Google Webmaster Central Gets a Serious Upgrade
While working with a client this morning, I logged into Google Webmaster Central to take a look at the top search queries driving traffic. What I discovered was one heck of a useful upgrade!
Rather than simply providing keywords, positions and click-throughs, Google has upgraded the interface to a Google Analytics-style interface. Since ranking now varies based on personal search profiles, Google now provides you with the range of positions your URL was found in, as well as total number of impressions and the click-through rate.
Too many companies ignore their search rankings and the click-through rate off the search engine results page (SERP). Just as you would optimize your page to increase conversions, you should also optimize your page title and meta description to increase conversions. If you’re ranking #1 through #3 and getting under 10% of the clicks, you’ve got some work to do. You should be getting 50% and up!
This new interface is a great visualization of the data. Once I was able to review the page with my client this morning, we could see the incredible opportunity ahead of us for driving high volumes of traffic to the site with improved optimization and ranking.
Don’t settle on analytics to optimize your site for conversions – take it a step back and ensure you’re fully leveraging search engines first. Analytics only provide you with details for visitors who actually clicked-through… not the ones that were left behind!