|
How to
Get to the #1 Spot on Google
I've been developing websites since 2001. During that
time, I'm constantly asked by my clients to "get them to the
top position of Google" for a search of their business.
And even though I have successfully gotten at least a hundred
clients to the #1 spot of Google, keep in mind that it's never
guaranteed.
There are several important
factors that will determine whether or not your website will
become the top Google result for specific searches. But
the truth is that there's no foolproof way to get those
results. Anyone web designer or internet marketer that
tells every single website owner that they can get them to the
#1 spot is either being dishonest, or is really talking about
getting them there through paid advertising.
How Well You Rank on Google Depends on the
Following Things:
-
If each page of your
website has been optimized for search engines
-
If pages of your website
has the right quality and quantity of text
-
If your website has quality
links pointing to it from other sites
-
The age of your website
Optimized for Google.
By this I mean that an internet marketer has
researched the keywords that are most important to you.
If you own a construction company in Los Angeles, those
keywords might include "Los Angeles construction company."
But an experienced web marketer would also know to optimize
different pages of your website for more detailed searches,
such as "patio builder in Los Angeles."
Even though the specific
keywords will get less searches each month, they can add up to
more business. That's because you are trying to rank
well for keywords that your competitors aren't focused on.
The more specific the keywords you go for, the better your
chances are of reaching the #1 spot.
The right text. I
can't tell you how many times I've had a client tell me that
they don't want "a lot of text" on different pages of their
website. But here's the truth: Google loves text.
If you have a good bit of text that includes your target
keywords, it can help a page of your website rank better.
Notice that I keep talking
about getting different pages of your website to show up on
Google better, I don't mention just the homepage. That's
because every page of your website has the potential to show
up in the first spot of Google for different types of
searches.
A construction website that
just has a single page for services will get less visitors
over time than a site that has eight different pages for eight
different services (patios, driveways, roofing, painting,
kitchen remodeling, etc). If your web designer knows
what they're doing, they will create specific pages for
specific products or services on your website, and then
optimize each page differently for its own set of keywords.
Back to the text. If
a construction client of mine offers roofing services, I want
to make sure that I create a page just for roofing. I
optimize it for keywords related to roofing in their city, and
I make sure that the page has plenty of text related to roof
installation and repair. That client may worry that by having
"too much" text, people will get bored.
But studies have proven
that pages with a lot of text outperform pages with only a
little text, when it comes to people deciding whether or not
to become a client. It's because the people who just
like to skim can skim, but people who want more details aren't
cut off, they can keep reading. Just make sure that the
text is broken up into paragraphs, that you use sub-headings
to signal that the page is changing its topic slightly, or use
bullet points to make things easier to skim. Also make
sure that the page contains important keywords.
Most important of all,
original text that you've written yourself tends to help a
page rank better than text you simply copied and pasted from
another website. So try to create some original content
for different pages of your site, and also make sure that the
text on each page of your site is different from the others.
Quality links pointing
to your website. Think of Google like a popularity
in high school. Let's say that there's a cool kid in
school that everyone seems to like. A new student starts
hanging out with the cool kid, and after a while, the new
student is seen as being cool. When a well-ranking
website links to your site, Google will take notice.
It's almost as though their link to your site is a vote for
popularity. Your website becomes more relevant to
Google, and you move up in position.
But here's the thing: not
all links are created equal. Google assigns different
value to different links based on whether the other site is
related to you, and how well that site already ranks.
Let me break it down. You own a construction website,
and a friend of yours launched a pizza restaurant site two
months ago. Your friend puts a link on her restaurant
site that points to your site. So will that give you a
boost?
Probably not. First
off, pizza doesn't have much to do with construction, so the
link won't seem too natural or relevant to Google.
Second, the age of the restaurant site isn't old enough to
give them any clout with Google. Put simply, it's not a
"cool kid" voting for you. But if a construction
magazine website that has been online for five years links to
you, Google will pay attention. They're related to what
you do, their site has been online for a long time, and
they've probably got a bunch of links pointed to them from
other sites. In the end, you share in some of that
Google love that gets passed from site to site.
Which leads to the million
dollar question for many site owners: how do I get links from
the cool kids? Some website owners contact other site
owners, and ask if they'd be willing to trade links.
Others pay websites to link to them (something that Google
frowns upon).
But the latest trend is to
add original content to your website to encourage people to
link to you. By content, I mean text, audio, and video.
Basically something that is genuinely useful to people.
Something educational, entertaining, or both. A
construction business may add a page with tips on how to
improve your home. An accountant may add a blog post
with tips on how to choose the right person to do your taxes.
A restaurant may put a video on their website showing how
their cooks make a pizza from scratch.
By adding content to your
site, and by not trying to push your products or services on
people in the process, you give website visitors what they
want. If they find it useful or funny, they're more
likely to share your content with others. They do that
by linking to your article or video from message boards, blogs,
or other websites. Those links pointing to your site
make you more relevant to Google, so it can pay off in the
long run (not to mention that you improve the brand of your
business through content marketing).
The age of your site.
The longer your website has been online (assuming you
never change the address of the site), the more trust you
establish with Google. If you're trying to get your
website to rank for something that isn't very competitive
("snow shoes in Miami Florida"), you may find yourself in the
#1 spot of Google in just a few months.
But if your keywords are
competitive ("Miami lawyer"), forget about even getting near
the #1 spot in a few months. It's going to take good
keyword optimization, links from other websites, and time to
get you to the top spot. If you just opened a law firm
in Miami, consider that hundreds of other lawyers have
probably been online for as long as 12 years. Now, those
websites may not be optimized for the right keywords, or have
many links pointed to them, but the age of their site still
gives them some pull with Google.
When it comes down to it,
getting to the #1 position on Google is realistic for many
website owners, but you have to be patient. There really
is no shortcut to jump ahead of everyone. Google will
look at how well your site is optimized, who is linking to
you, if you have a good bit of original text, and how old your
site is. If you visit a website for a business that
promises to get anyone to the #1 spot on Google, read the fine
print. If it sounds too good to be true, it almost
always is.
Still Have
Questions About Website Design or Google?
Give Delta Creations a call
today. We have developed over 300 websites since 2001,
and can provide you with free answers to your web design
questions. Our company designs websites for clients
across the United States, and has concrete experience at
getting them to rank well on Google. Call 866-928-1300
or email us if you have
questions.
|
