.

Then get bored, and go start another site or more seriously, sit back and look at how you can enhance the user experience of your site without altering the core of the site. Forums etc

[Michael Martinez]

...but keep on with the link building and other marketing work.

Why? When you've hit the top, you're not going any further.

Someone who pulls in at number 9 may be able to inch higher with a little more link-building. But someone who is at number 1 and 2 can stop.

[Randy]

Why?  When  you've hit the top, you're not going any further.

Someone who pulls in at number 9 may be able to inch higher with a little more link-building.  But someone who is at number 1 and 2 can stop.

Nope. Because the competition hasn't stopped. So if you stop and they keep improving their site, you're going to start dropping.

It's best to keep solidifying your newfound position IMO.

[Michael Martinez]

Nope.  Because the competition hasn't stopped.  So if you stop and they keep improving their site, you're going to start dropping.

That's only true if you're up against active competition. Most people aren't, so advising everyone to keep going when there is no need to just contributes to the growing hyperoptimization problem.

It's best to keep solidifying your newfound position IMO.

Solidifying a position is one thing. Simply going on endlessly, mindlessly without actually checking to see if anyone else is actively competing is just a waste of time.

What you're an SEO who takes on 3-4 clients a month? Sooner or later, you're going to run out of time to handle the earlier clients.

Everyone needs to draw a line and say, "Okay, here is where I stop until such time as I may need to take some further action".

[OldWelshGuy]

Why?  When  you've hit the top, you're not going any further.

Someone who pulls in at number 9 may be able to inch higher with a little more link-building.  But someone who is at number 1 and 2 can stop.

Sorry Michael, but that has to be possibly the worst piece of advice ever

You are saying that once a company becomes number 1 they stop marketing themselves? It is a fact of business life that the hungriest company fights the hardest. Companies that rest on their laurels are in fact going backwards. A company should NEVER stop marketing themselves simply because they are at number one.

They release a new product. Hey sod the press release we're number one. No need to keep abreast of market trends any longer hey we're number one, we don't need to. In fact SACK the marketing department because our products market themselves We're number 1

The biggest mistake a company can make is to slow down when you are at the front. When you take the lead in a race, you press on harder, you make sure that the gap between yourself and the opposition is so big that they are going to have to move mountains to catch you. THEN you expand the business safe that your core position has been protected during the time you have to take your eye off the ball.

What you're an SEO who takes on 3-4 clients a month? Sooner or later, you're going to run out of time to handle the earlier clients.

But he Isn't an SEO, it is HIS company. and even though I say to my clients I am done now, THEY still keep going with the belt n bracers stuff.

Surely you know that in business if your not moving forward your going backwards. There is no such thing as standing still as the world keeps turning.

[Sarah]

Sorry Michael, but that has to be possibly the worst piece of advice ever

I agree too. I'm still working to get good rankings and when I get there, I know I will never stop, but will have to work harder and harder. That's why I like that I stumbled across this job after trying out so many lifeless ones - good things come to those who wait (in life & SEO/SEM )

p.s. to ewo. You earnt a gold star

Edited by Sarah, 05 July 2006 - 11:05 AM.

[Michael Martinez]

Sorry Michael, but that has to be possibly the worst piece of advice ever

So, your idea of good advice is something along the lines of: You're at number 1, you can't go any higher, so keep doing what you're doing just in case someone else comes along 2 years down the road and tries to take the slot away from you.

Sorry, that dog won't hunt.

First of all, not all links help, and people have no way of knowing which links help.

Secondly, once you do hit the top, your linkage tends to grow naturally as people looking for quick references will link to the top results (see Mike Grehan's "The Rich Keep Getting Richer" article -- no link provided because we all know how to search, right?).

Thirdly,

You are saying that once a company becomes number 1 they stop marketing themselves?...

Nope. What I am saying is that there is no need to continue optimizing for the search engines. Just because you don't need to optimize any further doesn't mean you're done marketing. You just need to focus on other methods of marketing yourself (such as creating brand awareness so that the search queries you rank best for don't fall into the "used to be popular" category).

Anyone who equates search engine optimization with the main thrust of a marketing plan leaves a lot of juice out of their strategy.

I'll give you a personal fer instance. Search on "lord of the rings news" and "lord of the rings movie news" and my site is usually in the top five at Google. Great.

Of course, now that Peter Jackson's movies are DvD history, nobody really cares any more. Those expressions get only a tiny fraction of the activity they once did. The glory days are over.

I could keep optimizing for those expressions and try to take the number 1 slot away from TheOneRing.Net, but what would be the point?

The worst advice in this discussion so far has been to take a single-minded approach to optimization without looking at the bigger picture.

Once you hit the top, you need to start looking at other priorities. Check your rankings on occasion and make adjustments as needed. Otherwise, don't fret, move on, and just be as efficient as possible.

[qwerty]

You guys aren't arguing about the same thing. OWG is talking about the importance of ongoing marketing efforts for a company, including its internet presence, and MM is talking about optimization efforts for specific keyword phrases.

[OldWelshGuy]

Cheers Bob, I just hit the 'more options' button when I saw your post pop up. You have hit the nail on the head. The original question was 'what do I do now' and My reply was that you continue with your marketing effor and building links (it is impossible not to build links when carrying out online/offline marketing.

I guess that is my problem in that I refuse to separate online and offline marketing efforts. I see them as the same, with the web simply being an interactive advertising medium.

I also said, start another site, develop your exisiting site etc.

I guess that is the problem with written words rather than face to face or telephone

[Michael Martinez]

You know, people occasionally say I trim too much when replying to things other people write. I see I should have trimmed a little more judiciously. My only concern was with "continued link building", in the sense that you made it sound like the pace should not decrease at all in that area for a site that has achieved top rankings.

[Randy]

What you're an SEO who takes on 3-4 clients a month?  Sooner or later, you're going to run out of time to handle the earlier clients.

I'm not an SEO at all, you should know this by now.

I'm a webmaster. One who averages 1,500 to 2,000 new (paying) clients per month, with the total growing month-after-month for the last several years now.

My strategy of solidfying ones position works. And as a side benefit it seems to help halt massive ranking shakeup during updates, since my competition --no matter how active they are apparently-- simply can't keep up with the authority, intregrity and trust that I've managed to build with the search engines for my sites because I didn't stop when I reached my short term ranking goal.

My advice is for other webmasters, not SEOs. Take it for what you want. I can only tell you what I've seen work time and time again, and tell you that when I've stopped all efforts as soon as a site reaches #1 it usually doesn't stay there for more than 6-12 months before being overtaken or zapped a bit by some update.

[ewo]

Well, I certainly started something here! But I sense a rapprochement, which is heart warming.