Want to Get on the First Page of Google?
Of course! You do, I do, my local bagel shop down the road does.
That’s where all the action happens.
As a website strategist, I get clients all the time that tell me that they really, really, really want to get on the first page of Google.
And that’s awesome that they want to focus on their SEO, but honestly, it’s not that easy.
Why? Because everyone wants to be on the first page of Google.
If you just had to launch your website, and tap Google on the shoulder and say “what’s up Google?! Hook me up with front page….alright?” — then my job would be a piece of pie. (Good pie. Peanut butter pie, to be exact.)
But it’s not that easy.
SEO is complicated and there’s a lot of components that contribute to “getting on the first page”.
But I didn’t want to just spew out my own advice on the matter, so, I reached out to a few other well-known SEO experts and asked them to give their best advice for business owners that want to get on Google’s first page.
And here’s what they had to say…
Jeseph Meyers from Queen City Media:
Connect with Jeseph on Twitter!
“When starting an SEO project it can be easy to get caught up in the latest tricks, tools, and technical upgrades. All of these are important and can make a difference but if you lose sight of your foundation, you’ll likely be disappointed. (Not taking advanced search features into account)
Every Google search has 10 results; you need to consider what you can do to be sure that your page/post is the BEST result on that page.
Have you considered user intent?
Have you answered the user’s question completely?
Look at every result that you will be competing with and make your result far, and above the best. If you do that, FIRST, your tricks, tools, and tactics will really start to pay off. Without this attention, all of the tools in the world still won’t help you rank, Google wants to show the BEST result, be the best.”
Meg Clarke from Clapping Dog Media
“Having good SEO is not the result of doing one thing well. SEO is the combined effort of a well-built website, a strategic content marketing plan, an appealing design, a focused social strategy and then taking it all and optimizing it for Google.
Good SEO is not a specific set of services, Good SEO is good business.“
Fuse from Get Found with Fuse
Connect with Fuse on Instagram!
“So you want to rank on Google?
Well so does everyone else and many factors can help you get there, but if I were to narrow down a few, I would say two things are vital for ranking on page #1 of Google.
The first is content. Text is the basis for SEO, so it is crucial that you have specific pages for the services you offer so you can target each page accordingly. Annnnd you have to make sure those pages have enough content to even rank in Google. I love the SEO content template tool SEM Rush offers. This tool checks the word count for set keyword phrases that are ranking on the 1st page. This can help give you a basis of what you need to tweak.
The second thing one must not ignore is backlinks. Backlinks are extremely important for building trust with Google so achieving backlinks for high authority websites should be a monthly task.
All in all, be a resource. If you’re a resource online, people will share your content, come back, and maybe even give you a backlink.”
Sydney from Gotsmith Web Studio
Connect with Sydney on Instagram!
“If you’re a business with customers nearby — like a photographer in Austin or a sandwich shop in Chicago — your SEO game should start with local ranking because that’s where your customers are.
When you’re searching for something like “photographers in Austin”, you get what’s called a 3-pack on top of the other search results. Getting into the 3-pack is going to give you a huge increase in traffic, and that’s where Google My Business comes in.
- Create or claim your Google My Business listing if it’s already there, and choose your service categories
- Add a mix of photos – show off your products, your location, behind the scenes
- Choose your service area – you can also include the cities around you if it makes sense for your business
- Write a detailed description and mix in your keywords occasionally so users know what you’re offering
Having an optimized Google My Business listing, with good reviews (yes, you’ll need those, especially if your area is competitive) will get you into the 3-pack, which means more eyes on your listing, more website visits, more walk-ins, and more customers.”
Neil from Only Way Online
“My advice is to break this problem down by first answering the following question: “what product, service or information query do you want to be at the top of Google for”.
So, if you’re a wedding planner in New York, being at the top of Google for “Wedding Planner New York” would make sense. Or if you’re a diabetes consultant you may want an article on “natural ways to improve diabetes” to be on Google.
Once you’ve figured this out, go to Google, search for your query and take a look at your competition. Now, to get found in Google, ask yourself another question: how can you make your content or sales page better for the user? This is the true foundation of building a successful search campaign.”
Danielle from DanielleZeigler.com
Connect with Danielle on Instagram!
“First, I always tell my clients that SEO is about so much more than getting your homepage on page one. Getting to the front page of Google takes time and a carefully considered strategic approach for your unique business.
One common practice I use with clients is to help them think more deeply about what keywords they want to use – for example, “photographer NYC” is a very popular keyword, therefore it’ll be much harder to get onto page one for that specific phrase. We can start by breaking down FAQs from their ideal customer and develop a plan to update past content and create new content that will serve these prospects at different points in their buying journey. It’s usually a matter of digging deeper into the context of “photographer NYC,” such as “candid family portrait photographer Brooklyn” or “branding photographer for entrepreneurs in NYC.”
It’s less about doing things for Google to get to “page one” and more about ensuring you’re creating content and a site experience that helps your ideal client.”
And last but not least….
Mariah from Mariah Magazine Web & Strategy Studio
Check out Mariah’s helpful YouTube videos!
“SEO is SO much more than keywords and getting on the first page of Google.
When Google ranks a web page, it scores that page based on over 200 factors. Factors ranging from “How long has this domain name been around?” to “How long are visitors typically spending on the page?” down to the technical things like “How fast does this page load on a mobile device?” and everything in between.
And the reason for all of these scoring factors isn’t to give you more work to do on your website, they’re in place to better help Google searchers.
Google may be the search engine, but it’s your website visitors that let Google know if your site is page #1 worthy or not.
In a nutshell, all Google’s algorithm is trying to do, is give the Google searcher what they’re looking for.
It’s trying to give them the solution to their problem or an answer to their question.
So if you want to get on the front page of Google, always always always remember how you, as a USER use Google. And if you were a user that was looking for your products or services, what would you type into Google to get it? What content would you find insanely helpful?
Combine that logic with an easy to use website and strategic game plan moving forward and you’ll be well on your way to not only getting on Google’s good side but having your website visitors fall in love with you. (because that’s the WHOLE point of getting on Google, to begin with…right?)”
Conclusion:
There ya have it! 7 SEO experts advice on getting your website on the first page of Google.
As you can see, my lovely friends, SEO isn’t easy as pie….unfortunately.
But it IS possible. You just need a game plan. And that game plan has got to start with narrowing down WHO your target audience is, and then building on that. Because if you don’t know WHO your website is for AND what they’re searching for….how can you expect Google to put your website front and center as a solution?
What do you think? What advice are you going to follow first?
Let me know in the comments below!
