EASILY GETTING TO NUMBER ONE IN GOOGLE

Paul Carpenter 15th March 2007
Paul Carpenter

Getting to number one in Google is easy - certainly easier than you'd imagine. Take this page, for example. As soon as it has been indexed, it will be number one for the word 'Phrapxis' (go ahead - check!) And this should give you a telling insight into the shortcomings of just looking at your search engine rankings.

Of course (at the time of writing) this page was the only page on the entire internet to use the word 'Phrapxis', as you've probably figured out. So in an extremely uncompetitive marketplace, getting to number one isn't in the least bit hard. By contrast, getting to number one for the word 'books' is ludicrously hard.

A useless result!

But of course, you say. No-one is searching for this word, so it has absolutely no use to your site at all. This is our second point. If you're number one for a search term that no-one is using, then that is a worthless result. We've no doubt that we could make a small amount of cash for clients, promising them a number one result in Google within a few days, and then revealing to them that they are number one for "flagellating prrop". Great!

(Of course they'd quickly learn to hate us and we'd never get their money again, so we'd never do that!)

If you are concerned just with search engine placements though, here are a few tips.

  1. Identify key phrases rather than key words
    If you sell books on military history, then trying to get to number in Google for 'books' is a waste of your time. Even if you somehow outgun Amazon and Google Books and get it, it will be a waste of time for your visitors, because they probably don't want military history books (they're probably more interested in the Da Vinci Code - so get stocking it today!) Try for longer 3 or 4 word phrases like 'military history books', 'books about historical wars' and so on.
  2. Think locally if possible
    If you are selling clogs online, you might find yourself competing against clog retailers in Holland, Indonesia, Kent and Canada. Unless you plan to sell internationally, try to get better results for 'buy clogs uk'. Not only will you filter out people in Ulan Bator who you don't want to ship to anyway, but getting a decent placing will be easier than just for 'buy clogs.'
  3. Think uniquely
    If your business has any unique strengths, think of searches that might reflect these strengths. It could be pricing, expertise, or anything that distinguishes you. If it is worthwhile to your customers, they will be searching for it.

Today's Moral

Getting to number one is easy, but useless. Don't be fooled into thinking getting a good placing is the answer to your problems. Finding the right balance takes imagination and insight, and getting a good placing - even for a good, highly specific term - will take effort and time. We've said if before, and we'll say it again: There are no shortcuts - unless you're prepared to pay.

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