How to Get Your Website on the First Page of Google?
October 7, 2021 in SEO| 7 min
Importance of Getting on the First Page of Google
Google is a very important aspect of our everyday lives. People from all walks of life rely on Google to search for what they need everyday. Google is not just a huge organization, it’s also a part of everyday lives with its many offerings.
The search engine of Google has a bot that crawls the websites everyday to understand what they offer, how they offer and their importance to the relevant users. This crawl bot then ranks the websites according to over 200 ranking factors in place to make them accessible for relevant traffic. People from everywhere rely on Google and getting on the first page of Google searches create an immense traffic that boost revenue and business.
However, many businesses understand the importance of this fact and compete vigorously to get on the first page. In this report, we look at some of the most important factors to get ahead of the competition and how to get to the first page of Google.
Average Click-through Rate on Google First Page
The first page of Google consists %88 of all intended searches. Meaning that second, third and so on pages get only the remaining %12 of traffic. Meaning that in your relevant industry, it is crucial to the get the first page to get relevant traffic that might convert into actual customers.
In the first page, the first result gets the %28.5 of the traffic, and it drops to %15.7 for the second and %11 for the third. So not only the first page but your aim should be the first ranking of the first page for a successful digital marketing and search engine optimization strategy. Not to mention that the traffic rate drops to %2.5 for the 10th result which is the last result shown on the first page of the Google.
Beyond the first page, the rest of the pages get only %12 of the traffic combined together. This consists of general data for search results but in most cases, the first page will get more of the traffic while the top 3 will get the majority.
High Relevant Traffic
Getting to the first page of Google means that you will get a high share of traffic that is relevant for your business, meaning more revenue and sales for your business. And ranking in the first page will ensure a higher traffic share.
High Exposure
Being on the top page of Google will ensure that will get exposure from your customers, resulting in more credibility and eventually more sales and connections.
Using Search Engine Optimization to Get to Top of Google
Search engine optimization, commonly known as SEO is the process of using Google’s ranking factors to get to the top of the Google. There are over 200 ranking factors, and by applying various strategies and tactics, it’s possible to get to the first ranking. It’s possible to apply SEO strategies to different pages to rank them for different keywords and intended search results. SEO is a middle to long-term strategy that should be nourished with time.
Importance of Keywords
The initial step of any successful SEO strategy is to map out the keywords. Researching and figuring out which search inquires you want Google to show your website is crucial. An example of a keyword would be;
Best barbers around me
So when someone searches for a barber shop within their local town, your ultimate goal is to be shown in Google first page. (ideally first ranking)
The keyword research can get very extensive, there are not only keyword and keyword queries, but also long-tail keywords. Long tail keywords tend to get less traffic, but cumulative over time they bring huge amounts of relevant traffics.
Each page of your website should target a relevant keyword that is in accordance with the service or product that is promoted on that specific page. After targeting the main keyword, the long-tail keywords should come in. By casting a large net using keywords and long-tail keywords, we aim to reach a wider audience to get relevant traffic.
Including Keywords for Google Crawl Bot
People search anything on Google, literally. Google crawls the web, ranking millions of websites according to these search queries. When a user searches for something, Google scans its index and comes up with relevant search results.
In a successful SEO strategy, we want Google to understand what our pages are all about, what we offer and how we offer to make it easier for Google crawl bot so that it can show our website in search results when someone searches for something we offer.
Meta Title and Description
Every page on your website should have a meta title and meta description. For meta title, it’s important to add the main keyword in your title. Meta title is on top of your page and Google shows that page using the meta title like a header.
In meta description, you explain what that specific page offers in a brief explanation. Google displays the meta description under meta title and it consists of 160 characters.
URL
Your URL consists of your domain name and it including keywords in your URL for specific pages that you want to promote can help search engine crawl bots understand what your page is about. Creating a URL that is similar to main title of your page which includes the main keyword can help boost your rankings.
Alt Tags of Images
Google can only understand what your image tries to convey by reading its alt tags. By including an alt tag on your image, Google can recognize if it’s relevant to the page and can boost search engine rankings.
Responsive Website Design
Google places a huge emphasis on mobile friendly websites. Considering that more than %50 of searches are made on mobile devices, having a responsive website that is accessible easily on smartphones and tablets is crucial. Google indexes websites that are mobile friendly.
Responsive web design will ensure that your website is easily usable for users on their mobile devices, resulting in higher rankings in search engines. Responsive websites will be able to adjust to any device screen without sacrificing its design capabilities. Google notices this and ranks the websites accordingly.
Importance of Location
Unless you are a global enterprise that offers services around the globe, it is important to include your city, country and geographic area in various parts of your website such as in the footer section and the contact page. Understanding and targeting keywords including the city name with relevant industry information will ensure you to get relevant and local traffic to your business. Google will understand this information and start ranking your business in local searches.
Even if the user is not searching with location keywords, Google tend to show results that are close to their location. This means that local SEO is getting more important by the day.
Meaningful Content
Writing meaningful and good content is extremely important. The content should include keywords and long-tail keywords distributed nicely in the body. However, one must be careful not to stuff keywords in large amounts because Google will penalize such websites.
The most important part of any successful SEO strategy that will take you to the first page is to create content that is relevant, interesting and meaningful. Your content should be for humans but also at the same time understandable for crawl bots. People read, and by reading your content you get the attention of your target audience which Google loves. Your content should provide information and insights to your users.
User Experience
You can do everything right, but if your website does not offer a pleasant user experience to its users, the high bounce rate -meaning how fast the users leave the website- can have a negative impact on your rankings. A website should be designed within industry norms while keeping the target audience in mind. If your audience consists of foodies, brown colors with highly complex and hard to navigate pages will turn your audience off and make them leave the website.
To achieve good user experience, a website should be easy-to-navigate, have strategically places call-to-action buttons (CTAs), proper contact page and should be designed with target audience in mind.
Google My Business Account
Google My Business became one of the most effective tools for local business owners and became a crucial part of any successful SEO campaign. Google pages has something called a map pack and ranking on map packs became increasingly important. By adding your business information, website, phone number and having GMB posts, you can rank higher both on map pack and local search engine results.
Business Directories
Google My Business is a very important tool that you can use to your advantage, but there are many other directories that you should list your business on. These directories will send a ping to Google with your information and Google takes this information to rank you higher in search results. Directories like Yelp and Yellowpages will act as trustworthy backlinks while having Google crawl them to see your business information.
Getting on the first page if Google is no easy feat, but with the right SEO strategy and correct implementations it can be done in time. SEO is a middle to long term strategy, it can start having results in 4-6 months but to get the real results it is recommended to give it time within 12-18 months. We at Vanqor can help your business to rank higher on Google by implementing proper practices both on and off-site. Contact us today to discuss your project.