How We Got to #1 in Google for a Competitive Keyword Phrase

How We Got to #1 in Google for a Competitive Keyword Phrase:

When we started Internet Business Mastery, we made a decision to target “internet business” as our primary keyword phrase. Since then we have consistently ranked well for that phrase in Google. Most the time we have floated around between #3 and #7. Last month we finally hit #1 (at least in the U.S.).

Let’s take a look at how we did it.

NOTE: Keep in mind that ranks vary per country. In addition, if you are logged into your Google account, this can affect the results that you see. Here is a good site for checking rankings around the world.

First, it’s important to understand the foundation principles we had in place, then we I’ll talk about what finally put us to the top.

The following three things have each greatly influenced our search engine success.

1. We publish frequent, consistent quality content

The content we post is all focused on our niche topic. Every week we put up episodes of the podcast and/or blog posts to our site. Google has always and will always love great content.

2. Our primary keyword is in our domain name

This greatly increases the chances that we will rank well for our primary phrase since it makes us obviously relevant to the keyword.

In addition, it boosts the power of the links pointing back to our site. When someone links to us, they most likely use the name of our site in the link. Since our name contains our primary keyword, it increases the “value” that Google places on that link.

3. Our site has been optimized for our primary keyword

We use the phrase in our key places on our site so that Google sees us as both authoritative and relative when it comes to our topic. This includes using the phrase in meta tags, site title, tagline, headers, links and image descriptions. This is known as on-page optimization and something that we teach in our Academy.

So beyond those three basic principles, what was it that finally pushed us to the top? The answer is…

Consistent Link-Building

Google uses an elaborate algorithm in order to determine which site is most authoritative for a given topic. One of the most important factors that they consider is the number and quality of links pointing back to your site.

By creating consistent quality content, you already encourage a certain amount of linking to you by other sites. But beyond that, there are a number of things that you can do to help the process along.

Google likes to see a consistent and “natural” development of links pointing to your site. So starting a few months ago, we assigned a member of our team to spend some time each day building links.

With a consistent link-building strategy in place, we finally hit #1 after only a few months. Again, keep in mind that we had already done a number of fundamental things to place ourselves in the top ten. But focusing on links gave us the edge we needed.

Link-Building Plan, As Easy as 1-2-3

There are a number of strategies you can use to build links to your site. We go into this in great detail in the Academy. Here are three strategies that you can try right away.

1. Create social networking profiles that contain links to your site
2. Submit your site to directories
3. Guest post on authoritative sites in your niche with a byline that contains a link back to you

The first two strategies are ideal to assign to a virtual assistant or staff member. Even 15-30 minutes a day will go a long way. Give it a go for a few months and see what different it makes in your own Google rankings. Results will vary depending on…

1. How well your site is optimized already
2. How competitive the phrase is
3. How much effort the competition is putting into their search strategy

No matter what, your site traffic will benefit from a link-building plan.

What other strategies have worked well for you to boost your search rank? Share your ideas in the comments below.

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