Googles Number 1 Position - how profitable is it?

[Bill_Lawrence]

I'm just curious as to how many of you guys have been fortunate enough to get the number 1 ranking on google for your keyword and just how profitable is that spot...you don't really have to throw any numbers out that if you don't wanna but is it all it's cracked up to be?

I've been ranked at number 1 before for the term "buy + product name" and that didn't really work to well. It worked but I didn't get the results I thought I would and that's probably because of the niche I'm in.

I've found some keywords in a profitable niche. One of the keywords has 370 exact searches but only 5500 pages are competing for it....wonder if it's worth diving into that...can't hurt.

I just wanna know what others are experiencing in the number 1 spot or on the first page in a competitive niche.

[Keithsco]

50% of the clicks for the keyword / phrase / term are all yours

profitability is about your sales funnel and conversion ability etc but if you are # 1 on google then I envy you . . .lol

for me . . stop smoking (thats my niche) has 330,000 searches a month
If I could get # 1 then, based on what other marketers have told me, I could reasonably expect anything from 1 - 3 % of that number in sales a year - so - 1 - 3% of 50% of the total searches in GKWT based on exact match = 165,000 = 1650 sales a year or more . . . .lol

thats if that many people ACTUALLY WANTED TO GIVE UP SMOKING . . . SEE ???

SO MUCH is niche dependent and there are MANY variables to be considered. No point in ranking # one for a term which has no money in the niche . . . etc

[Ouroboros]

It depends on the number of people searching for that term.

As Keith said, you'll get 50-55% of those searches.

[bravo75]

370 searches / by 50% = is only 185 searches a month. 185 / 30 is only around 6 searches a day. Hardly worth pursuing in my opinion.

[JMichaelZ]

I have a few number ones for my main keyword phrases. But with the kind of sites I build, I get as much and usually way more traffic from the long tail keywords I rank for.

I have some sites where I have 50 number ones or more, not my main term but a lot of longer tails and if you add them to my 2's and 3's I get a lot of traffic from my longer tailed phrases.

[Jackson Soo]

Agreed that 370 exact searches per month isn't exactly worth your time.
I'd be looking at 300 and above exact searches per day.

[paulie888]

This is really going to depend on the niche and keyword that you're targeting, which in turn influences the number of daily searches you get.

With your keyword, it'd also depend on how easily it can be monetized. Have you checked the keyword with MSN's commercial intent tool? Is it a 'buying' keyword? In other words, are the people who're typing in your keywords tire-kickers, or serious potential buyers?

It's not good enough just for the niche to be profitable or to rank no. 1 for a keyword, it'd also depend on the search volume as well as the commercial intent of your keyword. In addition to that, you also have to consider if it can be easily monetized with relevant offers, products and/or services.

[chrismarcans]

Most of the keywords that I work out became number 1 in Google ranking. Of course in returned it also created a lot of sales.

[Bill_Lawrence]

So I should be trying to focus on a keyword that has 9000 monthly searches or more?

[jasonmorgan]

So I should be trying to focus on a keyword that has 9000 monthly searches or more?

Depends on what you like.

Low traffic / low competition keywords are going to be easier but due to the lower amount of traffic your earnings potential isn't very promising.

High traffic / higher competition keywords are going to be more difficult but due to the greater amount of traffic your earnings potential is higher.

Do you want easy or do you like a fight?

[Johnsonconsulting1]

I know someone who ranked #1 in Google for her niche, and she did pretty well financially....brought in the kind of money we all look to make. I would love to be #1 for my business and don't think the #1 spot is overrated at all as long as the niche makes sense and the offers provided by IMers in the niche bring value to the potential customers.

Blessings,
cj

[bravo75]

I like to go after keywords with a minimum of 80 daily searches.

Originally Posted by Bill_Lawrence

So I should be trying to focus on a keyword that has 9000 monthly searches or more?

[Bill_Lawrence]

I believe the easier road is to dominate the lower competition and lower searches. If you do that enough then you'll match what you could do if you were number 1 for a competitive keyword.

It'll take more output but I think it's more difficult to dominate the more competitive terms.

[Bingo123]

I guess it means nothing if you aren't ranking for "buying keywords". It's an old saying, but very true. You need to get inside the users head and rank for words they search for just before they want to buy something.

[bhuff85]

Originally Posted by bravo75

370 searches / by 50% = is only 185 searches a month. 185 / 30 is only around 6 searches a day. Hardly worth pursuing in my opinion.

Not necessarily - Without really knowing what keyword it is, it could be worth something. Not only that, but with only 5500 competing pages (if that's the true number), it's worth throwing up an article to see where it lies and go from there.

For the OP, it all breaks down to the keyword. I've been #1 for keywords that brought traffic and minimal sales, while others brought in heaps of traffic and a great amount of sales. It's all about finding those "buyer" keywords, as well as having an excellent offer that matches whatever it is that a potential buyer is looking for.

[paulie888]

Originally Posted by Bill_Lawrence

I believe the easier road is to dominate the lower competition and lower searches. If you do that enough then you'll match what you could do if you were number 1 for a competitive keyword.

It'll take more output but I think it's more difficult to dominate the more competitive terms.

Bill, there's no hard and fast rule regarding the number of searches you should target. If anything, you should avoid terms that have very low exact match searches, because they'd likely not be worth your while (unless the monetization was exceptionally lucrative).

Let me give you an example - in the UK, I have been told that solar energy has become a pretty profitable niche. While you may not get many searches for say, "solar panels + city", each solar panel sale that you refer could potentially pay commissions in the thousands.

If your monetization is via Adsense or some low-priced digital product, a low search volume is probably going to produce pretty dismal results.

So as you can see, there are factors to consider besides just the search volume.

[petevamp]

As someone who owns several number one positions for many different keywords and sites. How profitable it is really depends on the ammount of searches it does get on a daily basis. For I have one site that is in the number one spot for a very powerful keyword. However because it is a keyword of searchers and not buyers it really isn't too powerful. On the other hand I have a less searched number one spot for another site that still gets a good amount of traffic and has many different buyers.

You still need to put in a little bit of work to maintain that number one spot in the long run. Not to mention if you simply do not have a page that converts its simply a waste of time owning that number one spot and all the work you had to put into it.

[Bill_Lawrence]

I'm going to test the keyword that I found with 370 exact monthly searches and 5,500 websites. I don't believe it will hurt to try.

If I don't make any sales right away..so be it. It won't take me long to put together something. So I won't have a ton of time invested anyway.

I think the biggest failure I could make is failing to try.

If I get 10-20 keywords in this niche with similar stats...I believe I could earn the same as I could with 1 keyword that has more competition.

If I average 1 sale per month for each keyword....that 10-20 sales. That's a good $300-$600 each month.

Maybe my approach is wrong, but I think it could work.

[thecableguy]

Here's the percentages that MarketSamurai uses, scroll about 1/3 of the way down the page.

How Much Money is a Top Google Ranking Worth to Your Business?

[jacked]

It is HIGHLY profitable. And 370 exact searches a month is nowhere near worth it, I try to get ATLEAST 100 exact searches a day, and I would still consider that not worth it.

[Dan B Rusu]

Dont do keywords below 1000. I've found the Google k tool to be really unreliable and reports 300 when in fact no one is searching the phrase.

Shoot for 4000+ exact searches/month to be worthwhile.

[Johnsonconsulting1]

Never mind....

[clickbumped]

370 exact per month is low; however, if you were to duplicate that across 10 pages. Really you may be able to rank 10 pages on first page (possibly 1st spot) and bring in 3700 exacts per month with very little effort. Most of us enjoy seeking out the high numbers...but this is a very good strategy which has worked out for me countless times. You really just have to ask yourself what you are willing to do.

[clickbumped]

BTW i rank #1 for a selected keyword phrase that is claimed to get 480 exacts per month and I don't get any earnings from that page...it all comes from my inner pages and long-tail rankings. Just something to think about...

[JackPowers]

For all the talk of Google's results getting worse, more and more people are actually finding what they're looking for within the top 3 search results. That's just the facts. 1 is where you want to be if you want to make money these days in Google.

It's a winner takes all game.

[wanna-succeed]

Originally Posted by thecableguy

Here's the percentages that MarketSamurai uses, scroll about 1/3 of the way down the page.

How Much Money is a Top Google Ranking Worth to Your Business?

Where did you get that? That is some SWEET information!
I wonder what they base it on though....Anyone can throw a few numbers up. Non the less, that is very impressive, thanks for sharing!

[Opportunex]

I know someone with a number one listing. That one keyword gets him about 40 hits per day. Conversion is at 10%. Oh, and each client is worth around $1500.