For those in the business of trying to drive organic traffic, Google is all-powerful. It crawls the web, determining which pages are the most useful and relevant to its users for virtually any topic. We don’t just trust Google results, we trust them.
With such immense power and influence, getting your small business to appear on the first page of Google can seem unrealistic. However, it is this same power that Google has. that makes it more possible than ever for small, local businesses to rank high in search results—for free!
In this post, I’ll cover several tangible actions you can take to help your business grow. company grow to the top of the first page, using two free strategies: website optimization and list optimization. I’ll first cover the importance of Google’s first page and then go into the tactics, which include:
- Adding keywords to specific places on your website
- Creating content for humans, not Google
- Emphasize location
- Regularly update and maintain your Google listing
- And much more
It’s abundantly clear that the first page of Google is a valuable (if not essential) goal for any business, but first let’s review its specific benefits, as this can help you prioritize within your business strategy.
Why Google’s First Page Matters
Google search results are getting stronger: with knowledge panels, answer boxes, expandable related questions, local results, and more. With so many ways to stand out, it’s worth striving for the top rankings, especially when you consider that traffic and click-through rates drop precipitously as you move down the search results.
Traffic and engagement drop precipitously after the first few results.
Being on the first page means a significantly higher click-through rate
It’s a known fact that the first page of Google captures Most traffic, but did you know that there are significant differences in click-through rates for top and bottom results? A study shows the following click-through rates by position on Google:
• First result: 36.4% click-through rate • Second result: 12.5% click-through rate • Third result: click-through rate 9.5% clicks
CTR continues to decline, down to 2.2% for the 10th result (usually max 10 organic results per page, even less now with local results, ads, boxes response and other new features.If you’re not at the top of Google search results, you’re missing out on a lot of clicks.
Get immediate exposure
Top search results Google now also populate “Position Zero” answer boxes, also known as Featured Snippets:
Getting a top spot on Google could lead to being featured in a Featured Snippet, giving your business immediate exposure and increasing your credibility.
First position traffic share
Ot ro study found that the top result on Google captures 33% of search traffic. The closer to the top you can get your website to appear on Google, th Improve your search presence and brand authority.
How strong are your SEO and online presence? ? Find out in 90 seconds with our free website qualifier!
How does ranking on the first page benefit your business?
It’s important to understand the different goals Google ranking can help your business achieve.
1. Improve Your Visibility
Suppose you have a physical location. If you had to choose between locating your business on the main street through town or on a quiet side street, which would you choose? The main street, of course.
With 167 billion searches per month, being on the first page of Google is like planting your business on the busiest street in town. The more people see your website, the higher your brand awareness will be. The more familiar consumers are with your brand, the more receptive they will be to conversion activities.
2. Generate More Leads
Now, what if you had to choose between the main street of a diverse city or a city of ideal clients? There are as many first pages on Google as there are search queries. Your goal is to appear on the first page of inquiries from your ideal customers. In doing so, it is discovered by consumers searching online with the intent to buy or participate. These people are more likely to become leads and customers for your business.
3. Increase Engagement
According to Adweek, 81% of shoppers do research online before buying, and Google is the go-to resource for this. With answer boxes, a “People Also Ask” section, and local results displaying contact information, maps, reviews, ratings, and descriptions, Google’s search engine results page allows consumers to learn, compare, and engage with your business before they even click. in your result.
A People Also Ask section.
4.Drive Website Traffic
Snippets and responsive boxes can only provide certain information. While a search engine results page can sometimes provide all the information a person needs, there are still a number of queries for which people will inevitably click through to a website. Don’t forget that it often takes several interactions with a business before a person becomes a customer, so interactions with your website are important.
Being on the first page of Google doesn’t just drastically increases traffic to your website; Not being on the first page of Google has a major disadvantage. In fact, the first page of Google captures at least 71% of web traffic (some sources say as much as 92%), and the second page is far from a close second: it falls to 6% of clicks on the site. Web. This sharp drop in web traffic is an indicator of how important Google’s first page is.
4. Increase Your Industry Authority
Getting on the first page of Google requires the regular creation of high-quality content that Google recognizes as meeting the needs of its search engines. This takes time, but the resulting increased traffic and trust is well worth the investment.
In addition, writing regularly about your industry and business will require you to stay on top of what your target audience wants and know which ones as well. are the latest updates in your industry. Getting on the first page of Google is important because it makes it easy to build and maintain a strong knowledge base on which your business can stand firmly.
5. Earn trust
Google’s algorithm is designed to recognize spam, suspicious and low-quality content. If you consistently appear on the first page of Google, it means that Google recognizes you as a trusted source of information and consumers trust companies that Google trusts.
6. Build Your Audience
As mentioned above, getting on the first page of Google requires creating high-quality, ongoing content. This type of content is the gift that keeps on giving; can be reused and redistributed through a variety of marketing channels, including social media, email, and paid ads.
Your content-based efforts to get on the first page of Google will provide you with more material and more opportunities to engage with your target audience, nurture leads, and stay top of mind.
7. Accelerate Your Sales Cycle
Consumers today are spoiled for choice, as well as access to all the information and tools they need to discover, examine, and make a decision about a business. Where do you go to start your investigation? Google! Getting on the first page of Google helps you attract top-of-funnel leads and jump-start your sales cycle.
How many different ways can you get on the first page of Google? for free?
Getting on the first page of Google is not only a common goal among small business owners, but also very doable. Google does not focus on quantity, but on quality. As a result, a larger company or larger budget does not equate to a higher rank. There are several factors behind the Google algorithm, and thanks to the fact that the Google results page has many different components, there are also different types of media that can achieve first page status. They include:
• Blog posts and website pages (in organic results) • Your Google My Business account > (in the local/maps section)
Optimizing your Google My Business listing ensures that your business and ratings appear in local queries.
• Snippets of your website content (in the many features of the Google search results page, including the “People Also Ask” and the answer box.
• Your landing pages (This is through the paid ads section, which isn’t free, but worth mentioning. For more help using paid strategies to get on the first page of Google, head over to to this post about Google Ads tutorials).
Now let’s get back to the two free ways you can get to the first page.
How to use your website to get there. ar to the first page of Google
The practice of ranking your website with search engine ranking factors is called search engine optimization (SEO). Not necessary. Search engines typically optimize your entire site at once, but rather each individual page on your site. Here’s how to do it:
1. Determine Your Keywords
First, determine which search queries you want Google to answer with your website pages. These are known as keywords, which, by the way, can be single words OR phrases.
Examples of keywords include:
• “MA Tenant Laws” • “living room near me” • “Boston brunch” • “A/C repair Brighton” • “fixing a leaky roof” • “how to get on the first page of Google”
Every page on your website You need to target a different set of keywords so the pages don’t compete with each other.
The right keywords for your business are those that your ideal customers type in to get the products and services they need. If you need help choosing keywords for your business, try our Free Keyword Tool.
Use our Free Keyword Tool to find high-volume keywords for your niche.
2. Tell Google what keywords you’re using
Google crawls the web, ranks the millions of pages out there, and stores them in an index. When a user performs a search, Google can scan through its most organized index (rather than the entire web) to quickly return relevant results.
So another important step to appearing on the first page Google page is to make it as easy as possible for Google to scan, index, and retrieve your site. To do this, place keywords in the following places:
Meta Title
Every blog post and page on your website has a meta title. This title appears at the top of your page as a header, but also as the listing title for that page in search results (depending on your CMS settings).
Meta Description
The meta description is the little blurb that appears below the title in Google search results.
In addition to telling Google what your page, the meta description quickly tells a searcher what to expect if they click on your page, increasing relevant clicks to that page. Therefore, the meta description helps Google get your business on the right first page for the right searches and helps Google search engines keep you there.
URL
Your URL consists of your domain name (such as wordstream.com), followed by a forward slash, followed by hyphen-separated text.
Including keywords in your URL will help Google to identify more quickly what your page is. about. Also, the URL appears between the title and the meta description in the search results. A clean URL that matches the page title is more attractive and trustworthy to users, and is better suited for first page appearances.
Alt tags
Google can only see images if the image has a text alternative (also known as an alt tag). If your alt tag includes keywords, Google may detect higher relevance from that page and feel more comfortable placing you on their first page of search results.
3. Write for Humans
Of course, the body of your page content is the most important place to include the keywords you’re trying to rank for. However, it is crucial that these keywords are not inserted systematically and excessively, but instead are incorporated naturally. In fact, Google can now detect keyword stuffing, and if it does, it will place you far, far away from the first page of its results.
The key to appearing on the first page of Google is Provide useful and reliable information. Easy-to-read, yet informative content that will keep your target audience on your pages and coming back for more. And conversationally sharing the knowledge you already have in your head is free and easy. Just remember that if you want to rank on the first page of Google for a particular keyword search, your page must provide the information, not just the keywords, that users are trying to get when they type. who search on Google.
4. Emphasize Location
Another free way to get your website pages to appear on the first page of Google is to target queries based on location. Make sure your website clearly states your city and/or geographic area, through your contact page and possibly through blog posts and services pages as well. That way, when people search for: “your industry” + “your city”, Google will collect that information and show your business as a “near me” search result.
Even if a user doesn’t searches using a specific location, Google will still serve geographically relevant results based on your IP address, so local SEO is not only free, but always important (even during a pandemic).
5. Optimize for Mobile
You won’t find a website at the top of an unresponsive Google search. Consumers now use phones and tablets more than computers and laptops, and most local searches are done on mobile devices. As a result, Google favors websites that are optimized for mobile devices. In fact, all sites are now indexed using mobile-first indexing.
Responsive is ideal, as your website will adapt to any screen size while maintaining functionality. However, if you don’t have a responsive website, there are adjustments you can make to your site to ensure the best experience for a mobile user.
6. Focus on the user experience
Mobile optimization is not enough for a website. It must also be attractive and easy to use. A website with intuitive navigation, clear calls to action, and answers to your visitors’ most immediate questions will keep visitors there longer and return later, which Google will notice and, in turn, rank you higher.The higher you rank, the more traffic your site will receive and the more likely you are to appear on the first page.
To optimize all aspects of your website, check out our Ultimate Website Audit List verification (with a 6-tab Google Epic sheet).
How to use your business listings to appear on the first page of Google
In addition to your website pages, Your online business directory listings can also appear on the first page of a Google search. Here’s what to do:
7. Create a Google My Business Account
Google My Business is becoming one of the most powerful tools (not to mention free) for local business owners. Both Google Maps and Search pull from Google My Business to produce local listings (known as Business Profiles). Creating a Google My Business account is a quick and easy way to add more information to your business profile, helping it appear on the first page of Google Maps and Search (in the local results section)h. Be sure to continue to claim and verify your listing so that you can monitor, maintain, and optimize your listing.
8. Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Speaking of optimizing your listing, I consider this strategy to be a separate entity because while building a Google listing can help you with your visibility, it can only help you so much in terms of classification. Instead of building a basic listing and hoping it will show up in one or two searches, optimize your Google business listing for maximum visibility. Here’s how:
Fill out all sections of your profile
The more information you include in your Google My Business listing, the more searches you’ll be able to show. top on the first page. In fact, full Google My Business listings get, on average, 7 times more clicks than incomplete listings.
Keep your name consistent
Use the exact same name for your business at all times. Google doesn’t like discrepancies, even those as small as “Co”. vs “Business”
Update Your Information
Not being able to find your business, showing up to find it closed, or getting an operator when you try to call can not only deter to a customer, but also lead them to distrust your business or write a negative review. Stay on top of your Google listing and make any necessary updates and changes so that it can be trusted enough to be at the top of the listing.
Uploading photos to your listing
Google My Business strives to provide consumers with as much information as possible about a business, even before they find it. This includes what it’s like to be in that business, so be sure to upload photos that represent not only the products and services your business offers, but also the environment and people who frequent it.
Try our Google My Business Grader
We have a free tool designed specifically for Google My Business listings. Just sign in with your Google business account and in less than 30 seconds you’ll get an assessment of your profile and learn what you need to do to get closer to the first page.
9. Get Customer Reviews
Google searchers love to see what other people think about a business, so it’s no surprise that businesses with the most positive Google reviews appear on the first page. Ask customers in person and create a review shortcut link so you can easily encourage reviews on your online channels. While this technically falls under the Google My Business optimizations list, don’t forget that there are plenty of other review sites out there, all of which have an impact on your rankings.
Reviews can land you in the category “Local Pack” that appears at the top of the Google SERP.
10. List your business in other directories
Google My Business is powerful, but you still have to create and optimize listings on other popular directories like Yelp Firstly, because Yelp has a lot of traffic and Google trusts it, so your business’s Yelp page can appear on the first page of Google for relevant searches Secondly, because a strong listing with positive reviews improves your overall online presence. Online reviews and links from other trusted sites send signals to Google that are included in its ranking algorithm.
As with your Google business profile, make sure the re These of your online directory listings are complete and accurate, consistent across all platforms. , updated, and that is collecting and responding to reviews. Don’t forget to add photos to your online listings too.
How to Get to the First Page of Google [Summary]
Get to the top of Google, or even just improve your rankings It is very doable, even for small businesses. It takes work and time, but it’s one of the most important things you can do for your business. By knowing where and how to make adjustments, you can give your business the visibility it deserves.Here are the strategies in a nutshell:
- Create a keyword strategy to target the terms your target customers are searching for.
- Incorporate keywords into your content. website, as well as HTML tags.
- Write for humans (not search engines).
- Target for location-based searches.
- Optimize for mobile devices.
- Focus on user experience.
- Create a Google My Business account.
- Optimize your business profile.
- Get customer reviews.
- List your business in directories.
Want to know how WordStream can help you get to the first page of Google? Check out our range of marketing services and get in touch today.
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