How to get to the Top of Google?

By tscheich | June 4, 2009

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“I want to be on the first page of Google”…the request we hear the most from clients when discussing Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which is then closely followed by “When will I see results?” and “How much will it cost?”

Well, to be honest, SEO is a strategy, not a “quick fix” or a “one-time deal”. It will take time and it will be an investment. Generally, for low to moderately competitive areas, it may take 3 – 6 months to begin seeing results.  If the area of focus is highly competitive, results can take 6 months to a year.

Here are a few basic factors we consider when forming an effective SEO strategy:

How will people find you? (aside from the name of your company)
Researching relevant, competitive keyword terms people use when searching for what-ever-it-is-they-are-looking-for and cross matching these terms with your products and services is the most important part of the optimization process. This is the foundation from which we will build, and much like a building, laying a strong foundation takes time if you want it to last.

Is your website SEO-friendly?
Making a website “SEO-friendly” is crucial to improving your SERP rankings, as well as the site’s ability to effectively communicate with your site visitors. On-page content is essential…is the copy written for the web or was it once used on a printed brochure? Is it written for everyday-people? Does every element of the site use keywords effectively?

How user-friendly is your site?
Just like making the site “SEO-friendly”, how user-friendly a site is also contributes to both your ranking on SERPs and your website’s ability to maintain your audience once they have arrived. The number of images, use of video, and interactivity, as well as navigation structure and overall organization are also important. If people do find your site, but immediately “bounce back” because they can’t find what they’re looking for, you just lost potential sales. People will rarely revisit a site after a bad experience or considering it “unhelpful”.

Do other industry-related sites link to yours?
Backlinks (links inbound to your site) are important – Google and the other search engines rank sites higher if they appear to have the most relevant content. This means they give weight to the number of links pointing to YOUR site. Which site do you think could potentially be more useful, the site that has 5 people pointing to it or 500?

What is your opposition doing to increase their rankings?
As you work to improve your site’s ranking, your competition is likely to be doing the same to maintain their position.

How did the latest Google algorithm change affect your site? What about the next one?
Search engines rank sites according to proprietary algorithms, and these continually change (Google just did a change last month to the description characters, the month before that it was duplicate content).

So, is it possible to achieve the elusive “first page ranking on Google”?  Of course, but it won’t happen overnight! There are many variables involved in achieving a front-page ranking (not to mention maintaining it), the length of time it takes to get to page 1 and how much it will cost will differ from one client to the next depending on competition, market focus, and aggressiveness of strategy.

Just remember…the dollars this can potentially add to your company’s bottom line will directly reflect the dollars you invest into the strategy to not only get you there, but also keep your position; and to remain effective, the SEO strategy will last the lifetime of the site.

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