Content: Update It To Be On The First Page

I recently had a chat with a business friend who believed that just search optimizing his website was enough to get on the first page.  Unfortunately, I told him, it’s not.

Ranking on the first page is very involved and includes a number of factors.  Probably the one that is the easiest to control for businesses is adding new content.

Google Looks For Updated Content

A fundamental necessity to ranking on the first page is creating new content for your website on a regular, consistent basis.  The reason is because Google wants to recommend websites to searchers that have updated, timely content. 

The rationale by Google is that if a website updates its content regularly, it must be timely and relevant.  So those sites that update regularly get better positions on the search engine results pages (SERPs).

Blogging is the Answer

You can update your site’s content by blogging.  Create new, engaging content that is helpful to your prospects and you can begin to attract traffic to your site from search while also satisfying Google’s content requirement.

By creating content about topics that are related to your core offerings, and using related keyword phrases, you can also increase the opportunities for your site to be found in search. 

Search Optimize It

Of course, to attract that all-important search traffic, those blog articles will need optimized.  Create compelling and engaging titles and meta descriptions that include your keyword phrase.  On the SERPs, titles grab the attention of searchers, while meta descriptions provide an explanation of what the article is about.

If you have images in your blog, be sure to use the ALT tag field, as well, and insert a description with the keyword phrase.

Format The Text

Google also takes note of how your content is formatted.  The algorithm views certain formats to be easier to read than others.  So the content needs to be divided into sections with sub headings so readers can easily find what they want.  Having the correct keyword density is also important.  It should be less than 2.5%. 

The Wrap

Having your website appear on the first page of the SERPs is an important marketing goal.  Ninety-five percent of all Americans use the internet to find the products and service they need.  Of those online searchers, 91% never leave the first page.  These facts underscore the necessity of having your website rank on the first page.