Benefits of Ranking Number One in Google

There is a lot of content out there focused on how to rank number one in the search results. But I think it's important that we answer the question, why? Why do we want to rank number one in Google and the other search engines?

Search engine optimization, or SEO for short, is an investment. And before you decide to put any time, any money, any resources towards it, I want to give you my top five reasons for why you should invest in SEO to gain that coveted number one spot in Google.

Why Ranking Number One in Google Matters

1. Click-Through Rates (CTR) for Top Ranking

I once saw a study that said ranking number one in Google results in 28% of the clicks for that search query. Beyond position one, the percentage falls quickly. In the second position, the average click rate falls to 15.7% and in third position, 11%.

In other words, if you're able to rank number one compared to position three, you'll get nearly three times the traffic for that search. And that can add up.

So, you might be saying, yes, it's obvious. If we've ranked number one in Google, we get the highest percentage of the clicks. We get more traffic to our website. That helps us get more revenue or more leads.

But what are the other reasons that we should invest to try to rank number one?

2. Brand Awareness

The second reason is the brand awareness that you, your website, your brand can get even if a user doesn't click on your result just by seeing it in the top spot.

Have you ever wondered why businesses pay thousands of dollars every single month to be featured on that billboard that you pass whenever you're on your commute to work? The reasons why businesses pay so much money for that billboard is because there is a psychological impact for you seeing that ad day after day.

From a brand awareness standpoint, you are more likely to recall that brand if you see their advertisements (Check out my short video on the online marketing rule of 7). The same goes in the search results. If someone does a search and sees your brand or your website in the top spot over and over and over again, it has the same impact as a billboard.

3. The "I'm Feeling Lucky" Button

Another interesting reason is the "I'm feeling lucky" button. Google's homepage includes an "I'm feeling lucky" button. This feature originally allowed users to type in their search, click the button, and be taken directly to the first result, bypassing the entire search results page.

In 2007, Google estimated that 1% of searches go through the "I'm feeling lucky" button. So if you rank number one, you could potentially get an additional percent in traffic because people are clicking through that button.

4. Increased Likelihood of Backlinks

If you're able to rank number one in Google, it increases the likelihood that people will link to your website. If people link to your website, it makes your website more powerful. If your website is more powerful, it increases your ability to rank for more and more keywords related to your brand.

One of the most important ranking factors for your website is how many quality links you receive to your website. If you have articles or guides that are worthy of being linked to or cited as a source, ranking number one for those articles or guides increases the likelihood that those content pieces will be discovered by bloggers, journalists, or other websites as they create their content.

In other words, if you get more links to your website, it boosts your entire website's ability to rank for more keywords in Google.

5. Reduced Reliance on Paid Advertising

The final reason for why you should rank number one in Google is that you'll have less reliance on those paid advertising slots through Google Ads.

Remember the days when Google only showed a couple of ads at the top of the search page and they were differentiated because they had a yellow box around them? Well, times have changed. Now you'll routinely notice that Google shows four ads above the fold of your screen and it's very challenging to differentiate between the paid and the organic results.

If you have a strong organic presence by ranking number one for terms related to the products and services you offer, your reliance on paid ads will go down. The opposite is true as well. If you don't rank well organically, you need to spend a lot of money in ads to drive traffic to your website.

Recap

Alright, so let's review the five reasons:

1. The Percentage of Clicks - The first result in Google gets the highest click-through rate.

2. Brand Awareness - Repeated exposure in top search results equates to better brand recall.

3. The "I'm Feeling Lucky" Button - Ranking first can lead to additional traffic through this unique feature.

4. Increased Likelihood of Backlinks - Higher ranks attract more links, improving site authority.

5. Reduced Reliance on Paid Ads - Strong organic rankings reduce the need for expensive paid advertisements.

I hope this article was helpful for you to understand why it's important to rank number one in Google.

Free Resource for You

I have a free gift for you to help you with the how to rank number one in Google. It's my seven-day online marketing jumpstart. It's completely free. You can get it at scottredgate.com/jumpstart and after completing the steps outlined in this document, your website will have a solid foundation for years to come as you seek to get more organic traffic driven to your website.