Although getting a spot on Google’s first page can be difficult, it is possible with the appropriate SEO work and dedication. How? Read on.

The importance of appearing on page one of Google Search results hasn’t altered despite the fact that SEO has changed in many other ways.

The days of ten plain blue links and a few advertisements are unquestionably over. Ranking on the first page for keywords that are important to you is still the barometer for acquiring organic traffic, even with all the new SERP features, rich results, and personalisation of results.

The click-through rate for a result in position 10 (usually at the bottom of page one), according to a 2020 study, is 3.11 percent. It is lower than the average ad click rate, but it is still greater.

Although the study didn’t test below the tenth result, it’s safe to assume that clicks swiftly decline to almost zero beyond the first page. When was the last time you went beyond the first page for a single query?

Depending on the question, there may be a lot of competition for a spot on Google’s first page. But it is possible with the correct labor and SEO effort.

Let’s examine some of the most effective, time-tested strategies for assisting your pages in getting there.

Strengthen internal linking

Strengthen internal linking Internal linking is one of the simplest strategies to utilize and can have a big impact on your rating, so I’ve included it first.

One of the main ways Google evaluates your site’s content is through its internal linking structure.

And the more keywords Google may rank you for, the better they comprehend that.

Additionally, by deliberately applying links between your sites, you can improve your topical authority for your most important themes, which will increase the likelihood that Google will want to rank you higher for those topics.

Linking pages together strategically involves doing so where it makes the most sense for your visitors.

It is not simply linking any page to any other page, in other words.

Instead, search for instances where some pages supplement or improve the content of the page a person lands on.

Access to more pertinent information will be advantageous for both your users and search engines (and for the same reason: more benefit to their users).

This kind of clever interlinking also demonstrates to Google that you have in-depth knowledge of the subject, providing them additional assurance that visitors they bring your way will be pleased and satisfied.

From Search Engine Journal, here are some more pointers for internal linking (see what I did there?

Learn About Your Threshold Pages

Pages that now rank just below page one are considered threshold pages (traditionally, positions 11 through 20).

They most likely generate little to no traffic for you, but with a little tinkering, they might advance to the top page’s “money” positions.

They should be at the top of your list of priorities because it is frequently simpler to rank these pages than it is to rank new content.

Start by segmenting for your pages that have keywords that are in positions 11 through 20 utilizing your preferred rank tracking tool.

The highest potential result pages will then be displayed at the top after sorting by search volume.

Use the remaining advice in this article to move those pages to page one.

Competitive Content Research

A simple truth you must realize is that the others have something you don’t if your vital pages aren’t appearing on page one.

While we don’t fully understand the criteria Google considers when determining why certain pages are ranked higher yours, many things may become clear during cross-examination.

The landing pages for all the results ranking above yours should be carefully compared to your page, so take the time to do so. Here are some inquiries to make for each page in competition:

• Is the content distinctly of higher quality (more thorough, authoritative without being overly formal, containing more pertinent data and references)?
• Is it written any better?
• Does it include any terms or concepts that your page doesn’t?
• Are the internal links to other pages on their website any better? Links to it from other relevant pages?
• Are there more and/or better backlinks in the external link profile?
• Do the “extras” include anything that would be useful to visitors? (images, charts, videos, tables, etc.)

While you shouldn’t copy the pages that are outranking you, what they are doing that you aren’t can give you some useful tips on how to enhance your page so that it can compete with their level.

Upgrading Important Pages in the Site Navigation

Although this method can’t be applied to every page on your website, it has a lot of potential for your most crucial pages.

Google considers a page’s distance from the main page via internal navigation when determining its relative value.

The majority of external links are normally directed at your homepage, giving it the highest page authority on your website.

Other pages connected from the home page receive this link equity, with those linked directly receiving the majority of it.

Your most important pages will have more authority if you move them closer to the home page, which will improve their ability to rank higher.

Create a mobile-friendly website

This advice should be clear, but if you haven’t already done it, now is the time to make your website mobile-friendly.

The majority of searches no longer start on mobile devices; this point of no return has long since passed.

Since the Page Experience upgrade includes a mobile-friendliness improvement, it makes sense that Google will favor material that is mobile-ready for users searching on mobile devices.

Anything you can do to improve the usability of your website will increasingly align with the objectives Google has established for its search ranking algorithms.

Obtain/Create More Links

These days, Google has given us a lot more factors to take into account when determining rankability (such as content quality and relevance, semantic relationships, and entity relationships), but good ol’ backlinks continue to be strongly connected with the ranking ability of pages.

Building links entails actively looking for chances for pertinent links from reliable sites, whereas earning links entails producing material that is so good and authoritative that other websites will want to link to it as a reference.

See this great link building checklist on Search Engine Journal for further information on how to acquire and build more links to your pages.

Follow Featured Snippets

Moving up to the ranking position ladder is hard (but necessary) work. Sometimes though you can leap to the head of the class.

Featured Snippets are a feature of Google Search where one of the top results is promoted to a rich snippet box at the top of the search results page.

While the rich snippet excerpt may go a long way toward satisfying the searcher’s query, the experience of many SEOs show that Featured Snippets frequently drive a lot of traffic, as users want to know more than is shown in the snippet.

There is no guaranteed way to get shown in a Featured Snippet, but here are few things you can do to increase your chances:

To find possibilities, check Google search for variations of your phrase to see whether a Featured Snippet is displayed for any of them. Some SEO tools will automatically find these chances for you. Featured Snippets are typically displayed for queries that are questions or have informational intent.
Look at the featured content’s organization where a featured snippet is displayed. Is it a table, a paragraph of text, a series of bullet points, a video, or some other type? Even while you might not need to mimic the format, it could provide you with some insight into the kind of material Google favors for this query.

Take a look at the page that came out on top for the search. Look for ways to make it better so that Google will be more likely to include it as a Featured Snippet.
Above all, remember that Google prefers content for Featured Snippets that expresses the query’s intent succinctly, precisely, and accurately.

Updating past performers

After the article is published, its traffic and ranking start to increase.

But eventually, the amount of traffic it generates will certainly begin to decline.

What causes this to occur? Several potential causes include:

Other authors have written work that is more recent, superior, or of greater authority.
Over time, the question’s purpose has evolved.
Whatever the reason, there are techniques to bring your material back to life and give it a fresh start in the SERPs.

Combining Content With Keywords

One technique to use when your material is still working well is splicing. It could support the piece’s growth rather than prevent it from declining.

Finding pages on your website that are ranking for more keywords than usual is part of the splicing strategy.

That may sound positive, but it actually means that some opportunities have been lost because some of those terms are unavoidably not ranking as highly as they could.

To splice, you choose the less-effective but still-potential keywords for the current page. These may be searches with low rankings but strong demand, such as those where the page appears on page two of results.

Create additional content pages with a focus on the precise intent of those keywords after you’ve recognized those opportunities, and then connect those pages to your original, highest-ranking page.

This gives Google more effective landing page targets for a subject area where your authority and reliability have already been established.

Extend and Improve

If the decay phase of your content’s lifetime has already begun, you might want to think about killing it (especially if it is too outdated or irrelevant to recover).

By making the page more competitive in the current SERP environment, you might be able to bring it back.

To achieve this, perform a search for the main keywords you want the page to rank for and take the time to read the content of every page ranking higher than yours.

Consider what they contain that your page does not. Does your page need any additional keywords, themes, features (such as videos or photographs), links, or other components?

The goal here is to get an understanding of what Google would find on these competitor pages that makes them more value than your present page, not to replicate exactly what they are doing.