When it comes to Search Engine Optimization everyone wants to be #1 in Google. And for good reason since Google has such a huge market share in the search industry. But how much of the traffic does the #1 listing in Google actually get? Well, here is a breakdown I took from one of my sites.

First off the domain I pulled this info from gets 100% of its traffic from search (no ppc or any other advertising) and 93% its search traffic is from Google. In each example I will compare the amount of traffic I received (in May 2009) vs what Google estimates as the monthly traffic using their keyword tool and look at the exact match (for May 2009).

Here are a couple examples:

#1 on Google – I received 4,834 visits and Google estimates there were 12,100 searches for this term. So in this case by having the #1 ranking on Google I received about 40% of the search visitors.

#1 on Google with Site Links – For this term I am #1 on Google and I have an expanded listing with Site Links to 8 additional pages on my site. I received 1,642 visits and Google estimates there were 2,900 searches for this term. So by having the #1 listing with sites links I received about 57% of the search visitors.

As you can see the site links give a big boost in traffic compared the first example where I received 40% of the traffic. For another keyword where I have the site links I am getting around 68% of the traffic but it is for a keyword that gets under 1,000 searches a month which when you get that low I have found that Google’s estimates are not very accurate.

#1 on Google with Double Listing – For this term I am #1 and #2 thanks to a double listing where the second results is indented. I received 527 visits and Google estimates 1,300 searches. In this case I received around 40% of the traffic which is the same as example #1 where I was first on Google without the double listing. In this case the double listing did not seem to bring in anymore traffic most likely because people see it is the same site as the first one and keep looking down the results.

#3 on Google – I received 1,764 visits and Google estimates that there were 8,100 for this term. So I received about 22% of the search visitors.

#3 on Google – For another term I am #3 in Google for I received 1,426 visits and Google estimates that there were 12,100 for this term. So I received about 12% of the search visitors. Obviously these results are much different from the previous example for a #3 listing but I should note that this term has 2 sponsored links at the top of the page while the previous example had none. I would attribute this to the decline.

#4 on Google – I received 1,474 visits and Google estimates 6,600 searches for this term. By being #4 in Google I received about 22% of the search visitors.

As you can see from the results above being #1 on Google will get you in most cases at least double the traffic as being #3 or #4. Having the #1 ranking with Site Links totally crushed everything with me pulling in around 57% of the traffic and all the way up to 68% of the traffic!

I had a hard time finding any examples of being lower than ranked #4 because I would imagine that those keywords bring me so little traffic they are buried deep in my traffic logs.

Of course there are many inaccurate variables in this example, like Google’s search estimates being just that…estimates. But I think overall it gives a great idea as to the value of being #1 in Google when it comes to search traffic. So get out there are start getting more links to your site and work your way up the rankings.

I know many people that think article marketing doesn’t work anymore. Well…they’re wrong.

Here are the stats from just one of my EzineArticles accounts…

8,353 clicks were delivered to my websites in May alone! And you will also notice that I didn’t even submit any new articles in May.

If you have done any PPC marketing you know how much 8,000 clicks would cost you. But I didn’t have to pay a dime for all this traffic.

Ok, so article marketing does work, I think I have shown that. Here are a couple tips that I use to make my article marketing gets the best results:

1. Pick a low competition keyword to target with your article. By picking a low competition keyword, you article is very likely to show up on the first page of Google (especially if you are using ezinearticles.com). I like to shoot for a keyword with 10,000 or less competing websites.

2. Include your keyword in the title of the article and first paragraph of your article. Just basic SEO but it works very well.

3. Get a couple links for your article. In some cases this may not be necessary, but by getting your article a couple links from bookmarking sites or blog comments can often push it to #1 on Google.

4. Make sure your resource box gives the reader a reason to click over to your site. You do not make any money when someone reads your article on an article directory! You must get them to click over to your site to make money. Give the reader a reason to come to your site by offering a free report or tutorial in your resource box.

5. Make sure to use keyword rich anchor text in your resource box. Article marketing can bring you traffic but just as important is the one-way links it builds for your site. Don’t waste them and make sure you are using keyword-rich anchor text. Also make sure to link to your internal pages and not just your homepage in your resource box.

Follow these 5 tips and you will see great results from your article marketing efforts.