Mario Barneli

Where do you hide a dead body? On the second page of Google. Why? Because it is a place where no one looks.

Do you remember the last time you clicked on the second page of Google while searching for a product or answer to a question? Perhaps you changed your search query before you got there. We are all in the same shoes.

According to recent Google search statistics, just 0.63 per cent of people click on the second page of Google. There is no doubt that search engine users change their search terms if they do not find what they are looking for. This statistic increasingly emphasises that the actual organic traffic resides on the first page of Google, where people trust the businesses listed there.

If you want to build a successful business online, irrespective of the field, you need to rank on the first page of search results, especially on Google. In fact, a recent study shows that 41 per cent of people use a search engine to find local businesses, and 71 per cent do so for B2B services. So, if you want to be found, you need to show up on the first page.

The Benefits of Moving from Page 2 to Page 1 on SERPs

The importance of ranking on the first page of Google is not about the euphoria that comes with seeing your website as the first but the mind-blowing benefits accompanying it.

Increases Site Visibility

Google processes over 99,000 searches every second, which equals more than 8.5 billion searches a day. Over 80 per cent of the dividend from these searches goes to websites that rank on the first page of the search results. Being on the first page positions your site before potential customers and enhances your business's exposure.

Increases Organic Traffic

Your website gets over a 143 per cent jump in traffic if it moves from the second page to the first page on SERPs. The reverse also holds. There is a drastic decrease in traffic if you fall off from the first page to the second page. A recent study shows that the first organic result in Google Search has an average click-through rate of 28.5 per cent. Ranking on the first page of search results equals more CTR and organic traffic.

Improves Authenticity

There is a science and a method to how websites are ranked in the field of SEO. However, an elusive quality appears with first-page Google results and develops into a psychological game based as much on reputation as it is on actual results. Users naturally focus on the sites on the first page of the search result. There is an inherent sense that websites ranking on the first page are the leaders in the industry. Ranking on the first page of search engines creates a positive business image. It tells potential clients that your site is reputable, genuine, and authentic.

Improves Leads and Sales

Your prospects are at your fingertips, but your website needs to be easily accessible. One of the best ways to generate more leads and sales is by ranking on the first page of Google. You must create content that answers your target audience's queries. Through this process, you reduce your website's bounce rate and likely turn your visitors into leads.

How to Take Your Rankings from the Second to the First Page

Find Underperforming Keywords

A successful SEO campaign starts with keyword research. In fact, SEO experts spend most of their time on keyword research. According to Search Engine Journal's State of SEO 2021, 36.3 per cent of SEO professionals apply most of their time to keyword research. This means keywords are the foundational factor to ranking on search engines.

If you are getting poor results on SERPs, you must retreat to your keywords. However, tracking your low-ranking keywords can be daunting. You can use a keyword tracking tool to ease the stress off your head.

Extract the Most Valuable Keywords

Once you collate your underperforming keywords, the next step is to filter your data and focus on keywords that can generate the desired traffic and scale up the rank. In a perfect world, you would rank at the top of the search engine results for every keyword in your industry. However, to make the most efficient use of your resources, you must concentrate on the keywords that will increase your chances of SEO success.

Categories of keywords to remove from your extracted data:

Keywords not generating any traffic. If your website is already moving up the result page for some keywords in your list but is not generating any traffic in return, consider taking them out of the list.
Keywords not satisfying searchers' intent. Google's primary goal is to help their users' intent. If your page does not satisfy search intent, it is not going to rank.

Optimize an Existing Page

Now you have a perfect list of your underperforming keywords. The next step is to analyze the results in the top spots.

What to consider:

Examine the topics those pages consider that your page does not
Consider the word count of those content pieces
Check if they produce more captivating content than yours
Take a look at their SEO elements such as meta titles and descriptions, internal and external links, alt images, and more
Analyze the websites they are linking to

Use these ideas to develop improvements on your page that will help increase your chance of ranking higher on the search result. Then, edit your page to make it better than other content pieces on the result page.

Create a New Page

If the keyword you are ranking for is not related to the topics of the pages that rank on the first page, you need to create a new page that revolves around that keyword.

For example, if your website is ranking on the second page for the keyword "LinkedIn profile tips" and the page's title is "How to Research LinkedIn Keywords for Job Search," the topic is not related to the keyword. This practice increases the website's bounce rate and affects its ranking.

Alternatively, you can create a well-detailed page for the keyword with a title like "How to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Stand Out." Afterward, you create an internal link in the ranking article that points to the new content. So when you talk about the strategies to get a job on LinkedIn, you can direct them to read the recent article.

Track Your Progress

It is expedient that you monitor the effects of your SEO efforts to know your website's performance on search engine result pages. Interestingly, you can use a keyword rank tracker to analyze the position of your keywords per time.

Any effective keyword rank tracker provides a thorough overview of how your SEO effort affects your rankings and warns you of any unexpected drops or surges you may need to address. Whether you are monitoring the position of ten keywords or hundred keywords, a good tool provides unlimited data pulls of your keywords rankings on result pages. Most importantly, you can determine how often you want the reports delivered.

Expert Perspectives

Moving from the second page to the first page of search results is like relocating from a dilapidated old cottage to a colorful Victorian house in San Francisco. The importance of ranking on the first page is not about the euphoria that comes with seeing your website as the first but the mind-blowing benefits accompanying it.

SEO professionals emphasise that the journey from page two to page one requires patience and consistent effort. By following these steps, you can start ranking on pages five, six, and three, and gradually to page one.

Final Thoughts

The ball is in your court. You have the tips for moving your site from page two to page one of the search results. If you use these tips, you will start ranking on pages five, six, and three, and gradually to page one.

The key is to identify underperforming keywords, extract the most valuable ones, optimize existing pages, create new pages where needed, and track your progress over time.