What more can you do when ranked #1 on SE's for key words

Hit the limit?

[Frank_Rizzo]

What more can you do when you rank #1 on search engines for a few keywords?

Is it worth keeping on finding links, boost PR, adding new content?

I mean what is the point? If you are already #1 for certain keywords then surely SEO'ing is a waste of time, and isn't it best not to break something that doesn't need fixing?

Is there an absolute limit to the number of new visitors you can have?

The way I see it is that being listed on the number 1 slot is the maximum you can do and that should translate to nnnn visitors per day or week or whatever. If you are on the #1 slot then nothing you can do can increase that visitor count.

The only thing above you in serps are the paying advertisers. But why would you want to follow that route if your free listing is on the next line?

[webjefe]

Is it worth keeping on finding links, boost PR, adding new content?

Short Answer:

Yes.

Medium Size Answer:

First, are you number one on all the top search engines? Remember, if some day your favorite search engine doesn't see you anymore as their favorite site, you will begin to appreciate the traffic that the other major search engines provide.

The purpose of getting links is not just to get PR. Good links can provide you additional traffic without requiring the visitor to find you in the search engine.

You are #1 for blue widgets.
Are you also #1 for red widgets, smelly widgets, and blue suede widgets?

Don't spend your time tweaking the page ranked at #1. Now work on finding links, boost PR, adding new content to other pages of your website.

More search terms = More visitors = More money.

The only thing above you in serps are the paying advertisers. But why would you want to follow that route if your free listing is on the next line?

Why would you want the #1 free listing if the #2 free listing is on the next line?
How much traffic never gets to your site because they clicked on the paid listing and never came back?
Do you want your competitors to be getting the traffic from the paid listings?

Yes, Virginia. There are many reasons. ;)

Long Answer:

Read WebmasterWorld Forums

[ken_b]

If you are already #1 for certain keywords then surely SEO'ing is a waste of time,

They guy in the #2 spot is hoping you'll think like this, it'll make it easier for him to become #1.

It's one thing to get to #1, it's another, and harder, thing to stay there.

[Frank_Rizzo]

But what if you have been on the #1 slot for 5 years?

What if you have run out of keywords to optimize on?

I think there has to come a time where you can optimize no more and have to leave things as they are. You have to find a new way of generating traffic such as advertising.

I see this similar to hitting your limit in the gym. You've been working out for a while and have achieved a certain fitness level and strength ability. You are no Arnold Schwarzenegger but you seem to have reached your peak for your physique!

[ken_b]

What if you have run out of keywords to optimize on?

I suppose that's possible, but I have a hard time imagining it.

Are you #1 for every search term or phrase that has ever appeared as a referer in your log files? I'm talking exact matches here.

So if one searcher uses fuzzy blue widgets, the next uses blue fuzzy widgets, and the third uses blue widget fuzzy, are you #1 for all three exact matches, and what about misspellings?

[caveman]

Frank_Rizzo given the situation you outline, perhaps it would make sense to open up a sister site on a related but very different topic, link to it once from the homepage of the current successful site, and use your learning to make the new one equally successful?

[ogletree]

I have terms I rank number one on and every once in a while some site will pop out of knowhere and beat me. Somebody on a really high PR site might mention your term in the title of their paper and boom they outrank you.

[Frank_Rizzo]

I can understand the point of those in 2nd and 3rd place doing what they can to get their head in front. So for that reason I understand that it's a good idea to keep on getting new links because that's what the competitors will be doing.

Maybe I should rephrase the question.

What can you do when your traffic seems to have reached it's peak?

You get a constant flow of traffic month after month but it's not growing.

There are other avenues to explore but with regards to SE's you seem to hit saturation point for that one site.

[viggen]

...how about making your site in another language?

...every topic has a sub-topic, and every sub-topic has a similar/related topic, go after them...

cheers
viggen

[petra]

What more can you do when ranked #1 on SE's for key words

Open up an seo consutancy practice ;)

[richardmasoner]

I've had that "problem." I moved on to other, related topics but with more competitive keywords and wider scope. That increases the challenge, but it also increases the revenue.

[OCSupertones]

Just build another website.

[Stefan]

What can you do when your traffic seems to have reached it's peak?

I got to that point fairly early on because my main site is very "niche". What I did was think of other new pages with off-topic kw's that would bring in new traffic, and thereby make people aware of the main subject, even if they'd never heard of it before.

If you're primarily presenting info on widgets in "country of your choice", and no one knows that there are widgets there, if you pull them in on wodgets instead, they'll learn about the widgets once they've arrived. My wodget info is original and valuable all the same (or else I wouldn't put it online), it just wasn't the point of the site at the start. Of course, I'm getting rather sick of doing a weather (wodget) forecast every day, and answering emails on crime risks, etc ;-)