A couple of days ago I caught up online a heated discussion among young and not so young SEO experts. The main idea of this online conversation was that search engine rankings don’t matter anymore and there is no use to check the success of the keywords and their movement on our three leading search engines. I guess, this discussion started because Google started blocking some of ranking verification tools of these freelance SEO people. As for me, I am not going to stop verifying search engine rankings for keywords anytime soon. And my web analytics company will support me in this decision. No matter what Google does, I find these guys statements bizarre for many reasons.
First of all, personally I can vouch that main general keywords are important. Any simple web analysis will confirm this. Each of the main keywords that achieved #1 position in leading search engines brings several thousands of very useful clicks and increases web traffic. In my previous blog entries I also stated that if you have#1 organic position for a main keyword and #1 position in sponsored links, this creates an unbeatable combination comparable to the powerful double punch during in the boxing ring.
Another reason why importance of achieving high search engine rankings can not be underestimated is our clients. They pay us to see the results that will increase commercial value of their websites. I do understand that PageRank significance is slowly declining, but our clients value them nevertheless. I also do understand that not all keywords were created equal, but the major ones have an impact on a status and position of the client in his industry.
My conclusion is that SEO contractors should not be selfish and patronizing. They should not present one side of the story to the client while snubbing him and giggling behind his back. In fact, that kind of attitude already pushed away a lot of valuable clients who felt confused and stupefied by people who claim to be on top of SEO mountain, but in reality are just re-sellers of links. This is why our web analysts are trying to stay away from such a “mainstream”.