How to be on the first page of Google

When we decide to start an online business, we realize that it is not easy to move within the digital world, and a question arises: how to be on the first page of Google?

A new website, in fact, after being created, is not always easily found through the various search engines such as Google.

It is no secret that websites that appear in the last pages of indexing, record a low or very low number of hits. In fact, 90 percent of users never scroll past the first page of search results. We therefore understand the importance of SEO (an acronym for Search Engine Optimization) and being on the first page of Google.

Google is generally the first place most Internet users turn to find information, places, and businesses. Therefore, a good online presence fueled by good SEO practices and strategies is the key to capturing this traffic, convincing users to visit your website over your competitors, and converting those visitors into paying customers. Getting to the first page of Google search is not easy.

How to be on the first page of Google in 5 points

SEO is a long-term investment, but it’s worth investing time in, so if you want to get on the first page, here are 5 pointers you can follow:

1. Refine your user experience

The most recent updates to Google’s core algorithm are all about humans and their experience with search engines. For example, the recent focus on Core Web Vitals is on user experience and how to make your website better for web users.

Google values users above all else, so providing a good user experience is the key to ranking well in search engines.

Therefore, it is important to:

• Create content focused on user needs;
• Improve page load times;
• Ensure that your website is compatible with mobile devices, as more than half of website traffic worldwide comes from mobile devices;
• Structure content so that its distribution follows a strict logic, based on the use of immediately meaningful tags and headings;
• Provide descriptive text as an alternative to images to improve accessibility and comprehension.

1. Set up your Google My Business profile.

Google My Business essentially allows you to set up a free business profile that can appear, at least locally, on Google Search and Google Maps when users search for your business.

Within your profile, you can add important information about your business, including:

• A general overview of your business;
• Your home or business address;
• Images;
• Offers and updates;
• Answers to user questions.

Appearing in Google My Business is useful for your SEO strategy because it helps customers discover your business and tells them where they can find you and how they can access your products and services.

A very important role is certainly played by reviews issued by users, as these are not only a source of good publicity, but also allow other potential customers to be informed about your company’s professionalism and services.

1. Create valuable content

Regularly updating your website content is critical to improving your ranking. Repurposing and revising old content can be very effective, as original content becomes less relevant over time, and freshness of content is one of the factors Google uses to determine the quality and ranking of your website.

Another very important element is to get an overview of the activities and services offered by your competitors, it is certainly very useful to ask yourself these questions:

• what do my competitors offer?
• what can I offer that is different and innovative?
• how can I propose a better service?

We must always ask ourselves: what is the Search Intent of Google users?

When creating content, it is crucial to put yourself in the user’s shoes to properly take into account the user’s search intent.

The user’s search intent can usually fall into one of the following four categories:

• Informational intent: occurs when a user wants to learn more information;
• Navigational intent: occurs when a user is searching for a specific website or destination for which he or she does not know the exact link;
• Commercial intent: occurs when a user is acquiring information before proceeding to purchase a product;
• Transactional intent: when the user needs to proceed directly to purchase products or services.

As you can see, the broader the search term, the further away we are from being ready to purchase.

Specificity increases as the purchase intention is refined and matures. To create your content according to the needs of your potential customers, you must always keep these concepts in mind.

1. Earn and build high-quality backlinks

Backlinks are one of the most significant factors used by Google and other search engines to determine page rank. Google also uses links to discover new content. High-quality links pointing to your site can be considered as votes of confidence given to your website.

In SEO, link building is the process of acquiring inbound links from other websites that link to yours. In simple terms, the number of links pointing to your website signals to Google that you are an authoritative source and will thus get better search engine rankings. This should then translate into more traffic.

You can find numerous tutorials on the Internet on how to acquire backlinks, but below I will summarize some basic tips:

• Create valuable content that people want to link to
• Give a testimonial or helpful opinion on topics relevant to your business
• Host content from others on your blog
• Set up Google Alerts to find out when your brand is mentioned online and request a backlink
• Find broken backlinks online and suggest replacing them with one of your own

1. Use social media to your advantage

Social media should be a key part of your business and SEO strategy. Search engines tend to reward more content shared on social media that helps increase your traffic organically.

Although links from social media are almost never considered backlinks, social media support your SEO efforts in other ways as they help build authority and credibility. Generally with social media algorithms, more engagement means more visibility which increases brand awareness. When you post valuable and unique content on your social media that naturally attracts engagement, this usually results in increased followers, website traffic, and community growth around your brand.

Consistency is the foundation of SEO. Results (even if the SEO strategy is right) can take months to show up.

In any case, you now know your way around and know a little more about how to be on the first page of Google.