Getting the top Google ranking is a dream for many business marketers. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be just a dream — it can be your reality.
Achieving a high Google ranking can mean more visibility, more website traffic, and more sales. But hitting number one rarely happens by chance. It takes strategy.
Step One: Re-Evaluate What Searches You Want to Rank Number One Under
What keywords are you trying to target? This is important to define before you begin working to boost your ranking.
Some keywords — terms that users enter into the search engine — will inevitably be harder to breach. For instance, if you are a SaaS company and you want to get the top spot when people search for “computer,†well, that’s unlikely to happen.
Even getting the top spot under “SaaS software†might be difficult.
But you can go even more niche, focusing on keywords with your specific type of software.
For instance, “bookkeeping software,†“business management software,†or “small business management software†might all be possible to rank high under, and potentially even reach the number one spot.
In general, it is better to search for long-tail keywords, meaning phrases that are two, three, or even more words long.
Step Two: Pick a Keyword Research Tool
The key to trending under Google or other search engines lies in the keywords that you choose.
In order to pick the best keywords, you will need to choose a tool to research what people are searching. These tools can tell you:
- How many searches a keyword has gotten in the past 12 months.
- The average cost-per-click in Google AdWords (useful as this tells you what keywords make people the most money).
- The overall keyword difficulty (how hard it will be for you to rank using that keyword).
- Related keyword searches.
Using a keyword research tool, you can find out what people are searching for relating to your business and use those words in your digital mediums.
Step Three: Optimize Your Content
Once you have your long-tail keywords, you’ll need to place them strategically in your website content.
At this point, you’ll also want to consider the content length. We have seen clients with beautifully designed websites with only 100 words on their product and service pages. This article, although it is from 2017, still holds true today: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2017/07/18/how-long-should-your-content-be-for-optimal-seo/#4e20fa4d1963
It’s definitely quality over quantity, but Google search algorithms are still looking for some depth and context with your product and service offering pages.
Add your keywords to:
- Your page URL. For instance, instead of using www.mysite.com/123456, use www.mysite.com/businessmanagementsoftware.
- Page title.
- On-page headings (H1, H2, etc.)
- Alt image tag and image captions, where possible.
- Throughout your content.
When you’re using keywords in your content, however, keep a light touch. A webpage doesn’t need to be crammed full of keywords in order to trend well. And actually, doing so will often have the opposite effect as many web crawlers penalize keyword stuffing.
Instead, focus on writing compelling content that offers value to your readers. If it feels awkward or unnatural to fit your keyword into the content, consider choosing another term.
Step Four: Repeat the Process… For Every Page on Your Website
You don’t just optimize one webpage and consider it done. The process should ideally happen for every page on your website, including blog posts.
However, be sure to choose different keywords to optimize. If every page is optimized for “business management software†that’s only going to net you one potential search result. Try finding different keywords that suit each page.
For instance, an “About Us†page could become “About Our Business Solutions†(keyword: business solutions).
A “Contact Us†page could become “Contact Our Software Consultants†(keyword: software consultants).
Each page and each post you make can become an opportunity to improve your Google ranking.
Step Five: Add Links
Links are another important factor for SEO — both internal and external.
For instance, internally you may want to link to other pages on your website.
Externally, you may want to consider link-building activities, such as:
- Posting blogs and company news (linking back to your website) to social media pages, such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
- Adding your site to local business directories, such as Yelp.
- Guest posting on other sites in your industry.
- If you have referral partnerships, asking those partners to link to your business. (You may need to return the favour for them.)
- Creating compelling posts that others may want to share — how-to guides, tutorials, value-driven content, etc.
Step Six: Track Your Analytics
There’s the old saying “what gets measured gets improved†and in this case, it’s true.
Web traffic measurement tools, such as Google Analytics, can tell you what keywords people are searching to get to your website, what pages they are visiting, how long they are spending on the site, and where they are going after.
This can help you keep on top of your strategy and revise as needed.
If you find that people are searching for your keywords, but not clicking on your links, you may have a content problem — or be targeting the wrong keywords.
If you find that people are clicking on your links, but not going any further in the sales process, you may not be targeting customers that are motivated to buy. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as these people might end up converting into leads, but you will also want to target commercial keywords that demonstrate intent for people motivated to buy might search.
For instance, consider these two searches:
“How to design a website for freeâ€
Vs.
“Website designers in Torontoâ€
The second search is more likely to convert into sales for a website designer.
Getting the number one Google ranking isn’t out of reach — it’s just about redefining what you want to rank number one under.
Pulsion Marketing is your best ally for SEO, keyword analysis, digital marketing analytics, and more. We’ll help you assess your search engine ranking and make a strategy to rise to the top.
Contact us today to learn more. Call 1-888-701-4441 or visit www.digiforcemarketing.ca.
What keywords do you target? Let us know on social media. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.