| It seems I now do this rant every single year when | | | | to send more non-English referred traffic than the |
| traffic | | | | total coming |
| statistics are discussed in web industry news. Last | | | | from (English) Yahoo Search!The search world is |
| week I | | | | getting very odd when great rankings at Yahoo |
| posted to my Reality SEO blog that referred traffic | | | | and MSN don't equal referred traffic. This has always |
| numbers are | | | | been the |
| the only statistic that webmasters should be | | | | case to a degree, but is getting extreme and very |
| concerned about when | | | | disturbing. |
| looking at their search engine rank. I wrote about this | | | | Google has always sent more traffic, with as much |
| last year | | | | as 85% of |
| after ComScore Media Metrics statistics were | | | | referred search traffic coming from English Speaking |
| relased discussing | | | | Google |
| Search Engine Queries generated by each search | | | | variants in US, Canada, India, New Zealand, Australia, |
| property. | | | | and UK |
| that article, I suggested to Microsoft as they | | | | sending more traffic than both the US Yahoo and |
| developed | | | | MSN.What is the value of top rankings in MSN and |
| their own search technology that MSN search might | | | | Yahoo if those top |
| consider | | | | positions don't bring traffic?Zippo, NONE are coming |
| resisting the urge to keep searchers on their site by | | | | from MSN Search even though we are better |
| plastering | | | | ranked in several important search phrases for client |
| both PPC and "Sponsored Sites" above and below | | | | sites at |
| search results. | | | | MSN than at Google! This is serious and it's a problem |
| Google displays two "Sponsored Links" above organic | | | | that we |
| results and | | | | must resolve. "Searches performed" statistics, like |
| none below, along with Adwords ads along the right | | | | those |
| column.Well now that MSN search has made its official | | | | exhaustively researched by Bill Platt in a recent article |
| debut, we can see | | | | are absolutely meaningless if searchers don't click |
| that they put three "Sponsored Sites" links both above | | | | through to |
| AND below | | | | top ranking sites! What does this mean? |
| their organic search results, along with those Overture | | | | though I write a similar article each year, discuss this |
| (Soon to | | | | topic on large discussion lists and mention it regularly in |
| be Yahoo Branded) PPC ads along the right side of | | | | my |
| the page. Not | | | | Reality SEO blog, I have yet to get honest answers |
| bad visually, but it appears to be keeping visitors on | | | | from search |
| the MSN | | | | engine representatives at Yahoo or MSN. I did get a |
| search site because they simply are NOT clicking | | | | couple of |
| through to | | | | Yahoo Search managers to admit that more visitors |
| highly ranked sites according to closely watched | | | | stay on the |
| traffic | | | | Yahoo site and continue to either PPC ads or to other |
| statistics of several sites I monitor for clients.I've been | | | | Yahoo links |
| pouring over web stats for a half dozen clients | | | | because "There is more of value to the searcher at |
| looking for traffic from MSN and it is missing in action. | | | | Yahoo." What |
| Even | | | | is of more value to a searcher than relevant search |
| though these sites rank well for targeted terms for | | | | results?I gave those Yahoo's access to my traffic |
| my clients - | | | | statistics and those of |
| MSN is not delivering the traffic at all.This has always | | | | clients so they could see that nearly 70% of my |
| been an issue for SEO's and their clients and we | | | | traffic and that |
| are puzzling this one over, looking for results from | | | | of clients was coming from Google - EVEN WHEN |
| those top | | | | THOSE SAME SITES |
| rankings at both Yahoo and MSN as they seem to | | | | RANKED HIGHLY IN SEARCHES AT YAHOO! No |
| retain the | | | | comment and no |
| searchers no matter how well we rank the | | | | explanations as to why, when they generate huge |
| sites!Yahoo has dropped dramatically, with referred | | | | numbers of search |
| traffic that used | | | | queries, that far fewer visitors click through from |
| to amount to over 5% of the visitors to client sites, it | | | | Yahoo search |
| has | | | | results than do from Google search results.One must |
| dropped as low as 1.5% of total referred traffic from | | | | assume that someone searching for something visits |
| search | | | | at |
| engines. After a recent increase in referred traffic | | | | least a few of the sites that appear in the list of |
| from Yahoo | | | | search |
| search, we were hopeful it would stay high, but it | | | | results, no? They sure do visit from Google in |
| wasn't to be. | | | | significant |
| Rankings have not declined - Read That Again - | | | | numbers - consistently. But both Yahoo and MSN |
| Rankings have not | | | | Search are failing |
| declined, just the referred traffic!Google has gone up | | | | to send referred search traffic to sites ranked highly |
| in referrals from foreign countries, including | | | | in |
| foreign language sites. We used to see tiny amounts | | | | their search results. Why?I highly recommend that all |
| of traffic | | | | webmasters with access to statistics for |
| trickle in from non-English language countries, but | | | | their own site look seriously at your traffic referred by |
| Google | | | | Yahoo & MSN |
| country sites for Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France, | | | | for search phrases you rank well on. Do YOU have |
| Spain, | | | | traffic referred by |
| Mexico and a dozen other language specific Googles | | | | Yahoo or MSN Search for your high ranking search |
| have combined | | | | phrases. Why not? |