I have a site that ranks #3-4 for for a medium volume keyword. It ranks on second page for 2 high volume keywords. So, being #3-4 I am wondering do I move my budget to get the other keywords to front page? high volume keywords can bring high volume traffic, but my keyword that ranks well is more specific, the higher volume keywords will probably have high bounce rate. I also know that I am losing traffic with my first page word because 80%+ of the searches go to the #1 keyword. What do you guys think?
If this is for Adsense profits, then take the time to get the high volume keywords to rank better. That will give you higher chance of clicks to ads.
Just becasue your 3rd or 4th does not mean 80% of traffic is going to the first guy. Write a more appealing title and description and they will click you. Also maybe you cannot get any higher than 3rd or 4th, so you may be wasting your time. It depends on alot and we cannot give you a good answer not knowing your site or targeted keywords!
Some say ranking #1 doesn't guaranteed to be good, position at 2,3,4,5 could sometimes performs better. This is what I read somewhere. Again, I agree with above, an appealing title is a must.
This is not for adsense, but it is for selling products. I think my title is pretty decent and I do get pretty decent traffic from the title I am now #4, but I believe there is much more traffic to be had there. I would be a little afraid to change my title as it has done well for SERPs from me and I would hate to ruin it all experimenting.
You have to take into strong consideration how the higher ranking sites got there. If they are a lot older and have links from higher authority sites, then it would be hard. But if you see that you are close, then I'd go for it.
There are difference between clicks you get from rank #3-4 from rank #1-2. I suggest you to concentrate on the keywords that you ranked at $3-4 spot currently before moving your campaign to new set of keywords or targeting high level volume keywords. You will most probably will get 50% of the if you able to rank #1-2 position.
What was the original monetization plan for the site? Some kinda cb or cpa product related to the sub-niche perhaps? I say "sub-niche" becoz IM is a big niche so you might want to zero in on a sub eg affiliate marketing, seo, ppc, product creation, etc...
I would suggest going for the 2 high volume keywords. If these keywords are derivatives from the main keyword you are targeting this will help in your over all goal. Also you might want to optimize your meta description, this might get you a slight increase in visit from the main keyword.