How to Get on the First Page of Google: 9 Actionable SEO Tips

Key Google’s Ranking Factors in 2024 

Google ranking factors are key elements that influence how websites rank in Google search results. These factors change over time, especially with the evolving nature of Google’s search algorithms.

For businesses, it’s essential to prioritize Google’s current ranking factors. You align your website pages to the current algorithms of Google’s search results. In turn, you maximize your chances of climbing to the top of search engines. 

Prioritize these ranking factors to increase visibility in search queries:

• Content quality: Create reliable content to provide valuable answers to users’ search queries. Google’s helpful content system requires websites to offer people-first content.
• Keyword ranking: Do thorough keyword research to rank for relevant keywords. Target keywords might change based on market trends and consumer needs.
• Mobile responsiveness: Optimize your website’s responsiveness on mobile devices. Refer to this guide to discover Google’s mobile-first indexing best practices.
• User Experience (UX): Test your website’s UX before you launch publicly. This helps you pinpoint weak spots in your site’s UX. 
• Backlink profile: Analyze the quality and relevance of your website’s backlink profile. Google’s recent spam policies double down on spammy and black-hat link-building.
• Security: Protect user data and confidentiality when they visit your website. Adhere to safety measures like encryption methods and privacy regulations. 
• User engagement: Assess your website’s engagement metrics, including bounce rate and dwell time. Higher engagement rates could boost your ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Implementing an SEO strategy is not the endpoint of your campaign. Use tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics to measure your SEO performance. Then, adjust and adapt your strategies to align with the evolving algorithms in search results.

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How does Google search work?

Google implements a step-by-step process for ranking websites for search results. Here’s a quick breakdown of this process:

1. Crawling: Google searches for web pages that offer relevant information on the user’s query. The web crawlers target different content formats, including text, images, and videos.
2. Indexing: Google indexes these relevant web pages in a massive database. No-index pages and duplicates might not be indexed in this database. 
3. Ranking: Indexed pages are ranked according to relevance, quality, and UX. Content and keyword research play a huge role in ranking on the first page of Google. 
4. Delivering: Google delivers the results to the users, showing the most relevant pages by rank. The first page of Google also displays rich snippets, images, and videos. 

The priority of Google Search is to provide relevant and accurate information to its users. To achieve this goal, Google constantly introduces changes to its algorithms. This requires websites to update their strategies to rank on the first page of Google.

Strategies on how to get on the first page of Google vary from time to time. According to our research, there are nine trending tips for getting on the first page. Discover these game-changing tips below. 

Tip 1: Optimize for Search Intent

Search or user intent is why a user performs a search query. When creating content, your target keywords should align with user intent. This will depend on the nature of your market and target audience.

Search intent varies in terms of audience needs and pain points. Take a look:

• Informational: Users intend to find answers to informational questions.
• Navigational: Users intend to find a particular website, brand, or business.
• Commercial: Users intend to compare certain products and services.
• Transactional: Users intend to purchase a product or take a conversion-oriented action.

Depending on your business goals, you should prioritize the right intent. For example, an eCommerce SEO strategy should focus on transactional intent. This helps online stores acquire leads with higher intent to purchase.

We recommend these techniques for targeting users’ intent when creating content:

• Understand your target audience and identify their pain points. Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner to discover related keywords.
• Experiment with different content formats. For informational intent, you want to create how-to guides and product tutorials. For transactional intent, ensure that your product pages have keyword-rich descriptions and headings.
• Learn SEO as you go. Bookmark the Google Search Essentials page to discover trending SEO practices. 

The secret to creating high-quality content is to target your audience’s intent. This will increase your visibility on the first page of Google.

Tip 2: Create Long-Form, In-Depth Content

Long-form content is still a relevant format in driving sustainable growth in Google. Sure, it may not quickly get you instant clicks and engagements. But what it does is to establish your credibility as a brand.

According to Backlinko, the average length of a Google first page result is 1,447 words. By that standard, a long-form article remains an effective way of getting to the first page of Google. 

Here’s how you can make long-form content work:

• Aim for a realistic keyword difficulty level. For new websites, try to find keywords with lower search volumes. For established websites, you can go for a higher keyword difficulty level.
• Incorporate the E-E-A-T approach into your content. This covers Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Develop a content strategy that demonstrates your credibility as a brand.
• Update your evergreen content. Check your evergreen articles for any outdated facts or claims. Then, republish the content and promote it on your online platforms. 
• Link to reputable references. Cite credible sources to solidify your claims and statements. Refer to data-driven insights from stats-based sources like Statista or Gallup.

You also need to measure the performance of your content. Utilize free analytics tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. You can also use Hotjar to visualize heatmaps and session recordings.

Tip 3: Utilize Topic Clusters and Pillar Pages

Topic clusters and pillar pages can help you produce a more organized content strategy. This is key when you’re creating content around targeted keywords of a particular topic. 

For reference, here’s the difference between a pillar page and its topic clusters:

• Pillar page: Content that extensively discusses a more general or broader topic. 
• Topic clusters: A series of pages that breaks down the pillar page into sub-topics.

Websites use this clustering approach to get on the first page of Google. It leads to a logical flow in your content, making it easier for users to find what they need. 

Follow these effective tips for making topic clusters and pillar pages:

• Identify secondary keywords for your broader target keyword. This helps you plan the content flow for your pillar page and topic clusters.
• Link your topic clusters to your pillar page. This allows Google searchers to navigate through your website easily. Ensure that a pillar page is linked to a related blog post and vice versa.
• Use the episodic approach in promoting content. Build anticipation by creating teaser posts for the next topic cluster. Promote on your social channels and online platforms.

You can utilize tools like HubSpot’s Topic Cluster Tool to help you organize topic-based content. This clustering approach can naturally drive more organic search traffic to your website.

Tip 4: Build High-Quality Backlinks

You get a boost in credibility when authoritative sites link to your website. These are called backlinks, which serve as votes of trust to improve your authority.

Acquiring high-quality and relevant backlinks can lead to more traffic and engagement. However, link-building requires a strategic and careful approach. Google recognizes spammy link-building and punishes websites for it.

That’s why it’s essential to naturally build your backlink profile. When building links, prioritize these safe and sustainable tips:

• Focus on white-hat link-building. This involves naturally acquiring links, such as creating helpful content and engaging with relevant websites. 
• Reach out to authoritative websites. Identify relevant and authoritative sites in your niche. Offer informative content that could prove valuable to their readers. Be persistent with the value you’ll bring, but don’t be overaggressive.
• Leverage broken link-building. Uncover broken links on other websites and offer to replace that page with related content. You can use tools like Ahrefs Broken Link Checker to find broken links on a certain website.

You should also monitor lost backlinks from referring domains. Regularly conducting an SEO audit can help you uncover these lost backlinks. 

Tip 5: Establish and Enhance Domain Authority

Domain Authority (DA) is a key SEO metric that you need to constantly monitor. It analyzes almost every aspect of your website’s performance. This includes your website’s content quality, backlink profile, and technical health.

Along with increasing website traffic, SEO also aims to enhance domain authority. We recommend these steps in establishing the authority of your website:

• Produce quality content on a regular basis. Follow your content calendar and consistently roll out relevant content.
• Strengthen your backlink profile. Focus on acquiring backlinks from authoritative sites. Venture into guest posting on relevant sites.
• Prioritize website optimization for usability. Test your website’s user-friendliness and responsiveness. Google’s algorithm indexes websites with sound technical health and structure.

You can also take advantage of your presence on social media platforms. It’s not a direct SEO ranking factor. However, it’s a good way to increase brand visibility and promote website content to a wider audience.

For an extra tip, you can monitor your DA through the Moz Domain Authority Checker. You can also use this tool to uncover the DA of your competitors. 

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Tip 6: Leverage Internal Linking Strategically

Internal linking provides a logical flow from one website page to another internal page. This doesn’t just help Google’s crawlers to understand your website. It can also lead to higher engagement rates from your readers.

A coherent flow of internal links can help you rank higher in organic search results. Consider these trending tips for optimizing your internal linking structure:

• Use relevant anchor texts. Avoid generic call-to-actions on your internal links. Aim for anchor texts that describe the internal page you’re linking to.
• Link to your high-performing pages. Spread the authority juice of your high-ranking or high-value pages. This approach helps increase the authority of other pages on your website.
• Integrate related posts within a specific page. You can create a “Related Posts” section on the side or at the bottom part of a page. Use categories and tags to segment related posts.

However, you should refrain from overloading pages with internal links. This might be considered a spammy tactic when driving organic traffic. Only include relevant links to help users find what they’re looking for.

Tip 7: Prioritize Core Web Vitals Optimization

Core Web Vitals (CWV) are metrics that assess the User Experience (UX) performance of a website. Google prioritizes these metrics when evaluating a website. You should aim for these optimizations to rank higher in search engine results and Google ads.

Google implements three sets of metrics for its Core Web Vitals system. Take a look:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): This assesses your page’s loading speed. Your page’s heaviest or largest content should load within 2.5 seconds.
• Interaction To Next Paint (INP): This assesses your page’s responsiveness. When a user takes action, your page should respond within 200 milliseconds.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): This assesses visual stability. Aim for a CLS score of less than 0.1. Unexpected or prolonged layout shifts could disrupt user experience. 

Enhance your Core Web Vitals to get on the first page of Google. Here are several strategies you can take advantage of:

• Compress heavy images to reduce page loading time
• Minify CSS and JavaScript through tools like CSSNano and UglifyJS
• Optimize your layout for mobile responsiveness
• Use browsing caching for static elements like images, CSS, and JavaScript

If you have the budget, consider upgrading to a faster hosting service. This is recommended for enterprise digital marketing campaigns with complex and large websites.

Tip 8: Focus on Featured Snippets

Featured snippets are quick answers that appear at the top of a search result. Focusing on featured or rich snippets is an effective way of getting to the first page of Google. You can immediately increase your search ranking on a target keyword.

According to Google’s guidelines, they prioritize these three criteria in choosing featured snippets:

• The structured data markup accurately describes the blog post 
• Up-to-date information
• Easily visible and discoverable content

Remember, you want to give concise and direct answers when ranking for featured snippets. It’s not just about answering relevant searches. You need to answer in the most straightforward way possible. 

To get you started, we enumerated several tips for targeting featured or rich snippets. These strategies can boost your blog post to the first page of Google:

• Understand users’ intent and pain points. Do comprehensive keyword research and engage with your audience. Use social listening tools like Brandwatch and Talkwalker to track conversations and hashtags.
• Target long-tail keywords. In your keyword research, aim for more specific keywords with lower search volume. This increases your chances of ranking on the first page, particularly for rich snippets.
• Include a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section. Answer common questions or queries. You can discover these questions on the “People Also Ask” section on the first page of Google.

It’s important to find the right keywords to get on the first page. However, be careful not to fall into keyword stuffing. The key is to naturally incorporate keywords into your blog post and rich snippets.

Tip 9: Implement Structured Data Markup

Structured data markup allows you to rank for featured or rich snippets. It provides search engines with detailed information about your blog post, landing pages, and product pages. Essentially, it presents your content in a way that will easily and directly answer search queries.

Structured data markup displays informative results for the following SEO aspects:

• Product pages: Includes product description, price, availability, images, and reviews.
• Blog post: Includes headline, author, date, and keywords.
• Events: Includes event name, start date, time, location, and ticket availability.
• Local business: Includes business name, address, contact information, operating hours, and reviews.
• Videos: Includes the video title, description, duration, and upload date.
• FAQs: Includes the question and the answer to a particular search query.

You can use tools to create or test your structured data. Google Sturctured Data Testing Tool, Schema.org, and Merkle are examples of such tools. 

Common Search Engine Optimization Mistakes to Avoid

You don’t have to be perfect to rank on the first page of Google. You just have to avoid several SEO mistakes that pull down your organic rankings. 

We enumerated these mistakes below, along with tips to avoid them:

• Neglecting on-page SEO: On-page SEO makes sure that Google crawlers recognize your keywords. Add meta tags on your page titles and descriptions. Ensure that your page title contains the main keyword.
• Relying on low-quality backlinks: Never dive into spammy or black-hat link-building. Instead, naturally acquire backlinks through helpful content and genuine outreach. This could damage not just your website’s reputation, but all your business account platforms as well. 
• Ignoring local SEO: Local businesses should prioritize optimizing their localized presence. Claim your business on local directories, leverage customer reviews, and ensure accurate business information. 
• Overlooking internal linking: Internal links could improve engagement rates and website crawlability. Optimize anchor texts and spread the authority juice of high-performing related posts. 
• Failure to back up claims: Reputable websites have higher chances of ranking on Google’s first page. One of the ways to increase credibility is to cite references when making claims. Include external links to authoritative sources and websites. 
• Outdated landing pages: Your landing pages are crucial in conversions, especially when running paid ads. Broken links or outdated landing pages lead to wasted conversion opportunities. 

It’s not easy to rank on the first page of Google. Search algorithms change over time, plus you have to think of the competition as well. You need to have up-to-date expertise to get on the first page and drive more traffic.

That’s why more businesses are outsourcing these tasks to SEO experts. There are search marketing agencies like Fortis Media that offer data-driven SEO expertise. Their search marketing campaigns are focused on increasing conversions and revenue. 

Plus, these agencies know how to naturally sustain your growth on search engines. When choosing a digital marketing agency, ensure that they work in your niche. This way, it’s easier to collaborate on your SEO strategies.

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Conclusion

Ranking on the first page of Google is the ultimate goal of an SEO campaign. When you drop down to the second page, it’s almost certain that no one will click on your page. 

But as much as we want to make it easier for you, doing SEO is not a quick-result process. That’s why you might want to take the first step now. Start creating people-first content and ensure that users have a smooth experience browsing your website.

Most importantly, make sure that you avoid the SEO mistakes we mentioned in this article. This goes a long way in ensuring your visibility on the first page of Google.