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There are a million different things people might type in an SE to try and find our products/services/articles. If someone types in the company name (which, handily, is also a good phrase) we almost invariably come top. But we don't for absolutely everything I can think of... though we do for many of our *KEY phrases*. So what criteria do people use when calling this judgement?
So, do you specify, say, 3 KW and claim number one when you hit top with those three? Or is there more amibiguity to it all, and if so, why say #1 which is so explicit?
So many questions....
JOsh
Exactly, except it's 1 or 2 KW in my case.
Keep your goals like RC said, to 1 or 2 keywords for a sub-domain, sub-directory, or domain. This is realistic, especially if it is a highly competitive market.
A good job starts with finding keyprases that are in demand. GoTo have such a tool. Personally I use the Good Keywords software. A good analysis start with tracking everything around the key phrase (bid, ask, demand, inboud links of competition, technology used, ect.)
Then you start on the right foot.
In the small business web arena, that may be the largest single failure in their SEO (and the largest area of abuse for guaranteed Top10 scammers). The site owner just doesn't know how someone is going to search.
#1 is invariably for targeted keywords/phrases, most of the members of WebMasterWorld are looking for good keywords to optimise on, for a particular business, and the success of an optimisation campaign is measured in positioning for those keywords/phrases.
Agerhart is right as usual about keeping your targets in bounds. This can mean the difference between a business that has a web site that is of benefit to them and one that is just a drain on resources.
In general the process goes something like identify keywords/phrase for optimisation.
Perform initial optimistion, measure results.
Optimise some more, mesure improvement etc. etc.
Once targets for the initial stage have been met then look at expanding the set of keywords/phrases that are targeted or as RC says optimise on shorter phrases - 1 or 2 keyword phrases.
Setting your targets is all about the marketplace you are addressing and the number of other sites in that marketplace which are undergoing similar work.
For example, suppose you own the #1 spot for both "auto wiring" and "custom wiring"--and numerous other combos like "custom hotrod wiring" etc.
Also assume you have this status in at least two big engines, and maybe WiseNut as well.
How many visitors per day is this worth? If you answer 1000 visitors a day, you're wrong. If you say 100 visitors a day, you're still overly optimistic. It's more like 50-60. And I'm talking #1 spot, not just first page results. I know from experience that even the #2 spot is significantly less productive.
In my estimation, being top dog isn't all it's cracked up to be. People have this idea that you'd be flooded with 1000's of visitors daily, but frankly unless you're on a real hot keyword (or pornographic search) then these kinds of visitors just don't show up.
Try auto wiring diagram, if any on site. 1169 more than double the demand of auto wiring.
If I was into hotrod wiring, which fortunately I'm not given the quality of the competition, then getting my 40-60 visitors a day and maybe a couple of new customers each month is what I want out of my web site - if I have a strong bricks and mortar business and the right contacts in that industry. The web site pays for itself and generates me a little extra income.
However if I was trying to build an e-business on those keywords I would go under very rapidly.
