As I have mentioned in a previous post, the major search engines currently rely on keywords to index and rank websites in their search results. Therefore, keyword research is the first step in Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns. How much search volume is there for this keyword/ keyphrase? How much competition is there for this phrase? Can I beat this competition? There is a lot of work in the stage of keyword research alone, never mind the implementation of the optimisation of the chosen keywords. As a result, when a website gains one of those coveted top ten positions in Google, it is commonly assumed that the sales will come rolling in and it’s a case of job done. However, this is not always the case. Traffic will no doubt increase with a top ten ranking, but this does not automatically mean conversions will increase to the same extent. More traffic can never do any harm, but if you are looking to maximise your conversions then taking another look back at your keyword research may be of benefit to you.