Google is a very powerful tool to drive organic traffic for your content. Everyone wants their content to get first-page ranking in Google search results as the majority of people do not click on the second page. It is not at all affordable to rank on the second, third or fourth page because you won’t get the desired clicks and traffic.
Getting ranked on the first page of Google can improve your visibility, generate more leads, engage more people, drive website traffic and build an audience base.
But many website owners do not know how to rank on the first page of Google for the best keywords.
There are many bloggers and website owners who smartly optimize their content to rank high. The competition to get a ranking is high. But you should not give up. There are a few methods that you can apply to get a first-page ranking in Google.
Consider your Keywords
At first, you determine which search queries should answer your website’s content. You need to select the right keywords for your business.
A different set of keywords should be targeted for each page on your website so that your website pages do not compete with each other. Make sure you include the intent of buyers and information intent in your keywords.
You can use the free keyword tool to get an idea about which keywords should be used.
Tell Google About Keywords
Google crawls web pages, ranks millions of pages, and stores them in an index. It scans through its index to produce relevant results for users. You need to make it easy for Google to scan and retrieve your site easily. You can do this by inserting keywords in the following places:
Meta Title
The meta title appears at the top of the page as a header. It appears as the title of the page’s listing in Google search results. Every page or blog post of the website has a meta title.
Meta Description
The meta description shows up below the title in Google search results. It tells Google what the page is all about and gives searchers an idea about what they can expect on the page if they click it. Using the right keywords in meta description helps Google to display your business on the right page for the right searchers.
URL
Your URL contains the domain name. Including keywords in the URL helps Google identify what the page is all about. A clear URL containing the title of the page that has the right keywords is more appealing to users and suitable for first-page ranking.
Alt Tags
Google sees those images that have alt tags or text alternatives. Include keywords in alt tags so that Google can detect the relevancy of the page and rank it high.
Write for Humans
The body of the content should also include keywords. These keywords should be naturally inserted in the content and should not be used excessively.
The key to getting ranked on the first page of Google is providing trustworthy, informative, useful, and easy-to-read content so that your target audience can be engaged and come back for more information. It should be written conversationally. The page needs to provide the information that searchers are trying to obtain apart from relevant keywords.
Emphasize Location
Targeting location-based queries is another free way to get ranked on the first page of Google. Ensure that your website visibly specifies your city and geographic area, through your contact page and service pages, and blog post.
When users search for your company in your city, Google will show your page as a “near me” search result.
Even if a user does not insert a specific location in search queries, Google will still show geographically relevant results based on the IP address.
Optimize for Mobile
Google prefers mobile-friendly websites. In fact, all websites are indexed by mobile-first indexing. This is because many people are using mobile for Google searches more than laptops and computers. Maximum local searches are performed on mobile. Google does not respond to websites that are not mobile-friendly. So, ensure that your website offers a seamless experience to mobile users.
User Experience
Apart from being mobile-friendly, it is also important to make your website user-friendly and appealing. A website with a good navigation facility and a clear call to action can enhance the user experience. Also, answering the most immediate questions of users will keep users on the website for a longer time and they will more likely to come back later. Google notices it and considers it as a ranking factor.
Though getting a ranking requires a lot of hard work and patience, its rewards make it all worthwhile. We have mentioned easy and simple steps to make your website rank higher. You can also contact an SEO consultant who will provide you with some more ideas about how to rank higher
To optimize every aspect of your website, check out our Ultimate Website Audit Checklist (with an Epic 6-Tab Google Sheet).
