But that is not always the case. If you’re not ranked number one for a broad keyword (e.g. for “widescreen monitor” – as opposed to “review samsung widescreen monitor”), this can give you higher quality visits than the magic top spot. When you look at bounce rates for instance you could get better results for lower (but of course still high) rankings. And it also applies to conversions.

This is explained by the broad nature of the keyword. People that are looking for something specific will (also) look further down the results and will thus have a higher affinity with your content as opposed to all visits the number one ranking generates.

It is certainly useful in light of PPC (e.g. Google Adwords) bids.
When you look at these bounce rates based on the add positions of a broad keyword, you get the picture:

It’s important to note that the Top1, Side 1, Side 2 and Side 3 all generated a comparable amount of clicks during a 2 month period. As you can see, the Top 1 position (in theory the best place) causes significantly more bounces.

So if you don’t bid for that number one spot and end up in the middle you may just be happier with the results.

The opposite is true for very specific (and/or localized) keywords.

So to conclude this post:

• Bid high for specific keywords (but highly specific keywords are usually inexpensive).
• If you bid for broad keywords, bid average.

Of course, every statement has it’s exceptions: use your analytics tool to find out what suits you best.