Do you deserve a #1 ranking?

Obviously, everyone wants a #1 ranking for the high-traffic, big-money keywords but do they deserve it? In many cases, no. Especially when they think that they should be able to have it for just a few hundred dollars. This is simply not realistic because anything worth achieving takes a proportionate amount of effort to achieve. The companies that deserve a #1 ranking are usually those that provide a quality product or service and have been working diligently at it for some time.

If you are a real estate agent in Tampa, it would make sense to want a #1 ranking for the keyword phrase “Tampa Real Estate” but this would be far outside the budget of most agents. Let’s explore the reasons behind this.

The real estate industry is extremely competitive to begin with, and the keyword phrase “Tampa Real Estate” returns almost 3 million results that you would have to compete with. These are 3 million websites run by real estate agents that have already been marketing online and many of them have invested heavily in SEO for several years. You’re not going to out rank these websites overnight. Search engine optimization usually takes time to deliver significant results, but for a keyword phrase like this, you could be looking at a year or more. Why is it so competitive? Because there is a massive amount of money to be earned by the website controlling the top listing.

Google indicates that over 165,000 searches are conducted each month for this keyword phrase. Assuming that you are only able to convert .05% of these searchers into leads, that gives you 825 leads each month. If you then convert just 1% of those leads into a home sale, you will have sold 8 (8.25 to be exact) homes. With an average home price $189,000 and an average agent commission of 6%, the revenue produced by that #1 ranking is $92,720 for that month. Now, if you’re an experienced agent, you may be able to convert many more leads to home sales, and if you have a professionally designed website, many more of your visitors may contact you, so your numbers could be higher.

What does it take to earn a #1 rank for a highly-competitive phrase?

Contrary to what some people may want you to believe, SEO isn’t magic. The technical aspects behind it range from elementary to insanely complex but the most critical aspect is perseverance and hard work. One of the reasons that so many people fail at business (especially on the Internet) is because they give up when they don’t see the results they want right away. Millions of people have been conned into the idea that because computers and the Internet are involved, online marketing is just a matter of clicking a mouse. In reality, you have to provide a quality product or service and add value in some manner. The search engines have factored this into their algorithms and they know that untrustworthy companies will not last long. That’s one of the reasons why it takes time for new sites to get noticed. Over time, the search engines learn which sites can be trusted and which can’t.

Just because you open a retail store today and advertise everywhere you can, it doesn’t mean that you’re going to become a nationwide chain next month, or even next year. It took Walmart nearly sixty years to become the company that you’re familiar with today. Business online works the same way. Instead of looking for overnight success, focus on doing a little bit more every day. Write quality content, produce useful and entertaining podcasts, build inbound links and participate on other blogs, forums and social networks. Always remember that the price of success is hard work and perseverance, and over time, you will see the rewards that you deserve.

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