How Do I Improve My Rankings For Keywords?
If you are looking for a quick win with your Google rankings, there is a simple way to see drastic improvement in a short period of time. Search engine optimization is simply the process of optimizing or fixing your site in a way that Google sees your page important and relevant for the phrase you are trying to appear for on Google search. We are not going to break this down into a step by step guide to improving placement, and we are not going to cover optimization strategies like link building, social media, Google Adwords, conversion rates or clickthrough rates. Our goal is to use content marketing and onpage SEO techniques, that if used properly will improve your rankings in a short period of time.
Ranking quickly starts with identifying the phrases and terms that already appear in the top 20 for organic search. An easy way to do this is by logging into your Google Analytics, Google My Business Insights, and Webmaster Tools account. This is all in your Google Search Console. You likely can login to Google once and have all of this information right in front of you. You want to look at the data that Google presents and see what phrases you are already ranking for in Google. We look for the low hanging fruit. We want to use our keyword research to identify phrases that are sitting in the 5 through 20 range that have search volume. The higher the search volume, the more focus we should have on improving our Google rankings for that phrase. You can also use the Google Keyword planner to identify longtail keywords that will not have as much competition. Be sure to identify the keyword phrase as well as the particular URL that is showing on the search engines. We want to focus on that particular page with our key phrases identified.
The image below shows keywords in position 11 through 13 that can easily be adjusted to rank on the front page of the Google Search Results.
We use many different seo tools when it comes to identifying keywords we want to rank for. Ahrefs and SEMRush are the two tools we trust must and they both do a great job of showing what keywords are ranking and what particular URL those keywords are tied to. You then will want to have some type of rank tracker to identify how your web pages and phrases appear in the search engine results pages.
How Do You Get A Top Ranking On Google?
After completing our keyword research you should have a few keywords you are looking to rank for. You want to start with the content you have on the page and read through that content in detail. Look for areas where your content marketing can fill in the gaps, make additional points, or tie in additional related keywords, phrases, and LSI versions of the keywords you are targeting in the SERPS. Your content tells Google what the page is about, what it is related to, how this relates to your company, and should be beneficial to the reader. Often times articles and blog posts are much shorter than the top results in Google. Take a look at the top 10 results on Google for the keyword phrase you are targeting, and get an idea of how much content is on the pages for your targeted keyword. The search engine rankings will tell you what Google finds to be most relevant, and you want your content to be roughly the same amount or more than the top listings.
One important factor you must pay attention to is duplicate content. If the content is used anywhere else on the web, including your website, it will impact your search rankings in an negative way. Take the time to write unique, relevant, and user-friendly content and avoid taking the shortcut of duplicating content from someone else. It wasn’t ok to copy the work of another in high school, and it is still not a best practice in the age of the Internet. Avoid duplicate content at all cost!
What Is The Fastest Way To Rank For A Keyword?
As stated above, simply adding additional content is often enough to take you from page 2 and move you to page 1. Google’s algorithm updates frequently, so why you are tracking your identified keywords for your own website, take note of the movement you see in the top ten positions on Google. Search engine results vary drastically based upon your personal search history in Google, the browser you are using for search, the location from which you are searching, and the type of device you are using. There are drastic differences in mobile devices compared to desktop computers. Google would prefer to show a local business when possible, and if the person is using mobile search, Google is going to add information to the search engine results that contain maps to locations nearby. Do a mobile search on your phone and look at all of the local listings Google has included on the search engine results page.
How Long Does It Take To Rank For Keywords?
You are trying to quickly increase Google rankings, so you want to play by Google’s rules. After you have completed making your changes to your page, you want to log in to Google Webmaster tools and have your page re-crawled and submitted to Google’s index. Depending on the competition of the keyword phrase you are trying to rank, the Google search results may update quickly. Long tail keyword phrases can improve Google ranking within hours, but that is usually a rare case. However, if there is limited competition for the anchor texts you are targeting, it is possible. We have seen new blog posts written on this site move into the top position for the exact match phrase we were targeting with our content. This is without the use of inbound links, internal and external links, or any type of marketing automation. Typically, it will take a few weeks for Google to index the content and place it in the SERPS. A big factor with digital marketing is your brand and how much trust your website has in the eyes of the search engine giant. Google’s algorithm actually will test results by ranking in Google in the top three positions.
How long does it take for SEO to start working. https://t.co/a2fI7nuUuH pic.twitter.com/UGev0RpQzv
— Hit Me SEO (@HitMeSEO) December 17, 2018
Improve Your SEO Rankings For Targeted Phrases and Terms
Ranking in Google for the most important keywords is a lot easier when you already have some position in the top two or three pages of Google. However, there may be a little more required than just adjusting the body text of your web page. As we discuss above, you want to scan the search results to see who is currently ranking in the top few organic positions. You want to pay attention to the meta title and meta description on the pages showing in the Google search results. You may find additional related keywords or LSI phrases you can put in your meta information. As one of our SEO best practices, we always try to include the keyword phrase we are targeting in the URL of the webpage, or in the meta title. If you already have a page and you don’t want to change the URL, put your keyword phrase in the meta title. Another SEO tip is to use a variation of your main keyword in the meta description. Although many SEOs will claim there is not much value in the meta tag or description, we have found that it can improve click through rates and help get visitors onto your website. Ranking fast on Google is great, but if visitors are not enticed to click through to your web page, it won’t help much in your conversion rates.
How Long Does It Take To Rank For Keywords?
After we have fixed our content, updated our meta tags and descriptions, and submitted our website to Webmaster Tools, now the clock starts ticking. Typically, you will see your new content ranking in the top 100 of the search results within the first two weeks of submission. Google’s algorithm may test your results and pop you onto the first page for a day, and then all of sudden you drop back out of the top 100. Don’t panic if you see a sudden drop in Google rankings. This is typical, and Google will ultimately move you back to the original position if not higher if your content is done well and you are providing value to visitors. Once you get to this spot, it is important to keep an eye on your bounce rate, dwell time, and measure how your new visitors interact with your web page. If people are quick to leave or don’t find what they are looking for, Google will eventually decrease your rankings and put a better option into the top spots of the search engine results page. 
How long does it take for SEO to start working. https://t.co/a2fI7nuUuH pic.twitter.com/UGev0RpQzv
— Hit Me SEO (@HitMeSEO) December 17, 2018
Understand that the purpose of this post was to help you increase Google rankings for phrases and terms that you already have ranked in the top twenty of the Google SERPS. Many other factors can and will impact rankings such as external links, website design and speed, whether or not you are using black hat techniques and acquiring links from less trusted websites, and the overall trust of your website in general. When we test a new process or attempt to do some marketing automation, we always ask..”What Would Matt Cutts Think?” Cutts was the original defender of spam at Google when we opened Hit Me SEO, and we continue to ask this question till this day.
