I don't think it can get more accurate then this.

So, Search Engine Optimisation is all about increasing both the quantity and quality of search engine traffic.

Myth 1: SEO is just getting top rankings in search engines!
This is not true. In the end what matters is how much traffic to your site can be converted into sales.

Usually people want to achieve a specific position (number one).
However, this is not always going to help to increase your sales.

Let's look at an example.

Suppose you have built a fantastic site for your company which sells machines to sharpen ice-skates.
A keyword for this could be: "iceskatesharpeningmachine".

Would you get top rankings in e.g. Google in a short time? Of course you would!

There is just one problem!
Who would ever type "iceskatesharpeningmachine" in a Google search?
Probably nobody except you.
So you would definitely get a top ranking but at the same time no traffic to your site!

What it boils down to is keyword research. Find the right keywords that are bringing in the quantity, and are highly targeted, and therefore high quality.

Myth 2: The more traffic through the website, the higher the sales!

About the quality of the keywords.
Not only do you want to have high traffic, more important even is the right traffic.

Continuing with the example above, you could aim for a keyword like "machine".
There are 2 problems here; first of all, this is a high-target keyword. This means that the vast majority of websites out there that sell machines of any kind will be competing for high rankings for this keyword. Secondly, will this brings in visitors that are looking for machines that have nothing to do with sharpening ice-skates, which means low quality traffic, which in trun will mean a low sales.
Sometimes, even with the best SEO consultant, it's just not possible to achieve top position for a particular keyword for a particular website. As a rule of thumb it is usually not a good idea to try to achieve top ranking for highly competitive keywords.

Every good Search Engine Optimisation project starts off with keyword research.
A good SEO consultant will look at the website, its competitors, and ranking factors first and will then start by focusing on high quality targeted keywords which the website will be able to rank highky for.

For information on how we can help you optimize your website, Click here