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OK, I have spent a bit of time on this one and I have to ask.......why does it matter? First, I looked at both sites and see some things that they are doing that you are not and I think even though you have higher page and domain authority some of your links are just a bit questionable. In fact, I wonder if you have not overdone it. But that is not the issue.

You are worrying about a single search term: Colorado Springs Realtor that is not one of the better queries for real estate. (Yes, I currently build and manage RE sites, but not exclusively). In Colorado Springs real estate type queries for today the term you used here has 8100 local (US) queries on average. they are ranked 1st on that term and you are ranked 11th.

Better terms are Colorado Springs Homes - 74,000 They rank 1st and you are 2nd!

Colorado Springs Real Estate -  33,100 They are first your are 19th

Homes for sale Colorado Springs - 18,100 They are 23rd you are 7th!

I really think the difference is they researched their keyword terms before writing content and their site is really designed toward someone who is looking for a home. Theirs has Co Springs addresses yours doesn't. Etc.

I think too often we spend time worrying about who ranks higher when worrying about having people come to sites and then turn into customers is more important. Look at what the two sites offer side by side (OK have someone unemotionally involved do it) and ask yourself this question: If I wanted to buy a home in Colorado Springs, what would I type into the search bar and what would I want to know or see.

Best of luck.

PS All of the page ranking is from Google and was established by way of SEOmoz Rank Tracker.

Not a bad question at all. I own an SEO, SEM agency so my answer comes first from ROI: Did the investment bring me a reasonable return. Current one year pro is around $950 or $99 a month. We charge our clients a fee for ongoing SEO. The Pro Tools allows us to utilize less people to provide that service and to provide the written deliverables to the client. (For us, we have no contract and we are not cheap. Every client is told at the moment we begin they only need give us 30 days notice and we will leave without a fight. We follow that with this, "If we are not providing you what we promised or what you needed, the greatest thing you can do for us is to fire us - that will be a wake up call that we have lost our way." 
Obviously, I do not want to lose a single client and I do not want to see a single client lose. By having so many tools and resources (such as this Q and A) available to me on a moment's notice, I can deliver as promised. _Just the Q and A alone has been worth every dime I have spent.  _

I have only asked one private question in 17 months, but I had a top staffer continually answer follow up questions for about a ten day period. The insight gave me what I needed to conquer the issue. (And, it has never recurred.)

Beyond that, I have in the last month ended two other relationships with a similar fee structure. I just did not see any evidence that the $139 and the $79 was giving me really actionable data. One was actually mentioned multiple times on SEOmoz, but I found the data too broad and too irregular in timing to assist me in assisting clients. So, I am not bashful about pulling out if it does not work.

Now, I do have a beef with SEOmoz. As it stands now the membership "levels" are too rigid and in no way help me. I am pro, will be going to Pro Plus in the next few days, but am disappointed in the way campaigns are geared more to large sites. Pro = 5 campaigns and 10K pages with 300 keywords. Pro+ = 12 campaigns, same 10k and 1K keywords. Pro Elite is 30 campaigns, 3500 keywords, and 20K pages. So Pro = $100 per 10K pages, Pro+ = $199 for same, and ProE = $500 for 20K pages. Or P = $20 per campaign, P+= $17 per campaign, and PE= $17 per campaign.

We have a lot of clients with multiple small sites (less than 10 pages). Most are focused on not more than 5 to 10 keywords generally. But, for us the 5 campaigns equal 45-50pgs. and roughly 50 keywords - counting dupes among sites. Someone with one site and 5K pages with 250 keywords gets a better deal. Yet, I am still here and increasing my spend.

The reason for me is that the package of tools (some are available elsewhere for free) along with quality staff and phenomenal members is just a no brainer. I make at least a ten to one return on what I spend. No BS.

Hope you join Pro and give it a try. Would love to know your before and after opinions.

Jared,

As I got my coffee and realized the news of the world had not changed I opened up the computer and saw your question. I immediately thought of one not mentioned in your list: WordTracker. I just started using it so jury is out and I still like keywords tool. James Norquay did a nice post on youmoz on advanced keyword research that is worth the read. 

Before I wrote a response to your question I was struck by how it was Christmas and I was looking at work. But, it really isn't work to me. (And we do our celebrating on Christmas Eve for any who think I may be a Grinch). So, I started writing about keywords and Christmas. Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

As the family rises for Christmas,,,much slower than me,
I jump on the moz to see what could be key.
One clients a lawyer, another sells skis,
I just gotta wonder what words will be keys?

To find one a case or the other a sale,
Then my clients smile brighter, and don't send me hate mail.
My PPC group has it easy you see,
Just send them some money as leads they aren't free!

I tell clients slow down, analyze and take heed,
If you slow down a bit - less money you'll need.
I understand well, you just want it now,
but you gave me a field, and it has to get plowed.
It's a field full of holes and rocks, and nothing that matches.
but we'll find a way when an idea catches.

Then you'll call me brilliant, "those records he smashes!!"
But it just took some digging so your money's not ashes.
Then back to the moz, to Shah, to Ryan, to EGOL, and associate's one through thirty three,
Gianluca, Rand, Keri, Alan, Cyrus, don't forget Dr. Pete,

Some I didn't name cause my wife's coming down the stairs,
When she sees me at 'work', it will be stares!
But thanks SEOmozzers for the help small and in batches,
More questions tomorrow about words and matches!!

It so easy for the others, NUMBER ONES GUARANTEED!!
But with me and you Mozzers
Next year's guaranteers, damn well better take HEED!
**Wishing each of you a wonderful, prosperous, New Year. **

I realize this is not a highly technical question, but I just read over the post by Trevor Klein on the new Beginners Guide to Link Building by Paddy Moogan at Distilled. I cracked up when I saw the post had 31 Thumbs Up and 1 Thumb down. I see this regularly on very good posts where someone just had to thumb it down. I wish there was a way that person could anonymously post why they did so just so we could discover their wisdom that we are obviously missing.

It kills me that I cannot find the time to produce such quality work and post it to Moz. I start a ton of posts, but am just too busy with client work to finish them. I finally finished one around ugly directory sites blocking link tracking tools and patted myself on the back for days (Thank you Keri Morgret for your editorial assistance). But, really, is it just that there is someone who woke up from a really rough night and thought, "Why the ___ are all you people so ____ happy?! Arrrrrgggghhhh!!!"

Obviously, there is no correct answer and you are more than welcome to thumb this into hell if things are that bad. Peace.

I am going to start putting the wrong keywords in. So on a physician site for lipo, my keywords will be: Saw 2, barbequed ribs, Halloween 3, Dexter, cannibals, etc.

Can't wait to see that competitor rank now!

Thanks EGOL!

Will,

I appreciate your dilemma, but will start with a why are things as they are: I had a few quotes from firms who used this and they basically tried to sell me the world for £500 a month.

So I have done my own SEO over the past 5 months and I think the figures are slowly going up, as are visits and sales (albeit slower than the visits).

There is a reason that there are fees associated with SEO. There is a lot of work involved and there is a lot of learning involved. A corollary to this is medicine. As an RN I would often hear someone saying: They charged me $1,000 and all they did was look in my throat and and write me a prescription. No, the hospital bought land and built a facility, the nurses, doctors and techs all went to school for many years at a high cost and the hospital has to pay them based on that and their value in the marketplace. So, you paid $1,000 for the convenience of coming into a trauma center for a quick diagnosis of a flu or strep throat and for the ability to be given a prescription as opposed to having one of us kill a chicken, smear you with blood, and shout oba doba do while another one throws rocks at the moon. (Not really sure that would cure the flu, but I sure as hell wouldn't complain about it anymore).

So, there is a reason for the costs of SEO. I am going to give you a quick glance audit that will hopefully provide insight and assistance though. Secondarily, your second sentence re I think the figures is a bit troubling as they either are or they are not. You need to know that and how much precisely given that you are in eCommerce.

So, first and foremost, we speak often here of the www vs non www issue. You have a big issue in that when you enter your url without the www you get either web5 or a 404. This is costing you $$. I am not sure what you are built on, and the web5 reminds me of a server or platform some time back, but there are a lot of great coders who may see this and help. Minimally, you should go into GWMT and select www as your preferred domain. When there is no preferred domain and (for your situation) the non is not 301 redirected to the www, you are seen as two sites as opposed to one. Now, that said, you may have done this in some way server side or with a plug in that i am not seeing, but you have blocked visitors who do not use www when typing in a domain. (probably most mozzers and maybe 40% of population).

Next, here on SEOmoz, there are several guides you should read. Beginner's guide to SEO being the starter for you. Also this from Danny Dover on Small Business SEO.

You have overlong title tags (you are attempting to tell all in the wrong place. No more than 70 characters).

Your meta descriptions should be different for every page and should be designed to make me want to click on your site in a search. It is a sales tool for click through. So, instead of telling what you have, think of what are they searching for: men's designer shirts at great prices, easy to fit, fast and free delivery, guaranteed return for no fit, etc.

Your H-1 is the same on all pages (win a pair of creative trainers...) The H1 should apply to the page and the free offer should be side bar content.

You need to do some key word research to insure you know what people are searching on. (You can start with your Google analytics to see where traffic is coming from - what search terms.)

You have an ad for Like to Fight in the bottom left of page. When I click on it I leave your site but not for another window or tab. When I close like to fight, you are gone. This is a personal issue to me with eCommerce in that if they were searching for Armani burlap mens underwear, found you ranked, liked your meta description, clicked on it, then clicked on the ad and, not liking what they saw, closed it...well you may lose a potential customer. What if they search on same again, but see a different company they go after as opposed to browsing your store? I hope you own like to fight and it makes you more money or that they pay you a ton per visitor.

Lastly, you could use some good quality links. As near as I can decipher, your main traffic keyword is around designer menswear. I don't see you in the first 3 to 4 pages of Google.ie.... so, that isn't good.

You will need to learn a lot or pay someone to assist you. Now, I am not sure that pounds 500 per month is the best you can do there, so shop around. I would think that in pounds you could find someone to do an initial site evaluation for around 500 to 1000 pounds. Then likely about 200 to 300 pounds per month. (If they like clothes and are men, well make a trade). But, understand this, you will pay no matter what: If you do it you will pay in time to learn what needs to be done and how to do it and in sales lost during that time. Or, you can find someone and pay them.

Here is the good news, For what I gave you I ask only one thing: If you see someone who needs a hand, a cup of coffee, or pound or two to get a meal, help them out.

Good luck,

Nico,

The short answer is you do not unless, you want to create a massive problem for yourself. In Local - and most attorney sites are Local - you want to take care of the NAP. Name, Address, Phone. If you have the same address and phone number but different business names, you create the possibility of merge listings, etc. which cost massive time and money to fix.

I understand how it would at first seem logical: If "x" strategy worked for us in employment law, let's use it for these other areas. But, the other problem I think you can create is brand confusion. (We work with large and small law firms in the US and groups of law firms though we are a full service agency.) I think, there are two methods you could follow:

- If the firm is situated where they can have an address that is Ste. 101, 103, 105 and have 3 distinct phone numbers (I caution against even close to the same), you could possibly do what you are talking about without a problem arising around duplication and merging.

- If not, your options are a bit more diminished given how specific ... employment lawyers is. This becomes a bit of a branding issue. If over three years, in Sydney people assume anything with Anton Forrester is employment law you will have a hill to climb without some rebranding work. (Trust me, this is a better choice than tearing down all you have done with citations, etc.) You could use another Masthead attorney in the firm with Property Law and a third with Conveyance. (Knowing attorneys, I leave it to you to handle the ego issues. Typically that is something handled by written agreements.)

As to the site, you could do it with three sites and no matter what you choose, you still have to have different enough address and phone number with each entity. Typically, I would say you could use the employment law site and build out pages for the other areas; I am not as sure in this case based solely on the branding component tied to the local merging issues.

Please understand, we have dealt with many merged local listings for a long time and are very, very, strong in Local. You really are risking a lot with trying to use the same name (Anton Forrester), Address, and Phone.

I hope this helps,

Robert

The Yahoo directory is still a good link. The question of value can only be answered by you. Do you have a site with a lot of links to it that are strong? Did your PA/DA improve with that and did you measure other links that were added over time? (This in my estimation would be the only way to determine even a quality guess).

For me, some sites - clients who are new with reasonable spend available, clients who really need all they can get, etc. it is a good spend. For smaller local without highly competitive areas, those with history (2 plus years), strong locally, i do not see the point in it as there are good ways to optimize them without the spend.

Best

I have read the comments and the frustrations associated with the recent issues and would like to suggest that with any software such as this there will be glitches from time to time. We currently use roughly 30 to 40 SaaS providers of many different types and I cannot think of one that hasn't had an issue at one time or another. Having been with Moz for over 5 years I will say that the issues are few and the response is always transparent with frequent updates. (I cannot say that for most other providers).

I would suggest to anyone who is doing client work that as soon as you can afford to have more than one service provider you do so. There are two basic reasons: if there is an issue you always have back up and second, you get the benefit of being able to compare data. Personally, I find this invaluable for client work. I do not feel disloyal to Moz, I just know that every piece of software has its own limitations.

Good luck to all with the current travails.

Hey Jon, 
That (your founding of Active Rain) was why I said, "Given your experience.."  
It is funny though, I really did understand what you were asking. Given the question you asked: I have $5k per month to spend on SEO. Where should I spend it?The site is for BrioRealty.com - we want to rank for all cities and neighborhoods in Western Washington.

For me, I was answering that question and did before I saw your reply to Casey. But even with that, and I know you have done RE Brokerage, etc., I still believe some of the best money we spend is on the site overall as it relates to user experience (including content) and the on page SEO - which is a derivative of quality keyword analysis.

We see questions daily where the question is in some way qualified about on page SEO: "I know my on page could use some work, but......." When you look at their on page then, you realize it is off page somewhere. So, for my $, on page is important as is good usability, navigation and, especially in real estate, content. Don't forget, if your CTR is zero, it won't matter what your PA and link status are. You will end up on page 38 at some point.

But, Looking beyond the things said about the site, look at what else was said:

Casey Kulver: _I would also have someone look at your analytics and perform a full on analytics and SEO audit, deep competition analysis, and map out a real strategy for the next 12 months. _

Ryan Kent: SEO is .... 3 components...__, ___, and site promotion (link building + social media). AND (this next one is part site but important re quicker listings - real time, and it is the new standard. etc):I can see the site uses a IDX feed for MLS info. I suggest updating to a RETS feed. AND - offer a mobile site.

Brent Copstead: ****that is a lot you want in a very competitive aggressive market.  A) _I don't believe $5k a month will work. B) _First, I would target on a much smaller, reasonable area.  (Not all of western Washington) C) Then I would start an aggressive link building campaign (blogging, chambers of commerce, connections, press releases, etc), but be smart and safe with this.  D) Toomuch too fast will hurt you. E) I would also focus on Social interaction.

James Norquay: I would invest in the following areas:

_- Social Media (1k/month) - or do you have a split social media budget. _

_- Content - Blog posts, articles, PR (1.5k/month) - I would target niche events in your target market and create blog posts around these areas, I would target a huge range of local keywords via these posts. _

_- Link Building - (1.5k/month) - Target high quality links, not easy do competitive research. _

- Consulting (1k a month) - Calls, Research and thing else.

_Do you also have offline sponsorship I would try and leverage every thing to the site. _

EGOL: From an SEO and practical standpoint I would start granular - where I can win traffic and where my company has an ability to do something with the traffic.

_Also a tip about alphabetized lists.  Order them vertically instead of horizontally.  That way if you are looking for a city that begins with a "V" you immediately know it will be in the right column.    Visitors who know how to present list information will be cussing you - especially as your list grows. _

That other guy said:_ Lastly, the most important investment for RE is Local SEO. Spend there after the site. _

I always tell RE people to get on Active Rain. Don't know how it will be over time, but it has been a great link resource, etc. When you look at the Q&A on SEOmoz, you are looking at a group of people who are really amazing in my eyes. I have learned so much here and I have found colleagues I did not know I had. Bright people all. 
I never cease to be amazed at the knowledge level here. I would say this as to the site comments: Ask yourself this question: If the people that answered this question were compared to SEO's nationwide, where might they rank? And, if you believe it would be in the top 25% even ask this: What does all of them mentioning how important on page is say to anyone who reads it?

I am sure you will build a killer site and I can't wait to steal some ideas from you Hang around and teach us all some of what you know about gaining traffic, linking, blogging, etc. Hell, after all this free advice you owe us at least one post

Best to you and all mozzers,

PS - Did I mention anything about Open Source Developers needing to eat???

Christy,

This is a very good discussion question. I think we have to look at the test Tom Coad did and ask is it more about Brand Awareness or more about a longer-term test of "pogo-sticking?" Tom is careful to explain the limits on any test like this and his data is certainly quite interesting. The fact Tom is looking in this direction says a lot about his thinking and I like it. For me, I just don't see it as a branding awareness experiment.

I would see that type of experiment as more where we take a branded product and see how their click through rate is for non-branded searches around their products. Once you had a baseline, you would do television and radio or print, etc. over a week in a given market. Then measure two or three weeks later to see if there is an increase in searches on the branded product or an increase in click through choices of the branded product (assuming the SERPs were the same as pre test). So, having been exposed to the brand over a limited amount of time, were people more likely to now choose that brand when it appeared in non-branded searches? Note: we are not even asking did they purchase it; simply, did they choose it in search more frequently than it was being chosen prior to the brand awareness campaign?

I think Google does take into account click-throughs to sites and if being a known brand on some level is possible, one should certainly work to that. I don’t want to get into an argument on CTR and ranking here as it is not the point, but if suddenly thousands of people are searching on a given subject and going to a specific site in that search, that site page does increase in the rankings for that search query. The ranking changes even if the increase happens in a day or period of hours in the case of news events, etc. IMO.

Working in a marketing firm that does branding work, etc. along with SEO and other digital marketing I am still amazed at how few companies understand or care about branding. For me this says a lot about how aware and forward-thinking Tom Coad's research is. It would be great if more SEO firms pushed companies beyond SEO or SEO and PPC. Many companies, if not most, would rather throw large sums at PPC, etc. and mechanisms that provide an immediately measurable return than to worry about tomorrow and what having a strong brand can provide. Coming from an area years ago that was all direct marketing, I fully understand why it is difficult to want to focus on branding. I have come full circle and we constantly push more and more of our clients to consider their brand and what it means in the marketplace.

For those who might be less about general marketing, when I say the client’s brand I mean more than name, tagline, and logo. What does Nike mean? What does Jaguar mean? What does Chase mean? What emotional connection does it create when people here it? Frankly, even if I am not a fan of Chase, (assuming I have no past experience with them) if I am in a new town and looking for a bank and the only familiar name I see is Chase, I have to believe I would be inclined to at least check them out (click on their result in the SERP).

To me, building brand awareness is not unlike SEO; it is longer term, but the dividends pay off over time and can be considerable. They are both a hedge against less active advertising times, etc.

This is certainly a great question and I look forward to other discussion on it.

Best

Jonathan,

I am not sure about "the drill" but I do know how to rank a given service for two or five or ten cities. The way we approach it is simple: First and foremost, you need to rank in the Local (how many Pack) for those areas where you have locations to the best of your ability. When trying to rank for a city plus a keyword, IMO it starts with Local. Given that, to rank organically as well, here is what we do: The site is built around the major city (that can be the largest or the one that is most important to the client, etc.). Then for every other city we use subdirectories. Assuming one service in general, we will have two pages for each "subdirectory city": typically one that explains the business with content containing info re that city. By content I mean not only text, but images, videos, etc. Then we have a contact page with same and with Google maps API. 
Now, originally, we would say (rather hubristically) that this will be for local and that for organic. We soon learned that we could not accurately predict which would be organic versus which would be Local. Yes, there are some ways to try and influence it, but don't worry over it.

I can tell you that we have no problem gaining ranking for clients following this methodology.

I hope it helps you,

Robert

MGordon,

This is patently untrue. We have clients who change locations and we do not change the website/content/etc. Yes, you need to make sure the NAP is clean for the new location, and make sure the website has the new info and not the old, but there is no other website change needed.

Best

None whatsoever. 
I am assuming you are buying a domain name XYZ.com and not an active ongoing site with pages that would be 301'd to your urls. A 301 says content that was originally here has moved to there...permanently. So, if there was no content and no links, there would be no benefit.

Hello Michael,

Confirm is an interesting word. What you are stating is an opinion. Frankly, I prefer links from pages with PA of 90 or greater and, obviously, not from a paid source of any kind. The reality is that there are good links from PA of 25 etc. Remember, while DA may lend the link a bit of credibility somewhere, PA is where the juice comes from. There are many pages on the web that are PA 0 on Domains with DA of 90+. Think some of the newswire/PR(press release) companies as just a start.

I think you are better served to look at what your vertical is and where are relevant links coming from than worrying about DA or PR (page rank from Google). Where some of this comes from were all the ads of "Get links from minimum PR 6 blogs," etc. The rest is just simply that the higher the PA and fewer links on the page, the more juice you will receive.

Remember, Google looks at links being natural or not as a way of penalizing manually. So, if you have 20 PR6 links from 20 florist directories and you are a Roofing Contractor, it is likely a little "odd."

Focus on quality sites that are relevant to your business would be the best suggestion I could give. Then, for content make sure it is so good, others want to link to it.

Best

Donna,

My guess would be the reasoning behind this is that by virtue of having GA or GWMT, you are one step closer to Google by virtue of the data there. As I think through it, I see a plausibility, but still don't think it is true. If by aggressive you are in the grey to black area, I don't believe having or not having GA will matter. If you go over the top while utilizing Piwik, I don't see how it would be better hidden from Google.
Just IMO,

Best,

If you want to do this, for a purpose other than getting links from the sites you are linking to (reciprocal links), and you want them to have some measure of SEO relevance, you would put them from a portion of the content where you can link to a really relevant authority. For you, under services you have air conditioner repair/recharge. In that you mention Freon. You could link Freon to the Wikipedia article on same or to DuPont. You could also link to other refrigerants that have replaced Freon. In this way, your content is more scholarly or deep which helps in some peoples opinions. (I like to do this with content). Make sure it is a good source and make sure it has readability factored in.

Best

Jesse,

This is not a bad question at all. Please note that this is not my first rodeo and that I have a few opinions around this. First, realize that even with its non profit status, the BBB is a business and the directors are typically well paid. So, where is the value for a small business?

If you are in the trades: plumbing, roofing, auto repair, auto body repair, HVAC, etc. I think it is a good bet that someone will look you up. Know that anyone who is worth their salt can become accredited even if they are not the "best" business. I do not know what the current fees are, but let's assume you can get your trial attys in at the $500 per year level. Will it hurt them? Nope? Will it help them? Probably not. (I have large trial firm accounts). The link will be on a page with a bunch of others, but you will have the seal for what it is worth. With an HVAC firm, I think it is more personal to people and they look at it like I may get cheated...

So for that type client it may be helpful. From an overall, I do not see value beyond that. Yes, its a good directory for local, but you said "accredited." Beyond being in the directory, unless you are a local trade, I don't really see value.

Best

Excellent question Rand, and ...

... I was going to keep this hidden away, but love the moz.

For me the most underutilized and proven technique in our shop (not sure for every industry, but certainly for B2C) is having a phone number in the meta description for important pages. We usually have 5 to 10 per client that are distinct and trackable. We use an outside service (IfByPhone) to purchase numbers and their platform.

Each important page for ranking and where we are at least in the top 20 of SERP's, has its own distinct number and we are able to generate calls from there. (Remember don't put them on the site other than in the meta description).

The belief is that some people want the convenience of being able to get the answer now. By having a number where others do not, you can be ranked 6th and "steal" clicks from those higher.

So, if the meta answers the query and there is a number, we see people call without ever clicking through. If they do click through, that's good too.

Thanks,

Robert

Michelle

Yes, as a general rule you can say that a given position has a relative CTR, but in my opinion you are not served to go to things like this with any but the most sophisticated client. The reason being that one vertical versus another will be different. The level of competitiveness will be critical in determining CTR. If you are stating a given CTR or traffic estimate, I would assume you are also stating that there will be a given position for a given term/page? What if three new competitors pop us tomorrow (yes, it does happen).

I approach marketing differently with clients. First, what do they wish to accomplish? Are they accomplishing that now? What have they tried? What has/has not worked? etc. Then, I speak to the level of competition for a given set of terms in a given arena: Attorney: Business Bankruptcy for example. Do they want national or local clients? What changes are they prepared to make? New site? New content? etc.

Then, I want them to understand that what we are going to do is start at a point X. We will make changes, keep them appraised of each change (not micro though), keep them appraised of ranking, etc. Our approach will be "Holistic" in that we are going to take care of local, directories, citation sites, etc. We are going to insure on page SEO and quality content. We are going to know what key words will be more important, and we are not going to guarantee anything. We believe if they are willing to do X + Y + Z and if they understand it is not a static (one time) process over time we will change their outcomes. 
We show them where they are and then we track where they are going. So, if it is selling jars of Peanut butter online. How many did they sell without us for each of the last 52 weeks and we will measure going forward.

I know I can find people to buy PB, I am not positive I can get them ranked third in google for crunchy peanut butter and have 1000 visitors a day with a 1.5% CTR. To try and shave it that thin is just not wise in my estimation.
Hope this helps you.