Ranking on page 1 of Google is essential if you want to succeed online. What do people see when they search for you?
Google is the all-powerful force for anyone attempting to drive organic traffic. It crawls the internet to determine which websites are the most valuable and relevant to its readers on nearly any topic. People rely on Google’s results, not merely trust them.
With such great power and influence, putting your small company on Google’s first page may seem unachievable. However, it is Google’s dominance that makes it easier than ever for small and local companies to rank high in search results—for free!
It’s obvious that being on the top page of Google is a desirable (though not necessary) goal for every organisation, but let’s first go through its specific benefits, since this may help you prioritise within your company’s plan.
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Why is Google’s first page important?
Google’s search results are becoming more comprehensive, with Knowledge Panels, answer boxes, expanding related questions, local results, and other features. With so many methods to stand out, aiming for the top position is definitely worth the effort, especially as traffic and click-through rate both drop steeply as one moves down the search results.
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Getting to the first page means a much greater click-through rate
It is common knowledge that the first page of Google receives the majority of traffic; but, did you realise that there are substantial variances in click-through rates for top versus bottom results? According to one research, the following click-through rates vary with Google position:
- The first result: a clickthrough rate of 36.4 per cent.
- The second result: a 12.5 per cent clickthrough rate.
- The third result: a 9.5 per cent clickthrough rate.
CTR continues to fall, dipping to 2.2 per cent for the tenth result (there are normally no more than ten organic results per page, and much fewer now with local results, advertisements, response boxes, and other new features). You are losing a lot of clicks if you are not at the top of Google search results.
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Get instant exposure
Top Google search results now appear in “Position Zero” answer boxes, often known as featured snippets.
Earning the top place on Google might lead to your business being included in a featured snippet, giving you rapid exposure and enhancing your reputation.
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Top position traffic share
According to another survey, the top Google result receives 33% of all search traffic. The higher you can rank your website on Google, the greater your search visibility and brand authority.
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How to Get on Google’s First Page
Search engine optimization is the practice of allying your webpage with search engine ranking variables (SEO). You should not necessarily optimise your entire site in one go, but rather every other individual page on your site. Here’s how to go about it:
- Select your keywords
Decide which search terms you want Google to respond to with your web page first. These are referred to as keywords, which can be single words or phrases.
Keyword examples include:
- “Tenant laws in Massachusetts”
- “nearby salon”
- “Boston Breakfast”
- “Brighton airconditioning repair”
- “how to repair a leaking roof”
- “How to rank on Google’s First Page”
Each page of your website should target a unique set of keywords so that they do not contend with one another.
The right keywords for your business are those that your ideal customers use to find the products and services they require.
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Tell Google about the keywords you’re using.
Google crawls the web, ranks the dozens of pages it discovers, and stores them in an index. When a user conducts a search, Google then quickly return relevant results by scanning its more organised index (rather than the entire web).
As a result, another critical step toward ranking on Google’s first page is to make it as simple as possible for Google to inspect, index, and retrieve your site. Put keywords in the following places to accomplish this:
- The meta title
Your website’s blog posts and pages all have a meta title. This title appears not only as a header at the top of the page but also as the title of that post’s listing in search results (depending on your CMS settings).
- Meta Description
In Google’s search engine, the meta description is the small blurb that appears below the title.
The meta description, in addition to telling Google what your web page is about, quickly informs an explorer what they can expect if they tap on your site, boosting the relevant clicks to a certain page. As a result, the meta description assists Google in placing your company on the right first page for the right searches and assists Google searchers in keeping it there.
- URL
Your URL is made up of your domain name (for example, wordstream.com), a forward slash, and text divided by dashes.
Including keywords in your URL will assist Google in determining what your website is about more easily. In search engine results, the URL appears between both the title and meta description. A clean URL that resembles the page title is more enticing and trustworthy to users, and it is best suited for first-page positioning.
- Alt tags
Pictures can only be seen by Google if they have a text alternative (aka alt tag). If your alt tag contains keywords, Google can determine the page’s relevance and feel a lot more comfortable placing you on its first page of the search results.
- Write for people.
Of course, the most impressive feature to include the keywords for which you’re attempting to rank is in the body of your blog’s content. It is critical, however, that all these keywords are just not thoroughly and excessively inserted, but rather naturally incorporated. In fact, Google now can detect keyword stuffing and will banish you from the first page of its results if it detects it.
The secret to ranking on Google’s first page is to provide valuable, trustworthy, easy-to-read, but educational content that will keep your target audience on your sites and returning for more. And conversely sharing the knowledge existing in your mind is both free and simple. Remember that if you want to rank on the first page of Google for a certain keyword search, your page must contain the content, not just the keywords, that visitors are looking for when they input that search into Google.
- Emphasize the location
Another free technique to get your website pages on Google’s first page is to target location-based inquiries. Make it a point to explicitly specify your city and/or geographic location on your website’s contact page, as well as perhaps on blog articles and services pages. As a consequence, when consumers search “your industry” + “your city,” Google will pick up on that information and display your firm as a “near me” search result.
Even if a visitor does not search for a specific location, Google will still show up geographically appropriate information based on their IP address, thus local SEO is not only inexpensive but always necessary (even during a pandemic).
- Mobile-optimization
A site that is not responsive will not be found at the top of a Google search. Mobile devices are currently used more than PCs and laptops by consumers, and mobile devices are used for the bulk of local searches. As a result, mobile-friendly websites are preferred by Google. In reality, mobile-first indexing has been applied to all sites.
Responsive design is good since it allows your website to adjust to any screen size while maintaining functionality. However, if you do not have a responsive website, there are some changes you can make to ensure the best possible experience for a mobile user.
- Focus on user experience
Being mobile-friendly is not the only need for an official site. It should also be visually appealing and user-friendly. A website with easy navigation, clear calls to action, and answers to your visitors’ most pressing problems will keep them on your site longer and return later, which Google will notice and, as a result, rank you higher. The higher you rank, the more and more traffic your site will receive, and the more probable it will appear on the first page.
- Set up your Google My Business account.
Google My Business is quickly becoming one of the most powerful (and free) tools for local business owners. Google Maps and Search both use Google My Business to generate local listings (known as Business Profiles). Creating a Google My Business account is a quick and simple way to add more information to your Business Profile, allowing it to appear on the first page of Google Maps and Search (in the local results section)h. Make sure you complete the process of claiming and verifying your listing so that you can monitor, maintain, and optimise it.
- Improve the visibility of your Google business listing (Business Profile)
When it comes to optimising your listing, I think of it as a separate strategy because, while creating a Google listing can assist you with visibility, it can only start taking you so far in terms of ranking. Instead of creating a bare-bones listing and hoping it will appear in one or two searches, optimise your Google business listing for higher exposure.
- Obtain customer feedback
Google searchers are interested in what other people think about a company, so it’s no wonder that the companies with the most positive Google reviews appear on the first page. In-person, request clients and generate a review shortcut link to conveniently encourage reviews along all your online channels. Whilst it technically falls under the category of Google My Business optimizations keeps in mind that there are numerous other review sites that all have an effect on your ranking.
- Submit your company to various directories.
Although Google My Business is effective, you should also create and optimise listings on other famous directories such as Yelp. First, because Yelp has a high volume of traffic and is broadly trusted by Google, your company’s Yelp page may appear on the first page of Google for relevant searches. Second, a strong listing with positive reviews boosts ranking more.
- Bottom Line:
As with your Google Business Profile, ensure that the remainder of your online directory entries is thorough and correct. Be consistent through platforms, and regularly update. And also ensure that you are receiving and responding to reviews. Don’t forget to include photos in your online listings.
Obtaining a spot on Google’s first page is a reasonable goal.
Going to the top of Google, or even improving your ranking, is a challenging task but you can achieve it by doing effective work and staying consistent.