Every person who runs a website or blog wants to get their website or blog on the front page of Google. It results in more people visiting the website, which can result in more sales or more money made from ads and products. But talking about getting on the front page of Google is a whole lot easier than actually doing it! There are some strategies for getting on the front page of Google, but it does require a good deal of effort and a good amount of planning – plus some time and patience for it to all come to fruition. In this article, we will explain some of the strategies you can use to get your site on the first page of Google.
Update your site regularly with quality content
Google heavily punishes sites that post low-effort, mass-produced content and sites that do not post at all. Thus, one important thing to keep in mind if you want to get your site to the front page of Google is that you need to regularly update your site with new, quality content.
You don’t necessarily need to post once a day – some successful bloggers may only post once per month. However, their posts are often long, high quality, and they have a bank of previous content to fill their sites with. If you’re new, you may need to work on getting a good number of articles or blog posts up on your sites before you reduce your posting frequency.
You also need to make sure that the content is high-quality. You can’t just copy and paste things you find elsewhere (that would be a copyright infringement), nor should you hire cheap, bad writers just for the sake of churning out articles – you need to actually put effort into creating content.
Use keywords
One of the best methods for getting your website on the first page of Google is to target keywords. Just targeting keywords is no guarantee that you will get your site onto the front page. But, if you pick the right keywords and if you make sure that you use good content to support those keywords, then you should see your site appear on the front page of Google for keywords that don’t necessarily have a lot of competition already. And the more your site climbs in the rankings, the easier it’ll be to rank higher for even the high competition keywords (use keyword research tools to find which keywords to target).
Use backlinks
Another important strategy for getting your site to the front page of Google is to use backlinks. For those who do not know, backlinks are links to a website that are found on other sites. So, when someone tweets a link to a website, that link is considered a backlink. The more backlinks a site has, the more weight Google will give it in its’ rankings.
The reason backlinks work is that Google thinks of backlinks as essentially being votes of confidence. If people are continually posting links to a site all over the internet, then clearly that site must be good at whatever it does. However, a backlink from a spammy site won’t make much difference, so there’s no point spamming your links all over the web!
Thank you for sharing these tips as I found out a couple things I didn’t know but will work on.
Which ones, Glenda?
Three great strategies, Paul. I especially appreciate, “one important thing to keep in mind if you want to get your site to the front page of Google is that you need to regularly update your site with new, quality content.”
The Ultimate Blog Challenge will definitely give a boost. Thank you for providing the space for the accelerated content creation.
Yup! Successful websites require some TLC – and that comes in the form of updating content! Thanks, Yvonne!
It takes time and effort to climb up and stay there. We used to be number 1 on Google UK with several microsites, but other things happened and we stopped updating so lost the rankings plus there are so many more web sites now. This is a good reminder to be persistent and consistent in publishing high quality, original content.
Depending on what you do, keep in mind that Google is always changing their algorithm. Staying on the up and up and providing good content can never harm you. Doing some black hat techniques and trying to be sneaky will eventually get you in trouble.
Grateful for your clear list. Particularly outlining the penalties google can impose. Good to steer away from trouble… 😉
Yes! Why invite trouble when you don’t have to!
Good info Paul. I’m learning a lot from your posts and this is all new to me. Thanks for being so generous with your knowledge.
Hi Karen – You are very welcome.
It feels like a Sisyfos experience to rank the page. No matter what you do you can never ever put that thing down because it will roll right down to the bottom in a heartbeat.
You can only do so much, right? Do you best! In some cases, it does not matter if you are on the first page or not!
Great points Paul, I am still in the process of filling my site with high-quality content. I wish I had a pool of people on standby that could post my links everywhere on the web so I can have many backlinks out there. That would be awesome. (FB: Addie Cotoure)
Don’t we all wish we had a team like that!
Nice article, while I try to follow your outline, I find it very hard to keep peoples interest when I add a lot of extra information to a recipe post. I can add some extra information and I always try to include a couple of Chefs Tips and a photo or two but beyond that I’m not sure if anyone reads the extra info.
I have to say — when I follow a blog link for a recipe, I only want the recipe. I’m not a patient person, and I’m usually on a mission. However, I’m sure there are lots of people who love the extra info you put on your blog post. Keep on doing what you do.
Yes!
Personally, I like the idea of learning about a recipe, or the history of it, or some trivia. Knowing your audience will help in knowing what you should or need not include. Have you ever thought of asking your visitors what they think?
Thanks for your post! Who wouldn’t want to be on the fitst page for Google, right? I’m still learning about backlinks and SEO but it’s good to know all this content will boosts my blogs. Thanks!
Good luck! The more you do, the better things will get!
Thanks for all that helpful info Paul! I never know about the backlinks but have always shared others blogs.
Glad to help, Martha!
Getting on the first page of the Google search results is never an easy task but with the right resources and passion, you can easily appear on the first page and better yet, be on the first rank. Kudos to you.
So true, Kylie.