What is Search Vanity?

Search vanity is wanting to appear high in the search engine rankings for words or phrases because you think you should.

The trouble with this vanity is that more often that not these phrases are not what your audience will be searching for to find you.

We have wasted many a man hour chasing the dreams of MD's who insist on appearing for certain terms without having the proof that these terms are searched on, or when searched for generate relevant traffic that converts. Of course we always comply in the end.. afer all you are the customer.

Search engine rankings are dead, where you appear for certain phrases is irrelevant.

Times are changing.

More and more search engines are changing. With the Advent of Personalised search, google Search Wiki and local search, the results that you see will not be the same as the results that I see when searching for the same phrase.

This change in the search landscape has made these vanity phrases even more redundant, as they are simply unobtainable. The days have long gone when you can ask to appear No.1 on Google for your favourite vanity phrase.

What should you focus on?

Relevant traffic that generates a return. Through great keyphrase research we can find the actual phrases that your potential customers are using. When we know this we can generate relevant copy that matches their search intent and by generating lots of quality content we can create hubs of interest that enable your potential customers to find your site using words you and I haven't even thought of yet.

Return on Investment

Your KPI from search has to be wether or not it is generating a return so you need to swap your focus from Search positions for your vanity phrases to ROI.

The more competitive the phrase, the longer it will take us to achieve long-lasting results for that phrase. SEO must incorporate a balance of quick wins and long term battles. If you insist on us chasing your vanity phrases then please balance that out with a plan to get traffic for relevant terms that generate a ROI.

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