The most frequently asked question in our profession, and the one with the least satisfactory answer.
You get to the top by offering the best answer for one specific search question on a site that is technically sound, and by patience - on a young domain that takes quarters. Moreover, 'at the top' is rarely the right goal: being at the top for a term where no one buys yields nothing.
STEP BY STEP
This is how you approach it
- Choose a term you can winNational main terms are occupied by parties with years of head start. A specific term with purchase intent is winnable and delivers more useful visits.
- Check if you are indexedIf you are not in the index, ranking is impossible. This takes ten seconds and is skipped.
- See who's on top nowOpen the top three. Do they answer the question more completely than you? Usually yes, and then you know what needs to be done.
- Create one page that completes the topicNot three thin pages that compete with each other, but one that fully answers the question including the follow-up questions.
- Make sure the technology doesn't get in the wayFast, mobile usable, good titles. This doesn't make you number one, but the lack of it does hold you back.
- Wait and measureAfter four weeks, check Search Console to see which terms you're getting impressions on. Positions 4 to 20 are your fastest wins.
PITFALLS
What doesn't work
Repeating keywords, buying links and spreading the same text across multiple pages. All three are recognizable and all three work against you.
Chasing one prestigious term is also usually wasteful. Ten specific terms on which you win together yield more than one term on which you never appear.
- Repeat keywords — doesn't work, reads poorly.
- Buy links — risk that your domain will not survive.
- Chasing one prestige term — ten small terms yield more.
- Expect it to happen quickly — calculate in quarters.
- Do: finish one subject — boring and effective.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
More about positions
How long does it take?
On an existing domain a few months before noticeable movement, on a new domain quarters. Anyone promising results within weeks on a competitive term is selling something other than SEO.
Can you get me to the top?
No one can guarantee that, and you should distrust anyone who does promise it. We build the technical foundation and write pages that complete a question. We do not do continuous campaigns.
Is at the top the right goal?
Rarely. Applications are the goal. Position three on a purchasing term is worth more than position one on a term where people only want to know something.
CONTINUE READING
Of course, continue reading about this subject.
Know where you are chance makes?
We look at your site and tell you on which terms you can realistically win.