How to rank higher on Google

Aug 3, 2014 | SEO Tips

Does your website struggle to be found on Google? Do you wonder, “What is Google want from me!?”

This article will help you understand how to rank higher on Google in a safe way – meaning these are NOT black hat tricks and tactics that will get you in trouble. We only teach techniques that will naturally improve your websites’ ability to rank well in your industry or topic.

The reality is – it’s NOT easy getting on page one of Google.

The truth is it takes a LOT to get to the top of Google’s search results, and while you probably don’t want to hear that, let us give you some clarity and hopefully some encouragement.

What Does Google Want from You?

It can be exhausting trying to keep up with all of the algorithm changes that Google announces (or whispers). All of us want to be organically #1 on Page 1 of Google. We want to be 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place too! We’d like to annihilate our competition and move them to page 15! But How!? We’ve heard for years now that it takes great content to get you found on Google. These days it takes good content and a lot more!

Getting ranked high on Google takes

  • Good Content – that is original, helpful and informative. You can’t just blog this or that thinking you’ve done your task for the weekly post. You must give substance and strong content that not only will perform well for search engines, but will also help your readers. It needs to be something that can’t be found on a dozen other blogs or websites. You need to have something that your competitors don’t – then get the word out on your social networks and email blasting to drive traffic to that page! Imagine offering more than just a story – but exact how to’s that detail out step-by-step how to do something! That’s different! That would go viral! See this blog example. WP Beginner doesn’t just tell you to do something. They show you how… For Free! That’s exciting and different!
  • Fresh Content – depending upon your industry you should be adding new content very consistently in your blog. Most industries should be weekly posting, but some may even require daily.
  • Responsive Design – Google has announced that they will be “penalizing” websites for not being mobile-friendly. You must have a responsive website to be accessible cross-browsers and cross-devices.
  • User Experience – This is a forgotten element when most web design companies build for you. Your visitors must enjoy being on your website. They need to be able to find links and content quickly and easily.
  • Load Time – this is actually a part of User Experience too. You’ll end up frustrating your visitors if your site takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Be sure your images and scripts are lightweight and fast!
  • Social Signal – Are you using social media? Believe it or not – this is a factor when it comes to page rank. Google wants to see that you’re social and interacting with your customers. Find the networks that your customers are using and USE THEM.
  • Grammar – Did you know that Google takes into consideration your sentence structure and language use? They don’t want to present websites to visitors that sound wonky or spammy. They will search your website looking for keyword stuffing and bad SEO tactics. One of the tell-tell signs of a spammers’ website is bad English. So be sure to have correct grammar on your website.
  • Security – If you’re selling products or accepting payments on your website – you need a Secure Server License and secure hosting. These are important factors to keep your customers identity and financial information safe. We’ve seen Google actually list shopping cart websites will huge RED LETTERS stating: “This website may be compromised and not safe to browse!” YIKES! Get security for your visitors!
  • Backlinks – You’ve probably heard of backlinks if you’ve spent any time researching how to get ranked higher in search engines. Backlinks are other websites that link back to your site. These can help increase your site’s authority if the websites that are listing you are reputable, have high rankings and good traffic. Building these backlinks can be very difficult and time consuming, unless you try buying them – which is a BlackHat Trick and NOT what we recommend.
  • Time – Speaking of time consuming … this one is not what you want to hear, but truth is it takes time to get to page one of Google. And depending upon how saturated your industry is – it may even take longer. Imagine having to compete in the Insurance world or the Travel Industry. It’s an uphill climb but using these tips can really easily and quickly propel your website forward.

Over 200 Factors

You’ve probably heard it said that there are over 200 factors they take into consideration when ranking a website. They’re looking at your organic traffic, your social signal, your code and of course they’re looking at your content. Ultimately all Google cares about is presenting exactly what the viewer is searching for – FAST! They want someone to search and click once to find the best match to their query. There’s not one factor that is THE one to focus on. They all add up and build upon each other to make the difference.

Our goal (to have our website rank higher on Google) is driven by understanding these over 200 factors and by abiding by them. We are not trying to trick Google or those searching. We’re not trying to gain traffic that does not convert. You want to set a game plan into place that includes these factors and then use the game plan daily. Take time to make it happen. Celebrate when your site moves up in the ranks. Make revisions to your strategy when you see the slip happen in your Google Analytics, and be assured – it will happen. No matter how you follow these steps – your competitors will be too. The key is to stay consistent. Google loves consistency and they’ll reward you.

Here’s another article to further explain the 200 factors that Google looks for in ranking your website.