The Best Way to Improve Your Google Rankings

You think you want to know the best way to improve your rankings in Google search. But actually, you really don’t care about where you rank in Google. You really care about how much search traffic goes to your website. No, that’s still wrong. You don’t care about how much traffic is coming to your site. You really care about how many visitors become customers on your website. If your goal is 100 new customers, that’s all you really care about. You don’t care if it takes 100 visitors or 100,000 visitors. You probably care more about the result than the method.

How do you get the results you’re looking for? Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky has the perfect answer.

A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” – Wayne Gretzky

Good search engine optimization (SEO) tactics focus on the current algorithm and the tactics that are currently moving the needle. If you want to be good, then you should place your focus there. But you can count on continually adjusting your tactics as Google adjusts its algorithm. You also may find yourself in the uncomfortable place that others did – undoing some of what you’ve already done to avoid a Google penalty.

You know how to be good. Want to know how to be great? Read on to find out how to constantly be where the puck is going to be. Hint:  Google has already given the answer.

Google’s worst-kept secret

To achieve SEO greatness, you must provide the web content that best satisfies the needs of people searching Google for answers to their problems. Google has always been clear about this. And guess what? It works!

Prominently displayed on the front page of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines are these four principles [1].

• Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines.
• Don’t deceive your users.
• Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. A good rule of thumb is whether you’d feel comfortable explaining what you’ve done to a website that competes with you, or to a Google employee. Another useful test is to ask, “Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist?”
• Think about what makes your website unique, valuable, or engaging. Make your website stand out from others in your field.

 

Google’s guidelines have been the same for years. Google’s secret to 65% to 70% market share is their unrelenting pursuit to provide the best search results for users. Changes in Google’s algorithm are continually focused on that goal. Continuously focus on Google’s goal and you’ll never have to worry about an algorithm change again.

Google announces top ranking factors

Recently, Google announced the top 3 ranking factors – a big deal for a company that has historically been secretive about their algorithm. Although the fact of the announcement was surprising, what they announced was not. The top 3 factors they use to rank are:

• Links to your site: Google views links as endorsements of your content. When other websites are willing to stake their reputation on an endorsement of you, that emboldens Google to risk their search reputation on you as well. These links need to be earned, not bought or bartered. Your takeaway:  Make content so good that others want to link to it.
• Page content: Your page content must match the search phrase you want to get ranked for. So if you want to get ranked for “the best hamburger in Austin,” your content needs to discuss the best hamburger in Austin. Talking about how to make a hamburger won’t get you ranked for that. Your takeaway:  Match your content to the questions people are asking (and to what you want to get ranked for).
• Rankbrain: Google developed an artificial intelligence (AI) to help it interpret search queries. Natural language is hard for computers. You know there is no difference between “best hamburger in Austin” and “best burger in Austin.” But this is hard for a computer to understand. Since language is continually evolving, search engines are devising methods to understand natural language. Your takeaway:  Write your content for people, not for computers.

 

Good SEOs are scrambling to figure out how to capitalize on this news by Google. Great SEOs are shrugging and going about their day because it doesn’t change their plans. There is no news here. If you have been focusing on providing the best content on the web to fulfill the needs of people searching on Google, then there is nothing to change. Keep focusing on the needs of your customers.

What really matters

Driving leads and sales for your business is what really matters. The best way to do that is to meet your customers’ needs better than anyone else, including with your inbound SEO strategy. You want your website to be succulent fruit that nourishes, not flypaper. Flypaper is a trap that gives the appearance of nourishment while never meeting a need.

For you to achieve your goals, your prospects must achieve their goals first.” – Bryan Eisenberg [2]

So, for great SEO, do what Google requests and develop content that best fulfills the needs of people searching. But effective executives know that something needs to be measured. This is where conversion optimization comes in. Define a conversion and measure it. For many companies, it is total sales or leads. You can also have micro-conversions based on user engagement metrics. The more your visitors engage with your content, the better the indication you are meeting their needs.

The article The Secret to a High Converting Website goes into more detail, but the answer is the same. Give your customers what they want. Focus relentlessly on helping your prospects achieve their goals and you will discover your goals are also being met. That is your best SEO strategy.

[1] https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35769?hl=en

[2] https://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1715850/just-how-do-i-reach-my-goals