Social Marketing Solutions is a Fort Collins SEO Agency helping small businesses dominate their local market. Ranking on the first page of Google is tricky. But you can achieve it by following our proven SEO practices consistently and diligently.
Below are some tips to help your business rank on the first page of Google search results by enhancing your local SEO best practices and top-level strategy.
1) Ensure Your Website Is Indexed
People will not find you if you have not indexed your Ft. Collins business in Google. Your offerings will not show up in any results. However, before you attempt to increase your website’s Google rank, you first must have the website indexed.
Say you have walked into the Ft. Collins Poudre library. The only way you will find a book is if it is on the shelf. Similarly, if your business hasn’t been indexed, you won’t appear on Google’s ‘shelf.’
A simple check with let you know it is indexed. Go to the Google search bar and type in: ‘site:yoursite.com.’ Replace *yoursite.com* with your website’s domain name. For us, we would type in site:akkencloud.com.
The good news is that our website shows up in the search results. If you see search results, the indexing of your website is complete.
If it does not, you need to get it indexed. Just go to the Google Search Console and login. Then follow the prompts Google asks to get your business into the Google Index.
2) Focus On Search Intent to Enhance Your Conversion Rate Optimization
Now that you have your Ft. Collins business indexed
Google utilizes advanced algorithms to decide the search intent.
Based upon the search intent, it delivers derivatives that fulfill the underlying trigger or want of the user. Therefore, search intent is an essential element for showing up on the first page of Google.
Example:
The users searching for ‘how to ski’ need a quick step-by-step visual guide on their next ski trip. Google’s algorithms figure this out and display a video that teaches how to ski. Other results would rank lower as a video would provide the best match for the search intent.
In order to understand search intent, you need to write up a profile on your client base.
So it would help if you questioned their intent. Ask:
- What kind of searches would your clients make?
- What sort of search suggestions do they receive?
- How are the results showing up for a particular query?
- What type of content is ranking on top?
Once you comprehend the search intent of the queries concerning your site’s content, you are prepared to rank higher on Google.
3) Perfect Your On-Page SEO to Improve Your Organic Search Results and Reach Potential Customers
On-page SEO elements help Google’s algorithms comprehend the context of the content it possesses. And it is challenging to obtain the first page rankings on Google if your on-page SEO is not geared correctly.
Here are a few suggestions to develop your on-page SEO and perfect your site optimization:
- Title: Contain keywords in your title without changes
- Meta Description:Â Describe with less than 160 characters
- Headings: Structure your keywords within header tags
- Alt-Text:Â Include keywords in images alt-text
- URL structure: Add keywords in your URLs
- Keyword Density:Â maintain a natural 1-3% keyword density
- Security: Ensure you have HTTPS security certificate SSL
- Page Loading Speed: Decrease page weight to load the page within 3 seconds
- Internal Links: Provide links to other relevant pages on your website
The optimized page should help you begin ranking higher in Google’s search results.
4) Aim For Friendliness on Mobile Devices to Maximize Your Web Presence
The first thing you need for a good SEO strategy is to always have the user experience on mobile in mind. Google utilizes mobile-first indexing to crawl, index, and rank sites.
It first checks the functionality, loading time, user experience, and design of your website’s mobile version. Then, the bot scans the desktop version.
After this process, Google utilizes your site’s mobile version to grade pages in the SERPs.
The mobile performance of a site is the desired version for Google. Excluding this, it reduces your bounce rate by delivering a sounder user experience. Once you discover the points, work on them and produce better quality for the SERPs.
Try these suggestions for creating mobile-friendly features:
- Use common fonts and sizes
- Utilize a responsive web design
- Supply short and straightforward menus
- Bypass flash and animations
- Don’t go for screen-blocking pop-ups and ads
- Maintain enough space to scroll
- Ensure it loads quickly
- Use icons and buttons when possible
- Provide an on-page website search option
Maintaining a mobile-friendly site will influence your search visibility. So, it would help if you aimed for mobile-friendliness.
5) Register On Google My Business
You gain some visibility when you register your business at the Ft. Collins Chamber of Commerce. Likewise, registering your business with Google my Business helps you rank better for searches with local intent.
Thus, it is an effortless and quick method for local businesses to reach the first page of Google.
Google My Business can:
- Add your business details to Google Maps, Search, etc.
- Gain access to a Business Profile on Google
- Control how your business details appear across Google
If you are unaware of how to set up your Ft. Collins business on Google My Business, here is a short step by step guide:
- Sign in to Google My Business
- Enter the business name and address
- Select if you serve your customers at this address
- Select a business category
- Enter website URL and phone number
- Verify your account
Once your business is verified, it will appear in SERPs for location-specific queries.
You can accumulate customer reviews on your Google My Business profile. Therefore, this signals to Google about your business’s prestige. So, it might assist you in your rankings rise, maybe even on the first page.
6) Target Long-Tail Keywords for Improved Organic Traffic and Website Visibility
The mystery of ranking on the first page of Google is not solely to focus on general industry keywords. Many prominent marketers and SEO professionals target highly competitive short-tail keywords.
However, your index on the first page of Google can occur if you target the search queries in the formation of questions or sentences.
These strings of words are known as long-tail keywords. As a result, they are less competitive, less targeted, and strong intent-based.
The best part is they contain short-tail keywords. So, you are improving your SEO twice.
Let’s take the previous ski example. Suppose you are at a Ski Resort, like our friends at the Keystone Resort. Therefore, you want to rank for Colorado Ski Resort, a highly competitive keyword.
You can begin targeting long-tail keywords related to Ski Resorts, such as:
- How to take ski lessons at Colorado Ski Resorts
- What are the best ski resorts in Colorado
- How do we prepare for a ski resort
- Why Ski Resorts are the best place to ski
- What Ski Resorts have the best snow
You will effortlessly rank for Ski Resorts later when you begin ranking for these long phrases.
If you need help with long-tail keywords, you can find a free keyword research tool. Using it on a regular basis will help your company show up in the right place at the right time.
7) Optimize For Featured Snippets
One of the most effective ways to reach your target audience is via featured snippets with rich content layouts. The top-ranking snippets are shown on the top of Google’s first-page search results. Whenever possible, they deliver content from a web page to answer the search queries.
Your content will automatically rank for featured snippets on the first Google search entry if you rank for featured snippets. However, you cannot mark or submit your web page as a featured snippet; Google does that itself.
Therefore, you can continually optimize your website content to be suitable for being a featured snippet.
Need some tips?
- Create content answering questions
- Use headings and subheadings
- Include relevant keywords
- Write short sentences and paragraphs
- Be clear and concise
Creating content with high-ranking Google SERPs should be easy with the above methods. Using these procedures will help you build authority in your niche.
8) Build Authority in A Niche
So now you must be asking yourself, ” How do I build authority in my Ft. Collins business? As you develop expertise, authority, and trust, you will become a leader in your niche.
Google also utilizes expertise, authority, and trust as ranking factors. Google wants Jedi niche-masters. Thus they prefer results from high-quality, expert content.
- Expertise: The author has the applicable experience, talent, or wisdom
- Authority: The website has an incredible online standing and influence
- Trust: The website supplies valid and transparent communication
Suppose you are searching for Colorado skiing updates on Google.
The top search results are from skiing websites. They all provide high-quality expertise, authority, and trust-related to skiing.
So, regularly creating content related to your industry will build an authority in that niche. Therefore, your website will gain trust and increase your chances of ranking on Google’s first page.
9) Earn Quality Backlinks
Backlinks permit search engines to develop a relationship between websites. Also, they certify the site’s content or page. A backlink indicates the content is worth displaying in search results.
The soundest method to produce backlinks is to create a link exchange or publish guest posts on other high-quality sites.
This strategy is effective and efficient when done with targeted outreach.
Here is a guide:
- Find similar niche domains
- Extract emails associated with these domains
- Draft a compelling pitch
- Reach out to industry experts
- Get approvals
Once you acquire a hang of the process, you can scale the delivery and reach out to many sites every day. Refine your pitch to get more positive responses. The more authority you build, the easier things will eventually get. However, tracking your link-building progress is essential.
10) Make Use Of LSI Keywords
Latent Semantic Indexing or LSI is a natural language process technique. You can find corresponding terms for a search typed by a user. As search engines develop, they have begun investigating the LSI keywords present in the content.
It permits the code to organize the content for relevance and related search queries. So, you must utilize LSI keywords in your content.
For our example, the main keyword you write is related to skiing.
You can intuitively figure out the following LSI keywords are connected:
- Binding
- Piste
- Off-piste
- Avalanche
- Snowplow
- Lift
- Resort
Otherwise, you can utilize an LSI keyword generator.
You will be using them naturally in the content if you have expertise and knowledge about the subject. However, it is good to keep the list handy and incorporate them strategically into your content.
The more topic material you can discuss, the more keywords you can rank for in search results. However, remember to utilize keywords naturally. You do not want your content keyword stuffed.
Utilizing LSI keywords will increase your chance of ranking for nontargeted keywords. Therefore, you are more likely to observe your Ft. Collins-based website on the first page of Google!
Reaching The 1st Page Of Google is Hard Work
Showing up on the first page of Google is not easy. It is similar to learning how to ski. In order to become a great skier, you will need to take time, resources, and knowledge to master the craft. As time passes, you enjoy the fruit of your labors.
Soon after implementing these suggestions, you should see your articles in the search results. If you acquire the expected outcomes, it might be due to some recent Google updates. Keep studying them at routine intervals and devise your particular SEO strategy accordingly.
We help small businesses rank on the 1st page of Google. Our team of experts will help you build brand awareness via content creation that attracts major search engines. The only thing preventing your company from implementing a digital marketing strategy that will have your pipeline filling with new leads month over month is having not reached out to us sooner. We are a Fort Collins SEO agency with a focus on social media marketing, content marketing, and PR,
