Getting your business on page one of the Google SERP is essential for customers to find you. First-page results earn 89% of all clicks. The other pages fight it out for the remaining sad 11%.
Wouldn’t it be nice if any time a customer had a question about your product or service, they were referred to your business? Friends refer their friends and family to your business because they trust you and believe in what you deliver.
But search engines are nobody`s friends and they only refer your website to internet users only if it seems like the most relevant, reliable, and trustworthy website.
Getting your website to the first page of the search engine results page demonstrates it’s one of the top-performing experts on that topic.
It’s like having a premier store on a busy street, the more customers that visit your store, the more potential customers will trust your credibility.
Staying on the first page increases your brand awareness quickly as internet users find your website through their searches.
Your goal should be to climb to the first page for queries your target market is running. This means the people discovering your website are potential customers who are looking to buy or engage with your business. These people are great sales prospects.
In this article, I will walk you through the fine path to learn the best way to climb and position your business strategically on Google SERP.
What is Google SERP?
Search Engine Results Pages are what is shortened as SERP, they are Google’s response to a user’s search query.
SERPs tend to include paid Google Ads results, organic search results, Featured Snippets, Knowledge Graphs, and video results.
Put differently, a SERP is a page or spreadsheet you see after entering a query into Google.
The highest-ranking search results are either the most relevant results to a search query or ones that a business or individual pays the search engine to place at the top of the results page.
Search engine algorithms are used to rank content on the page so links become less relevant as the reader moves down the page.
What is Google SERP Made of?
#1. Paid Search Results
Search engines make money by selling advertising space. Businesses pay to be at the top of the search results to attract more traffic and faster sales. The first few results are often the ones that are clicked on the most.
Paid search results resemble organic search results as they are both positioned at strategic spots in the search engine.
They are listed under the query bar in the first two or three slots where searchers can easily find and click on them.
Google identifies sites that have paid to be displayed with the small Ad designation that comes before the URL.
Google puts into consideration several factors when displaying the paid results, including bid amount, ad quality, page quality, and relevance to the search.
#2. Pay-per-click (PPC) ads
When you type in your search query, ads sometimes appear at the bottom or on the sidebar of the results page.
Clicking on these links will take you to a website where you can purchase the product or service.
It’s essentially a method where advertisers ‘buy’ visits to their website, in addition to driving site visits organically.
#3. Organic search results
Organic search results are unpaid results that appear based on the keyword search query. They are based on relevance to the user’s query, backlinks, and domain authority.
Organic search results are often in-depth articles and lengthier pieces of content. They include a link to the site and a short description of the content.
Google wants to see the structure and metadata of your content. They want that content formatted to fit the devices and methods your audience uses.
Not only that, offer searchers quick answers that also draw them to your website. Then, keep them there with great content and CTAs, leading to more chain reactions.
Organic traffic offers you a competitive edge and creates a digital flywheel on Google – quality, optimized content leads to better search visibility, more clicks improve your website authority, and site authority offers your content better chances of ranking.
#4. Featured snippet
The featured snippet appears on the SERP in a box distinct from the list of search results. It draws the eye because it shows content from the website that includes the applicable search keywords.
If folks find the displayed information relevant, they will be more likely to click on that link.
Note that a website must already be on the top page of search results to get a featured snippet, so achieving that milestone should be your top priority.
#5. Image Results
When Google’s algorithm determines that visual data would be particularly relevant to a search, the Google SERP will include a column of images and a clickthrough to a Google Images search.
Google utilizes a different algorithm for images than for written content, but adhering to the following best practices can help search engines find and rank your image content.
#6. Video Results.
Video results are another long-established, common Google SERP feature. Depending on their relevancy to the search query, video results often appear at the top of the SERP above organic results but below featured snippets and image results.
For example, if a visitor searches for a musician or band, a music video will often display below an image result and a featured organic result like Wikipedia.
#7. People Also Ask
People Also Ask is a series of questions related to the searcher’s query posted at the top of a Google SERP.
When a user clicks on one of the questions, an answer pops up from a high-ranking webpage. To be included as an answer to a people also ask, a webpage normally must be on the top page of the SERP, though that is not always the case.
This feature provides users with additional information they may be looking for from their initial search query.
How Do You Get your Business on Google SERP?
When you perform research online, do you ever scroll down to the second page of search engine results? Or do you just skim the top results and see which one will be useful to you?
I think I know, you don’t ever make it that far, you hang around the first page and conduct your research using the materials you found at the top of the page or first page.
You, like most people, only check out the top results. The top organic ranking in Google’s SERP has an average click-through rate of 31.7%, while 90% of pages attract no organic traffic from Google.
Getting your business to the top of the search engine results is crucial for customers to find you.
These are some ways to ensure your website climbs to the first spot for a specific keyword search, and I will show you how
#1. Pay for an ad
The fastest way to get to the strategic spot of the search results is to pay for clicks to your website.
Google and other search engines will immediately display your ads, based on attributes such as relevancy, bid price, and ad quality.
#2. Submit your website to the search engines
Search engines will find your site without you submitting it to the search engines, however, if you do submit it, it may be recognized and indexed faster.
Submitting your website enhances the way your website is indexed. It shows the search engines your sitemap URL and directs them to the right place to start crawling your site.
Your sitemap points to your most important content. This is important when your homepage doesn’t link to all the essential areas of your site.
#3. Create relevant keyword-rich content
Search engines pull up results based on beneficial information for their users. Each page on your site should include a different category of keywords.
The right keywords for your business are those that ideal customers are typing in to find the products they need.
Keyword research helps you determine what keywords users are searching for and how much competition there will be to get on the top page of the search results.
SEO tools will offer valuable information on how many backlinks you will need to improve ranking, keyword research, and content exploration for finding new keywords.
#4. Use long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are specific to the searcher’s query. Often advertisers will target shorter keywords because they have a higher amount of monthly searches.
Targeting long-tail keywords will provide more detailed information that is useful to the user and reduces competition.
Leveraging long-tail keyword searches helps you to rise to the top of the Google SERP faster. Unique keywords help reduce competition.
#5. Highlight your location
A free way to get your website to the top page of Google is by targeting location-based queries.
Ensure your website spotlights your city or geographical area. This can be done on your contact page and via blog posts.
When people search for your niche and your location, search engines will pick up the information and display your business to them.
When you highlight the location of your business, this reduces the competition based on the keyword to only those businesses in your local area.
It is targeted to the user and improves the chances that you will appear on the first page of Google.
#6. Set up a Google my business profile
One of the most powerful tools on the internet today is a Google My Business (GMB) profile. Google Maps and Google search stems from Google My Business to generate local listings.
The GMB listing offers potential customers access to your hours of operation, contact number, website, and directions with the click of a button.
The GMB profile offers customers insight into reviews and ratings as well. You can include high-quality images of your business to help prospects see what you do.
Conclusion
The more you know about Google SERP, the better you can strategize your content and website design to climb to the top strategic spot on Google.
The benefits of ranking on the first search engine results page (SERP) are more valuable than it has ever been: 60% of clicks are generated by the top three Google SERP results, while the average click-through rate (CTR) for the top spot is 36.4%, according to research by Optify.
Ranking poorly on SERPs means less exposure, fewer clicks, less traffic, and less revenue. I hope this guide here helps you climb and take the top spot on Google SERP.
