I'm currently ranked #1 and #3 on google

wait for the weekend and than judge. weekday traffic is weak, specially with some keywords.
don't give up just yet.

Its just pretty annoying, 5 different sites all with low traffic from SERP/SEO which we spent money on

If you're logged in to Google, it will slant the SERPS to what it thinks you're interested in. I'm sitting at number 2 - but when I log out - or use scroogle.org - I'm number 12.

Big difference!

You may have chosen keywords that have a high broad search count but low exact counts. It's happened to me a few times too. Part of the territory for sure.

I would guess that you may have made some errors in your keyword estimates.

First off google's keyword tool is not perfect (as is any keyword tool for that matter.) They are useful to gain general understanding of what one might expect for certain words, but never put your faith in the actual numbers.

Secondly, are you only checking 'broad match' terms? Try a search using 'exact match' and see what you get. Those numbers should be a little closer to what you can expect, but again there are no guarantees that getting to #1 you can expect a certain percentage of those searches to actually click thru.

Another thing you may want to consider is making sure your meta description and titles are helpful to the searchers so they are more likely to click your site for a particular search.

Which tool are you using to determine that 120K users search for the term? Wordtracker? Google's adword tool?

If Google's adword keyword tool then are you looking at Broad search volume or Exact match search volume? There is a HUGE difference in the two.

If you're looking at Google's adword keyword tool's exact match search volume then more than likely you have a crappy snippet showing (as in a snippet that Google constructs instead of a well optimized meta description with a call to action that is shown as the snippet).

It could also be that you chose a crappy keyword to rank for. Just because a keyword phrase gets lots of search volume, that does not mean that the search phrase get a lot of click-thru's and results in lots of conversions. One of the biggest mistakes people make is targeting the wrong keyword phrases.

One other thing... It could be that you've selected a keyword phrase that people search for because they are looking for a specific site, and regardless of whether you beat that site in the SERPs... they are going to click on that site, not yours. If you rank 1st for "Apple iPad" and Apple.com ranked 2nd, you'll almost never get a click-thru because most people searching are going to click on the apple.com link even if it's at position 5 and you're at 1.

But without knowing your URL and the keywords you're ranking for, its really impossible for anyone here to provide you with any useful help because, like me, they are just throwing out wild guesses.

Why do you keep dodging the question about exact match vs broad match searches? You've gotten some good advice here, but aren't really helping us help you with your issue.

Have you double checked to see what the actual search volume is for the exact match terms yet?

It depends on your target market and niche. Maybe people aren't that interested in your niche, but you have to find creative ways to drive traffic to your site. Advertising on a site that has high traffic can help your site.

bathroom supplies was the keyword
img149.imageshack.us/img149/7221/bathroomsupply.png
google keyword checker suggested there was a high volume of local searches.

other keyword tools suggested a very low volume of local searches which explains why a #1 ranking is bringing only 5 people worth of traffic

I just Googled 'bathroom supplies' with and without quotes and your site did not come up in several pages of searches.

I then Googled 'bathroom supply.' Your site came up No. 2 with and without quotes in search.

According to Google Keyword tool:

Bathroom supplies - 74,000 broad, 9400 exact
Bathroom supply - 14,800 broad, 1900 exact

You need to improve your CTR in the SERPS, just check compare the description being displayed in the search results for the keywords with your competitors.

Yes thank you, I will do that.


Thank you, I will need to purchase MNF and Market Samurai or Keyword Ninja as Google Keyword Tool let me down.


Will do this too.

Every day the same question. We should make a sticky with guide how to use Google Keyword Tool.

Anyway you are ranking no.1 for "Bathroom supply" and that kw has 880 exact searches in May. (For "Bathroom supplies" I don't see you in top 15 pages).

Lets say out of that number 50% goes to Adwords and Google partners since these numbers in Adwords KW Tool are not just numbers for Google but also their partnering search engines like AOL etc. So we are left with 450 potential clicks on organic results on Google. According to some older study first position gets about 40% clicks.
40% out of 450 is 180.

180 devided by 30 (days in 1 month) is exactly 6 clicks per day for no.1 position.

I don't see any problem here? You are getting traffic that is expected. Before you use any tool or data you need to know what that data is and how to use the tool. Understanding is the key.

For "Bathroom supplies" with the same analogy if we use exact match and local volume you can get around 15 clicks a day if you would be no.1. However since phrase match has a lot of searches you would probably get some traffic for very similar variations.

With a search count of 880 local/1900 global for "bathroom supply" (exact), there really isn't much traffic to expect. Many IM practitioners believe that anything below 3000 local searches (exact) is not worth going after. 880? I'm afraid that's way too low, and that is being manifested in the numbers you are seeing.

lol what makes you think people will type into Google, "the bathroom supplies"?

I guess next time I am looking for car rims, I should do "the car rims".

I am facing similar problem not only for one site ..but couple of sites.
I dont think that the Google keyword suggestion tool shows proper results. Many of my keywords are ranking in top3 results but they are not getting expected traffic as shown in the Google Keyword Suggestion Tool.

@KingoftheCrate:

I suggest buying some high quality IBLS with varying anchor text to get the kind of SERPs and traffic you need.

Best,
Josh

@King:

Ask GoDaddy for a dedicated IP for your domain. As you know, you currently have six other sites on the IP.

Best,
Josh

I've stopped wasting my time with adsense, my clicks for adverse credit mortgage slowed down. I can make $500 a day with CPA and little effort. Adsense is a silly game and their payments are inconsistent. How can I make $150 1 day then $0.32 the same day with the same quality of traffic coming to my site. No time for this.

I suppose the keywords you pick are not juicy. Or just need to improve your website.
Maybe user interface is not friendly or the content is not attractive.

We have some clients get bad adsense before he adjust his website layout.

Is this broad match or exact match. If you're ranking number 1 and only getting 5 clicks, my guess would be it is broad match.

This is a big mistake people make when doing keyword research. Always use exact search to get the best estimate as to what kind of traffic you can expect. Anything else is a bonus.

The second factor to consider is are your sites still number 1 and 5 if you search for them on another computer?
Google will cache your results and return your site on the first page after a while if you spend a lot of time working on that site.
Double check your site is still ranking from another pc, not only your pc.

Some folks have complained that the search terms may not be a true reflection of the actual searches, could fluctuate during the season e.t.c

I think you screwed up your KW research targeting a domain.

You are no where to be seen in Google and your search count is way out

Good luck