Whenever you type a search word on google, without a second thought, you almost always click on the first or second results on the search engine results page (SERP). It is a natural reaction whenever we are looking for something online because the results on top are the most relevant matches for your search term. Now, how do you make your brand rise to the top of the google search results page? Let’s look at full-proof methods bound to beat your competitors and make you appear at the top of the search results page.  

How to outrank your competitors on the Google SERP? 

If your business is online, it is obviously on your wish list to make your business rank on top of the Google SERP page.  

Bottomline: You want your customers to find you online on the first page; because let’s be honest, rarely does anyone go to the second page to search for something they are looking for.  Strategy is the name of this game, and we want you to ace it so that you come up on top whenever your customer searches a keyword related to your business. Depending on how competitive a keyword may be, a flexible strategy will help you beat your competitors. 

Let’s look at ways through which you can acquire that no.1 spot on the SERP page and in your users’ hearts.  

Researching keywords should be the first step when developing your SEO plan. 

Keyword mapping - One of the more important things while planning is selecting a few keywords that you want to rank on each website page. One of the easier ways is to use a Google keyword research tool, a.k.a. Google’s Keyword Planner to find the keywords you want to target.  

Competitor Keyword Research - It doesn’t hurt to know your competitors. Plus if they are ranking well, it’s going to give you more insight into how they are doing well in the SERPs. 

Search Intent – The intention behind your user’s search terms is something that you should consider. A SERP analysis would do the trick. Check your keyword and check related searches, the types of websites that show up and google auto-complete suggestions.  

Create around your target  

This strategy is failproof when it comes to increasing your SEO ranking.  Have a keyword map from which content can be built around. As a general rule, the keyword density should be somewhere between 1% and 3% with about a thousand words.  

An on-page strategy can only take you so far, organically. It would be best if you explored backlinks, and while building your links, it is always advised to look at your competitors’ backlinks to a specific page that has outranked you. Be sure to acquire topically relevant backlinks 

It is a great way to increase keyword rankings. They should be built across multiple website pages to increase traffic to a specific page, page views while decreasing your bounce rate.  

Mobile-First Approach 

Did you know Google has a separate index for mobile search? Well, if you didn’t, we have news for you! The search engine wants to make sure you have a seamless experience on both mobile and the web. Now, because of the different screen orientations and sizes, the user’s experience on both platforms differs vastly. And if the content is not optimised according to the various devices, users lose interest and leave the page. This is where mobile-friendly design becomes important. This gives the user the best experience, irrespective of the device they use. Also, the world is shifting to mobile, so it always a good idea to keep that in mind!  

Focus on structure  

While indexing your website, the search engine considers one thing on priority – how easy or hard is it for users to find all relevant pages on your website? This directly affects your ranking, so while building your website, pay attention and organise your website so that it does not have pages that go beyond a click depth of four clicks.  

Your page speed is a factor in SEO rankings. If you notice your competitors are executing similar strategies to yours and yet outranking your website in the same set of keywords. Then, you might want to check out your page loading speed. Check your website’s speed through tools like Page Speed Insights (Google) and find the variables that might be slowing down your website.

This step is important if you want to rank higher. Knowing where you stand or rather, rank will give you a clearer idea about what you need to do to rank higher. This is also a method of gathering feedback about your efforts to become number one on the Google SERP Page.    

Search Engines, at the end of the day are meant for users. So even if it feels like the search engine ranking is the key here, it is not. It is your users that will help you rank because the search engine only ranks the most relevant website that is beneficial and provides the best experience to the users. 

Just because you created good content the first time around, doesn’t mean your work has ended. You cannot maintain your top ranking if you do not consistently improve and update your content according to the user’s search needs. Keep revisiting your websites and make sure they are optimised at all times. If that is taxing, you can always reach out to seo agencies like Outre in Perth to understand how you can level up your content. 

There’s always room for more features, which will help you rank above your competitors. Some of those sections include – People also ask for, Local, Knowledge Panels and Featured Snippets. Focusing on these sections with relevant keywords is also another way to raise your SEO rankings above your competitors. For example – if a person is deciding to meet or find out about local agencies around him/her and type in “SEO Agency Perth”, the results should include yours in the first page if you are an agency based in Perth.  

 

We think you have enough information now to help you with your SEO strategy and game plan. But always remember to do a SEO audit along with a Keyword Ranking Analysis before starting to work on your strategy. This will help you understand what your competition is doing. There are resources available to make your job easier, one of them is the SE ranking tool. It is a great analytical tool that helps you track your rankings, spot errors, monitor competitors, etc.  

 

So, we do a deep dive into your data before anything else. How do we do it and what is the plan of action next?  

 

What – Increasing the quality and quantity of your website traffic results in increased exposure of your brand. The practice of doing so is called Search Engine Optimisation. But like everything digital, this is as much about the people on your site as it is about search engines. You need to remember that search engines only discover and catalogue the content already present; the trick to a successful SEO programme is having an in-depth understanding of what your customers search for.    

 

How – We begin with a survey of keywords relevant to your brand and what your customers are looking/searching for. We also evaluate the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) to determine what kind of content suits your brand. The last important step is adding unique value to every piece of content that is put out after determining the qualities of the pages with similar keywords that are ranking on your search engine.  

Why – The majority of online traffic is driven by Search Engines alone. Organic search results get a greater number of clicks than paid advertisements. Since good content is always appreciated, SEO marketing is an effective marketing tool that dividends over time.  

To know more, drop us an email at hello@outre.com.au or call (08) 93217343.  OR if you like coffee, come meet us at our office at Ground Floor, 102 James Street, Northbridge, WA - 6003, our local barista would love to serve you some great coffee.