How to Rank Higher in Google: Step by Step Manual

How to rank higher in Google? Is a question that has left many business owners scratching their heads.  A lot of brainstorming is done to discuss the possible ways of ranking higher in Google. Well, today we will discuss some of the ways that will help you to rank higher in Google. But before that, let’s understand what Google ranking is?

How does it work?

What purpose does it serve?

Google Ranking

‘Google’ is a very popular search engine. If anyone needs information on anything, they search it on Google. And Google provides results that it deems relevant and valuable to the search term. The results that appear on the Google search Page are various websites and web pages that are relevant to the search query of the person. Google doesn’t display the results randomly.

A proper process is followed to rank the web pages or websites.

How it Works

So, how does Google decide which website or web page goes to the top?

How does Google rank the websites or web pages?

Compohnents of Google’s ranking algorithm – compiled by Neil Patel

1. Relevance

The first criterion for a website to qualify as a search result is its relevance to the search term. If a person is searching for toothpaste, your website that sells handbags cannot appear as a search result. This is where keywords come into play.

Keywords are “the widely used search terms for a particular category of product/services”. If your website or web page contains the keywords that are being used in the search query, your website or web page will appear in the results.

2. Originality

With each and every update, Google is becoming smarter. Earlier even a spin-off article with an abundance of relevant keywords would show up in the top results. But, now that is not possible. For your web page to show as a top result, your content has to be unique and original in addition to being relevant.

Google wants its users to be satisfied with their search results. As a result, it takes a lot of measures to ensure that the users get the most valuable and unique results.

3. Credible Backlinks

Backlinks are the hyperlinks that will allow a user to land on your page from another web page. Backlinks signify that a particular website is using your content as a source of information. This, in turn, means that your content is of superior quality. Thus, more backlinks a website or a web page has, the higher can be its chance to rank among the top search results.

But, not all the backlinks are given equal weight.

A backlink from a popular and credible website would always hold more weight as compared to those from lesser known websites.

In a nutshell, the website content that is more relevant to the searched term is unique and has more backlinks would be ranked higher on Google Search results than the content that is not.

A backlink opportunities report by Moz

The Benefit of Google Ranking for Businesses

Now that, we have discussed what Google ranking is and how it works, there is one more important thing that we need to address.

  • What purpose does it serve for you?
  • Why does a business need to care about the Google ranking?
  • How does it matter to your business?
  • What are the benefits of ranking higher in Google search results?

It is a known fact that the internet has become a necessity these days. More and number of people are using the internet for information consumption as well as purchases. And, if we observe the internet usage behaviour, we would see Google Search is used to find almost everything.

Whether you need to buy a car or learn a new concept, you would ask Google for help. And it is basic human nature that we tend to click on the first few results instead of going through the whole list of results. So, if we want to drive traffic to our website from the search engine, we need to be among the top-ranked search results.

If you are among the top ranked websites, you are bound to get more traffic on your website. More traffic results in more leads and more leads result in more conversions. And do I even need to tell you that more conversions mean more revenue? That is what we are striving for. Right!! So, Google ranking is relevant and beneficial to your business.

How to Rank Higher on Google

Since we have established that Google ranking is very important to you, it is time to share a few tips on how to rank higher on Google. But before that, I want to clarify that there are no short-cuts or easy ways of doing it. Google can easily identify poor quality or copied content and hence does not include it in the search results.

Let’s get started on the tips now.

1. Good Quality Content

Like I said earlier, Google wants its users to get the most relevant and superior quality content. Make sure your content is of the best quality. Do not just copy paste. Create a unique and engaging content.  The content should be such that makes you stand out from the rest of your competitors.  

With quality, user engagement is also very important. Create a content that has the ability to engage your audience. 

  • Use the story-telling technique to increase user engagement.
  • Create unique headlines.
  • Create a scannable and readable content.
  • Back your content with facts and numbers.

2. Relevant Keywords

Relevance is an important factor in Google ranking. So, the use of the relevant keyword in your content is of utmost importance. No matter how unique your content is, if there are no relevant keywords, it would not appear in the search results.

Keyword research is very important. Thoroughly research the trending keywords.  Analyse the keywords used by your competitor. Google Adwords Keyword tool can be used to find out the most relevant keywords. Go for a keyword that has more searches but less competition. Less competition ensures the uniqueness of your content.

3. Fast and user-friendly website

The websites that are faster and easier to load are ranked higher than heavier websites. Try to make your website fast. Do not overuse images and videos on your website. That will make it slower to load. Users expect a website to load in a matter of a few seconds.

Also, include user-friendly interfaces. Since most people surf the internet through their mobile devices, it is advisable to create a mobile-friendly website.  If your website provides a smooth experience to the user, they are more likely to come back to you.

4. Build Credible Backlinks

Keep on building backlinks to your website. More backlinks mean more people are vouching on your content. As discussed earlier, credible backlinks would ensure higher Google ranking. You can use guest blogging for this purpose. Guest blogging means that you can write a blog on an already established website a guest blogger. There, you can provide a backlink to your own website.

But, guest blogging is not that easy as many reputed websites have very stringent policies for guest blogging. But, if you are able to get through them, it is very beneficial for your Google ranking.

Apart from guest blogging, you can also use your own network to provide backlinks to your site.

Ask your happy customers, suppliers or distributors to provide backlinks to your website.  

Remember to build backlinks naturally, do not be tempted to use unhealthy or spam websites for backlinks.

5. Frequently Updated Website

The websites that are always up-to-date rank higher on Google than those that aren’t. Post your content more frequently. Posting two to three times a week is good. Make sure there is an abundance of relevant content on your website. The more frequently you post content, the more you are likely to rank higher in Google search. But, quantity should not overshadow quality as Google doesn’t compromise on the quality of the content.

6. Remove Bad Backlinks

Earlier, back links to spam websites would also increase your Google ranking. But, after the past few Google updates, your ranking will get adversely affected if your website is linked to any spam website. So, it is advisable to remove any such links that can malign your website.

There are many tools available that will help you to analyze unhealthy backlinks. Once you have identified bad backlinks, go on to remove them.

You can contact the website from where you want to remove the backlink and request them for the same. If that is not possible due to any reason, then you can use Google’s Disavow Links Tool that allows you to remove unhealthy backlinks to your website.

7. Competitor Analysis

Keeping an eye on your competitor is essential to your Google ranking. Look at your competitor’s Google ranking. Does he rank lower than you or higher than you? Analyze the keywords he is using. Examine all his backlinks. Study his content.

A thorough study of your competitor’s activities would help you to improve your own ranking. If your competitor is ranking higher than you, this would help you to understand their strengths and inculcate that in your own content. And, if your competitor is ranking lower than you, this analysis will help you to know what you are doing better so that you keep on improving your strengths.

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The Business & Marketing World editorial team submits author content and guest posts on business, marketing, sales, strategy matters. If you like to contribute, please reach out to us via the contact page

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