You’re on your mobile device and decide to “Google it.” Ask yourself, what’s the link you’re most likely to click? Is it the first link or are you going to scroll to the bottom of the page? I know, rhetorical question. Let me give you an idea of why ranking #1 is the coveted spot. Backlinko conducted a search of 4 million websites and found that the number 1 result gets 27.6% of the clicks, while the number 2 gets 15.8%– that’s a significant difference. If you think you’re doing great by being in the number 5 spot, well guess what, you’re only getting 6.3% of the clicks. The bottom of the page is at about 2% and page two is lost in cyberspace.
Getting the coveted #1 spot is not going to be done overnight. Rome wasn’t created in a day– I know a cliche. Ranking #1 is a long-term process. It requires continuous effort, adaptability, and staying up to date with the latest SEO trends and algorithm updates, also a lot of sweat and sleepless nights– okay I exaggerated a little.
Let me share with you 11 key steps to get you on your way to #1
- Relevant and high-quality content: Google just keeps getting smarter. FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, it can now understand human language! No longer exist the days of keyword stuffing, nowadays that will just get you penalized. It’s imperative to create valuable, well-written content that matches the search intent of your target audience. Use your keywords so that they flow naturally throughout your content.
- Keyword research: Hence the word research here folks! You can’t take just any word, throw it out there, and hope it sticks. You’ll need to identify relevant keywords and phrases that people are likely to search for when looking for information related to your content. You’ll want to find words that are being clicked often (high volume) but are low competition (not many other sites are using the word). Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ubersuggest can assist you in finding popular keywords with moderate competition.
- On-page optimization: Optimize your web pages for search engines by including relevant keywords in the title tags (the highlighted section of the image below is the title tag), meta descriptions (the content below the title tag is the meta description), headings, and URL structures. Ensure your content is well-structured, easy to read, and properly formatted. If you are using WordPress, a Content Management System, for your website, you can use plugins like Yoast or Rank Math to facilitate On-page optimization.
- Technical SEO: Ensure your website is properly indexed by search engines. Create and submit a sitemap, optimize robots.txt file, use structured data markup, and fix any crawl errors or broken links. WordPress plugins like Yoast and Rank Math will facilitate most of this for you.
- Mobile-friendly and fast-loading website: Think about what you do when you click on a website and it’s really sluggish to load. I know what I do, I’m searching elsewhere. Google considers mobile-friendliness and page load speed as ranking factors. Make sure your website is responsive and optimized for mobile devices. Compress images, minify code, and leverage caching techniques to enhance your site’s loading speed. A few plugins to consider are W3 Total Cache, WP Super Minify, and WP Smush.
- Backlinks and link building: This is one of the hardest steps, but also the most important. If you can’t gain credibility, it won’t matter how well you do on the previous steps, you’ll find yourself at the bottom of the results page. Think of it as looking for a mechanic. Are you going to go to someone that no one has heard of, or will you be going to the mechanic that multiple people have referred to? Google is the same way, it will rank web pages based on references from reputable sites. Didn’t I tell you that Google is human. There’s a lot of methods to backlinking. Some methods are better than others, while some will only get you penalized. A few methods to consider are focus on building relationships, guest posting, creating link-worthy content i.e. infographics, and promoting your website through social media and other channels. Quality backlinks from authoritative sources can significantly boost your search rankings.
- User experience: Provide a positive user experience on your website. Ensure easy navigation, clear calls to action, and fast-loading pages. This will help keep your potential customers from wanting to leave your site too soon without taking any action.
- Local SEO (if applicable): If you have a local business, optimize your website for local search by including your address, phone number, and business hours. Create a Google My Business profile and encourage customers to leave reviews.
- Social signals: You need to remain social. Get your name out there, just like networking in a business party. Maintain an active presence on social media platforms and encourage social sharing of your content. While social signals may not have a direct impact on search rankings, they can generate traffic and visibility for your website.
- Regular updates and fresh content: Keep your website up to date with fresh content. Regularly publish new articles, blog posts, or other relevant content to signal to search engines that your website is active and valuable. Just like large retail companies who continually update their product line to keep things fresh and customers returning.
- Monitor and analyze: Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track your website’s performance, identify areas for improvement, and gain insights into your visitors’ behavior. Adjust your strategies accordingly based on the data you collect.
Remember SEO requires time and effort. Generally, results aren’t visible for at least six months. Biggest things to focus on are great content and relationship building. In the end being #1 is well worth it.
