Having a strong keyword ranking doesn’t equate to a large volume of organic traffic, so we cannot equate it to revenue either. Having lost the accuracy of estimating the right volume of search for individual keywords, it is difficult to predict the traffic it would bring. So focusing only on the Google rank of a keyword is not the only option anymore. Here, you will read some reasons why you cannot depend upon the Google ranking, and you are also required to opt for the other options.
The keyword ranking on Google has been a major part of the SEO process for a long time. In a number of cases, the keyword ranking is primary metrics, which is used for judging the performance. But, in today’s scenario, it is recommended to not to depend upon the Google ranking anymore.
It doesn’t mean that you should not work on the SEO process for the search engine ranking. It is only recommended to also use the other online methods for your business, such as social marketing, video marketing and more.
But, first of all, it is necessary to understand what those problems are, which force us to recommend this to the readers.
Why You Should Not be Dependent upon Google Ranking Anymore
- Google’s Secure Search Policy
Around a few years ago, Google Analytics would provide the exact information to the site owners. It was told clearly how many times a specific keyword has been searched. For example, you were able to know that a keyword has been searched by the users around 1400 or 1500 times every month. But, now you are told only that keyword has been searched between 1k and 10k times in a month.
So, the webmasters are not able to make the proper estimates anymore. In the words of Search Engine Watch, “The biggest impact for many site owners has been not being able to segment users by keywords within their web analytics software.”
- Inaccurate Keyword Ranking
One more criticism of keyword ranking data is that the ranking may be inaccurate. There are different reasons behind this probability of inaccuracy:
#Personalization
Personalization has been a big consideration among the individuals within search. Ultimately, Google will deliver the search results, which will be based on the search history of the users.
For example, a user has to search about “television” and he/she was previously browsing the website related to its inventor J. L. Baird, then Google probably may tailor the ranking of the search results for showing the information about J. L. Baird and the invention of television.
But, the users who haven’t been visited the website about J. L. Baird will get the other search results. Due to all this, it will be arduous to determine, which website will actually be at the top search result.
#Device and Location
Around a few years ago, when you would search the information about some services, you would get the generic information on the top. But, a lot of advancements in Google has made it possible now to get the information about the location where your device is right now.
For example, if a user living in New York is going to search for dental services, he/she will get the results for the dental services available in New York and that too, at his/her nearby location. The development of Google Maps or the entries in Google My Business is the major reason behind this facility.
Similarly, if a user searches for “dental services in New York”, he/she gets the dental services located in New York.
So, if you are a dentist located in nearby areas of New York and you are willing to attract the patients living in New York then it will definitely be a challenging task for you. In New York also, it will not be easy to attract the patients who are living in distant areas from you and the Google search results start from the nearest service provider.
The same condition is applied in case of other services also like physicians, lawyers, restaurants and more.
- SEO Is Constantly Changing
Today, in 2019, SEO is not the same as it was in 2019. Due to black hat techniques used by a number of individuals, Google has made a number of algorithm updates time to time.
When the updates take place, the rankings of a number of websites go down. Even if you are working in the right way from your end, your site may be penalized due to some unintentional mistakes you have made while working on some website.
So, if your website is on top rank today, you can’t be sure that it will stay there always.
Apart from the mistakes, there may be some other reasons why your website may rank low. There may be the changed terms and condition of Google. For example, mobile-friendliness, security and website speed were not very significant issues in the past, but they are important today. Google is trying to provide more and more facilities to the users.
So, you cannot be sure what more changes in terms and conditions may be from Google. This is why also, you are recommended to rely on other sources also apart from SEO.
- Many Users Rely on Other Platforms
However, it is true that Google search remains the first option to search for any type of service, but the fact cannot be overlooked that a number of users today also consult the other options, which they find convenient. Social media platforms and video hosting websites are the best examples in this regard. In fact, these platforms are the search engines in themselves.
#Social Media Platforms
Social media platforms are the sources to acquire any type of information of the users today. It is a type of sharing platform, where the information about anything can be shared as well as obtained.
This is why a number of people like to rely on social media platforms to get information about the products or services they need. As a matter of fact, all types of businesses have their profile or pages on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram. Social media marketing is one of the prominent digital marketing methods today. Therefore, any product or service can be searched on these platforms. The social media platforms even have business spaces and selling options also.
In addition to this, the social media platforms also allow the entrepreneurs and marketers to display their advertisements as posts in the news feeds of the interested audiences. So, there are situations when some users get their requirements fulfilled even while surfing their social media profiles.
#Video Hosting Sites
Most of the organizations and business persons like to provide information via videos on YouTube and other video hosting sites (Dailymotion, Vimeo, etc.). Information can be found in a much more attractive and convincing way with the help of videos. Videos also allow entrepreneurs to provide demonstrations of their services to potential clients or services.
This is why a large number of people like to search for their requirements on the video hosting sites today. It is the reason due to which the entrepreneurs are recommended today to work on the videos; otherwise, it is very difficult to combat the competition.
To Sum Up
So, it can be concluded that despite numerous benefits, it is not a good idea to be dependent upon SEO in the present scenario. You cannot rely on keyword ranking all the time, and if you have the presence over the other platforms, then you can get the traffic for your website consistently without any second thought.
Shubham is working with Canbayinc as Digital
Marketing Officer. He loves to write helpful information related to SEO and
social media, best practices and tactics on a regular basis. He is passionate
about football and loves to get some dust off his boots whenever free.