While it’s great to rank #1 for a keyword or keyphrase, the cost to a small business doesn’t always justify the result. You know that more than 60% of clicks go to those top 3 results on a search engine result page. But sometimes reaching that mark for a highly competitive keyphrase can take a lot of time or money to break into the top 3, especially the #1 spot.
And if you try to cut corners by hiring a less than reputable company to get you to the top of the results by using some black hat SEO techniques, you may risk NEVER attaining a high rank for a keyphrase ever again.
I like to talk to my clients about the idiom of “Being a Big Fish in a Little Pond.” It’s easier to rank for a less competitive keyword or keyphrase like “Blacklick Small Business Website Design” than it is for “Columbus Website Design.” Sure, fewer people are searching for the first phrase, but you are also competing with less clutter on your way to the top.
Instead of saying “I want to rank #1” – you should think about what your ultimate goal really is. Take the time to create client personas and create content directly for those people. Spending more time on the content creation for potential clients than focusing on the search engines will give you better long term results, for less money.