How Do I Get My Business To Show Up First On Google Search Results? A Beginner’s Guide
From my interactions, I came to realize that many people are seeking ways to get their businesses to show up first on Google. So, let me use this opportunity to share all I know about the subject. Ready? Let's go!
To Start With, It Is Not Enough To Want Your Business To Show Up First On Google
Most people simply ask about how to make their businesses show up first on the Google search results page. But, in real life, that is not enough. Instead, you need first to care about the keyword or the Google search engine results page (SERP) you want your business to rank for. It has to be a keyword or SERP that is popular to an audience in your niche for example.
By your niche, I mean your field of business. For instance, if you are a smartphone seller, you don't need your business to rank for a keyword in agriculture even if the keyword is popular. Otherwise, you will only attract the wrong people because interest is everything in any form of marketing. Imagine being a smartphone seller but you keep getting requests for farm implements!
Again, even if you are targeting a keyword that is related to your business niche, it needs to be popular to an audience in that niche. Otherwise, hardly anyone can find you since you can attract visitors only through the keywords they are entering. But, after finding a popular keyword, the next step is to find a way to beat the competition occasioned by that popularity. Alternatively, you'd be better off taking the route of finding popular keywords with low competition.
Getting Your Business To Show Up First On A Popular Google SERP Or Keyword? Here Are Points You Need To Prioritize
There are so many factors involved here and I will be sharing them little by little to avoid getting you overwhelmed. And, if you just want to have me do this for you instead, you can read the first few paragraphs of this article. If you however prefer to undertake the journey with me, let's continue.
Get Your Mindset Right
The very first step in successfully getting your business to show up first on Google, is to get your mindset right. I know that nobody has probably told you this. So, let me reiterate its high importance: As with almost any other worthwhile venture, so it is here: until you get the mindset aspects right, you will keep beating about the bush.
For instance, if your business has never received loads of passive traffic via Google and other search engines, your subconscious mind will continue to doubt the possibility of such a thing. You might even know that search engine traffic is real but fail to agree that it is possible with you.
To overcome this mindset barrier, you need to rise above yourself and realize that Google has become a global culture. Almost every second, someone is saying “google it”. According to Rock Content Writer Shannon Hilson in July last year, “even local consumers who prefer to do their buying in person use the internet to search their purchasing decisions and evaluate their available options these days”.
And, as of June 2024, Google attracts a whooping 91.05% of these searchers as per information from StatCounter Globalstats:
You can see why I’m focusing on Google here. But more importantly, it gives your mind some rich food to feed on as regards getting loads of purchase-ready traffic to your business via the undisputed King of search engines.
Prioritize Long-tail Keywords Related To Your Business
An important part of getting your mindset right while trying to get your business a top slot on Google, is to understand how people conduct their search. Understanding search intentions and behaviors will help you break limits far more easily.
For instance, there are casual and serious searchers. One of the consistent behaviors of casual searchers is that they use short keywords, usually between one and three words. As for serious searchers, they are specific about what they are looking for. As a result, their key terms get naturally longer than those used by casual searchers.
Thus, while a casual searcher may enter a term like ‘pen?’, a serious searcher is expected to enter a term like “where can I buy a pen in Xyz city?”. This is why serious searchers have come to be identified by their long-form keywords, known technically among SEOs as “long-tail keywords” or simply ‘long tails”. And, in SEO, an ounce of long-tail keywords is worth a ton of short-tails. Quote me on that.
Focus On Providing Values To The Human Audience Of Your Business
Many people are obsessing on how to make their businesses come up first on Google Search. But I learned that one of the easiest hacks to achieving this is to align your intentions with the intentions of Google itself. And Google prioritizes user experience above all else.
Thus, while you strive to make your content search engine friendly, you should think above all else about making it user friendly. As Jesus Christ is quoted as saying, “seek first the kingdom and other things shall be added to you”. In a similar vein, in SEO, I often advise people to seek first a great user experience and other things will naturally fall into place.
But Don’t Ignore The Search Algorithms
Focusing on satisfying the human audience of your business is great. As already said, if you can give this much priority, many other things will fall into place by themselves.
However, it doesn't mean you should ignore the technical backgrounds of the search engines, namely, Google. For instance, you need to use Google Search Console to watch your metrics and be able to diagnose technical issues as and when due.
Finally, Remember It's About Getting Your Business - Not Just Your Website - To Show Up At The Top Of Popular Google SERPs
Many people keep obsessing on getting their websites to rank high on Google SERPs. Little do they realize that what they actually need is to get their businesses at the top of Google search results.
This is what I mean: Assuming you have a way of getting a favorable mention for your business at the very top of a popular Google SERP using a third-party website, and I am struggling to come up at the second page of the same search results with my own website, who is in advantage here? Of course, it's you.
So business owners should focus more on getting their businesses to rank high on Google than just getting their websites up there. This is therefore at the heart of my favored option for helping any business I trust to get top slots on Google. With this method, whether your business has its own website or not, you can still pull in loads of traffic via Google.
In any case, this involves a lot. For instance, your keyword research should be top-notch. Again, this is like getting tall by hopping on the shoulders of a giant. So, you should be careful about annoying the giant lest you get thrown off😅 . Well, by this I mean that you should obey the rules of the third-party website you are using.
Conclusion
This has been about how to get our businesses to rank at the top of Google Search for popular keywords. I will keep updating this with fresh information due to its high importance. Thank you.
