Have you ever searched for your product or service and stared longingly at that #1 spot on the search engine result page?
Are you hungry to make it to that first page and surpass your competitors?
Then your first priority should be boosting your Google PageRank.
What Is Google PageRank?
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Google PageRank is the formula that evaluates the value of a page based on how many other pages link to it and how valuable those pages are.
It works to help determine how relevant or important a page is to a specific topic or network in order to justify offering it as a result on SERPs.
Why Your Ranking on Google Matters
It can be easy to dismiss the idea of getting a high ranking spot on a Google SERP. What’s the point? Will it really make that big of a difference for your business?
Well, even though it’s not a dealbreaker for some companies, there are some benefits that others aren’t willing to pass up. Pages that are placed on that first page or ranked highly often:
Get Higher Traffic
Most users won’t even scroll down the first page after searching something on Google, let alone move on to the second or third.
Websites that are listed at the top receive the first clicks and, therefore, more traffic than anyone under the fold on a SERP. If your goal is to generate more organic leads, then breaking into one of the top 10 spots should be a high priority.
Receive Greater Credibility
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Since Google offers up results based on how relevant, valuable, or informative it thinks a page is, users tend to trust the higher ranking pages more than others.
They idea is that pages become inherently less and less helpful the further down the list you go.
This may not be necessarily true since there are a ton of factors that contribute to how Google approaches business pages, but the everyday user isn’t aware of the mechanics and logic behind it.
All they know is they trust Google to show them the important results first, therefore making the websites (and businesses) served up on the first page appear more trustworthy and valuable.
Earn Better Opportunities
If you’re using the right keywords and writing content to target the right audiences, Google has an easier time serving your pages up as a result to ideal customers for your business.
As much as we all relish the idea of being able to convert every visitor that lands on our website into a customer, it’s not practical. In reality, we should focus on nurturing the leads that actually fit our business and services.
If you can rank high for the right keywords, you’ll be able to pull in more of those ideal customers, or qualified leads, and win better opportunities for business.
How Long Does It Take to Improve Your Google Ranking?
Honestly, it all depends.
That’s nowhere close to a preferred answer, but it’s hard to put a set timer on a process that’s so subjective. It all depends on your unique situation and where your search engine optimization (SEO) stands.
Improving your ranking can be influenced by:
- Budget
- Competition
- Website development
- SEO skill and knowledge
Still, there are studies that have been performed to help give folks a rough idea of what they can expect. Ahrefs found, on average, that:
- Pages ranking in the top 10 were over two years old.
- Pages ranking first were nearly three years old.
- Only 22 percent of pages in the top 10 were less than one year old.
- Only six percent of pages in the top 10 ranked for at least one keyword within one year.
- About 94 percent of the pages used in the study never made it to the top 10 within a year.
So, if you really need a number to use as a benchmark, you can pretty much assume that you’ll be working on your Google rank for at least a year, if not longer.
6 Guaranteed Ways to Boost Your Google Search Ranking in 2020
Still, you shouldn’t let that timeline scare you away from trying to get your business in a better position on Google.
Here are some great practices that you can implement to help boost your ranking this year:
1. Update Your On-Page SEO.
If you haven’t already gotten up to speed on the changes in Google search engine page result pages themselves, now is the time to update your pages to reflect these improvements.
You could include another word or phrase in your page titles to have long tail keywords that describe your products or services more effectively, or provide more context to a blog.
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In addition, the character limit for meta descriptions has also increased, letting websites include more detail.
You can use this higher character limit to update your meta descriptions to have a call to action or relevant keywords to encourage more consumers to click on your page.
Furthermore, if you have not updated your page content in a while, refresh your page to include more educational information, current facts and figures, or other helpful content.
There are other on-page SEO updates you can do, like include more subheads with H2 or H3 tags and replace old keywords with ones that have a higher search volume.
2. Put More Time into Outreach.
You spend plenty of time and resources on creating your content, but how much of it do you spend on putting your content out there?
Outreach for content is just as important as content creation in any effort to increase your number of links and social media shares.
Create a strategy for amplifying your outreach.
This can include boosting the amount of your daily or weekly social media posts, signing up for PR websites, or reaching out to new media or blog partners.
By having more resources devoted to content outreach, you’re more likely to drive traffic from other websites and grow the quality and number of external links to your site.
3. Improve Your Website Based on Mobile and Local Search.
Whether you have physical locations or only delve in ecommerce, optimizing your site for mobile users continues to be crucial in 2020.
Most consumers today search for solutions via their smartphones, which is why Google has taken a mobile-first approach to how it serves its users.
When updating websites, marketers should look to responsive designs as well as adding mobile-friendly search features, like maps and business information, to aid in local search.
4. Answer User Questions.
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When users search for information, they naturally phrase it in the form of a question. Google has picked up on this fact by putting greater emphasis on their Quick Answers Box.
Pages that answer questions in a detailed and helpful way are more likely to be featured this way.
5. Pay Attention to Your Links.
There are a lot of mixed feelings over the value of link building, but one thing’s for sure: The quantity and quality of internal and external links on a webpage truly makes a difference in Google’s eyes.
If you have a ton of broken links or links to pages that aren’t valuable, you’ll lose a few points.
Google crawls to see just how much value a webpage will provide for a user, including who and what the page links out to.
It’s kind of like being judged based on not only your own character, but the character of those you hang out with.
An external link is like a vote of confidence displaying support of the other webpage or website. If the source you’re linking out to sucks, then other people (and Google) will question your judgement and credibility.
Check the links on your important pages, especially landing pages like a service or contact page, and fix what you can.
6. Practice Keyword Research.
Ah, yes. Keyword research.
Keywords have such an impact on SEO that most marketers are constantly diving into their research tools to hunt for more ways to better optimize their pages, even after an update.
It’s a hard won battle, but it’s probably the most important one if you’re trying to win the war.
Keyword research will help you understand exactly what your target audience is looking for. You’ll get a quick glimpse of what their needs are, how far along in their buyer’s journey they’ve come, and which buyer persona they fit best.
By leveraging the right short-tail and long-tail keywords on relevant pages, it’ll be as if you’re standing by their front door with a megaphone shouting, “What you need is right here!”
Keywords also help Google get you in front of the right people. After all, those users are searching keyword terms and phrases.
It’s important to remember that getting into the top 10 is only half the better. Staying there takes just as much effort.
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But putting the time and resources into boosting your Google PageRank is well worth it in the long run when it comes to organic traffic and leads.
Make sure to keep track of Google’s updates so that you can optimize your website and pages when necessary and stay at the top.