When it comes to SEO, many people think of the number 1 spot. Of course, we do a little dance when we reach the top spot in the search results. But there’s something even better than the number 1 spot.
Dominating a large portion or the entire first page of Google is, of course, much better. And do you think that’s impossible? On the contrary! Want to know how? We’ll give you 10 tips to help you achieve this.
Imagine you have a company that specializes in search engine optimization. This isn’t too difficult for us as an SEO agency;)… In addition to your landing page, you’ve probably written more content about link building. Think about all those interesting blog posts you’ve written that are related to your services.
Internal links support your search engine optimization strategy. Link all relevant pages to each other internally. On a landing page about your service—link building—you should include a link to an interesting and relevant blog post about link building. We call these internal links to relevant pages “cross-linking.” This benefits both the visitor and Google. The visitor clicks through to relevant pages and is provided with information. Google also sees these internal links and recognizes the connection between these pages.
Thanks to cross-linking, you increase your chances of securing multiple spots on the first page. If someone searches for “link building” on Google, there’s a good chance they’ll see not only your landing page but also that interesting blog post. After all, Google understands the connection and recognizes your rich content.
By building internal links around various topics, you’ll become a true authority in the eyes of Google and your website visitors.
We have a landing page for the keyword “link building,” but we’ve also written blog posts on the topic. This allows you to create multiple pages for a single keyword. Do this for every keyword. This approach increases your visibility to Google and improves your chances of ranking for a single keyword across multiple pages.
Google indexes all of these pages and includes them in its search results. This results in multiple listings in the search results. Just make sure you create high-quality pages, each of which is relevant to the user.
You’ve probably heard this too many times already. Creating unique content takes time, and not everyone is up for it. Still, we’d like to emphasize the importance of unique content for ranking well in search results.
Google doesn’t like copying. If you want to dominate the first page of Google, don’t even think about copy-pasting. Are you copying the same text onto different landing pages? Then you’ll be penalized by both visitors and Google. How would you feel about constantly reading the same text over and over again? Probably not great.
Duplicate content annoys visitors, and Google penalizes it with a lower ranking. So always write new and unique content for each web page. Do you think all unique content has already been written? We’re willing to bet that’s not the case.
By delving deeper into a single topic, you’ll naturally discover all its subtopics. Link building involves more than just placing links. Think about topics related to your keyword. That way, you’ll continue to write unique content and increase your chances of dominating the first page!
We all know that link building helps you strengthen your position in search results. Do you want to dominate the first page for a specific keyword? Use link building strategically.
Tip: Do you know what link building is? We’ll explain it.
Don’t just post links to your homepage; also post links to the page for the keyword you want to dominate the first page with. Make sure the links point to the pages you want to rank with. This will increase your chances of dominating the first page.
We also apply this strategy for our clients. We’re seeing positive results from this. This will likely also help your website rank for variations of the keyword. Think, for example, of combinations such as “link building,” “outsourcing link building,” and “link building agency.” It is therefore important to use link building correctly, based on a well-thought-out strategy.
In our blog post about getting backlinks, we provide you with various tips for building a link-building profile.
Do you have a social media channel? Be sure to share your content there, too. This will increase the chances that others will view and share your content! Would you like to be found using a specific keyword, and do you have multiple articles on that topic? Choose your best article and share it not just once, but five or six times. Spread these shares out over a six-month period. That way, your followers are more likely to see all of your content!
In addition to your followers seeing the content on social media channels, Google also notices that you’re sharing content. By sharing content, Google indexes your new and updated content more quickly. This helps make your content easier to find.
Our sixth tip is to keep your content up to date. Nothing moves as fast as the online world. Information spreads at a rapid pace. Your content can become old news in no time. That’s why it’s wise to keep updating your content. It’s normal for content to become outdated. Stay on top of it and keep it current. This is appreciated by visitors and Google. Google notices when you update your content. This is also an important part of search engine optimization.
We, too, make a point of keeping our content up to date for our clients and ourselves. Google always appreciates efforts toward search engine optimization.
Position #0 is a highly sought-after position, also known as the Featured Snippet. Do you want to dominate the entire first page of Google? Then focus on Featured Snippets. Featured Snippets appear above all other search results and are highlighted in a box, which makes them stand out. The Featured Snippet provides an answer to a question.
Ask yourself what answers your target audience is looking for. And tailor your content accordingly. Read more here about how to get a Featured Snippet. With a Featured Snippet, you’ll also push other search results down. Google sees you as the leading expert on this topic. There’s a good chance they’ll include multiple pages from your site in the search results.
Google’s goal is to show everyone relevant results. This applies not only to search results but also to Google Maps. If you live in Groningen, a search result for a business in Limburg isn’t very useful to you.
To help you appear in Google Maps, Google uses the businesses listed in Google My Business. So be sure to use Google My Business wisely! Enter all the relevant information about your business there. That way, Google will also show your business to visitors who are in the area.
In addition, be sure to include local search terms on your web pages. For example, include “Groningen” in your HTML headings and use it in connection with the keywords you want to rank for.
Google offers even more options, and you can’t miss the ads at the top of the search results. Do you really want to dominate the entire first page? Then run ads through Google Ads as well.
Although we’re big fans of organic search results, paid search results can also work well for you. SEA is still a smart way to drive traffic to your website.
In addition to ads, Featured Snippets, local search results, and organic search results, there’s one more option: videos! Don’t just post good content on your pages—also create a video and upload it to YouTube. Google regularly displays videos in its search results.
So it’s a good idea to create an informative video on the topic you want to be found for. In the case of link building, for example, it’s a good idea to make a video showing how to do link building.
With a passion for SEO and an unmatched drive for results, Jarik Oosting is the driving force behind SmartRanking. With over 15 years of experience in the field, he has built an extensive body of knowledge spanning technical SEO to complex site migrations. As the founder of SmartRanking, he has assembled a team of like-minded SEO specialists who help businesses achieve sustainable online growth.
His academic background in information science at the University of Groningen, with a specialization in natural language processing, gives him a unique perspective on the world of SEO. For Jarik, it’s not just about visibility in search engines, it’s about sharing knowledge and guiding businesses toward sustainable online success. That mission also led him to write a Dutch book about GEO.