Getting Your Website to Rank On the First Search Engine Results Page (SERP) of Google Results

If you own a website, the most important thing for getting web traffic is to being able to be found via a Google search. That means that ranking on the first page of a Google SERP (Search Engine Results Page) should be the goal for any website where traffic leads to sales, clients, customers or fans. Most internet searchers choose the sites showing up on the first few pages and seldom go past the third page.

In fact, a recent analysis of 80 million keywords and billions of search results showed the average clickrate for the first position in Google is an astonishing 28.5%. Beyond position 1 the percentage falls quickly: In the second position, the average clickrate is 15.7% in the third position, 11% and by the tenth position only an average of 2.5% of people searching click on the result!

These trends of click-through rates (CTRs) are similar for search engines like Yahoo and Bing. The first page is prime internet real estate. Since Google is the largest search engine with spiders crawling over 80 billion web pages per day, it stands to reason that achieving first page status means you will be the top dog and get waves of internet traffic to your product and services pages.

Why is First Page SERP Placement Important?

Google has made itself a household name for providing relevant, high-quality results. Its ever-evolving algorithms have helped to shape and refine the definition of a high-quality websites, weeding out lower quality sites and ensuring that searchers receive the most accurate results that are relevant to their search query. That demonstrates a degree of trust that Google will produce relevant results consistently. Getting your website to appear on the first page of Google builds trust with your audience, introduces your brand to new visitors, and brings you more sales revenues.

Getting listed on the first page of Google results gives you:

• More trust
• More visibility
• Increased lead generation
• Increased authority/status
• More audience engagement

Okay, so getting ranked on the first page of Google is important, but how can you make that happen as a small business owner? While it may seem like an impossible task, learning and applying some basic principles can help you achieve good results over time. You can get to the first page of Google if you consistently put in the effort and don’t expect results overnight. It will take time to get to this coveted spot on the internet. You will need to be focusing on SEO (search engine optimization) for your website as well as the content that brings in web traffic.

How to Get to the First Page (SERP) of Google

1. Quality Content

Google has already stated that it focuses on quality over quantity and ranks quality pages higher. So the most important factor in ranking is the quality of the content you’re producing. It must be relevant and offer something of value to the reader. In the old days, internet marketers would create one-page websites with a landing page and advertisement for their product, but Google said this is not a good practice and requires more content with substance to prove quality. As a rule, you should have at least 10 pieces of content on your blog or website to meet this requirement. The next step is creating backlinks to your content. Having other sites linking to your content is like a popularity vote from Google’s perspective.

1. Google My Business

Business listings in Google often go unclaimed, and that is disappointing when a searcher lands on that page. Claiming your Google business page and making sure to fill it out completely ensures that more people can find you and contact you for services. Apply to as many directories and business listings as you can.  It gives validation to your website and assures people that you’re a real organization made of real people – not just a faceless company.

1. Local SEO

Local SEO is the process of optimizing a business website for location-specific searches. Anytime someone types in… X businesses near me, it generates a search result for businesses in your general location. So when someone performs a local search for a doctor, dentist,  or locksmith, the search engine will display local businesses relevant to their location. Google uses a searcher’s IP address or geolocation (for desktop or mobile searches) to determine what results to show.

1. Inbound SEO

Your content needs to be unique and provide value for the reader. Having a blog on your website allows you to have lots of high-quality content and brings in readers from the web. It is important when writing your content that you focus on the keywords that pertain to your subject.

You should try to be as precise as you can using keyword phrases that describe what your article or blog post is about. Such as “New Orleans small businesses”, or “New Orleans Web Design”. Choose a main keyword and use it in your title, description, and image alt tags. If you want to take an extra step, seek out some of the many paid services that offer keyword tools helpful in finding good keywords with low competition.

1. Outbound SEO

Outbound SEO pertains to the outside influences that give your site credibility, such as how many other sites are linking to it. Social media is another avenue that can help boost your ranking indirectly. If you create a strong online presence with social media, you’ll start getting a following that will help naturally increase your site ranking. Nobody exactly understands the intricacies of how this happens, but just understand that having social media accounts and regularly engaging with your followers helps.

1. Technical SEO

Technical SEO is site optimization that ensures everything is working together. It checks for plagiarism and duplicate content to avoid being penalized. A well optimized site complies with W3C and ADA standards and helps users find what they are looking for. .

Next steps for Pursuing the Coveted First Page SERP

There are no magic formulas or quick shortcuts to success. It takes time and effort to bring the best results consistently.

Using these strategies effectively will give your website a greatly improved chance of ranking higher in the search results. Optimizing your site for mobile searches, producing high-quality content, engaging with your audience on social media, and using key search terms that people are searching will help you rise to that coveted spot on the first page of Google.

If you need a good New Orleans SEO company, look no further. We love helping businesses understand how technology can help them evolve and grow.