Why The First Page Matters

What does it mean to be on the first page of the search results?

According to Backlinko, the top three search results will receive 54.4% of all clicks, with the top result getting 27.6%.

Statistically, very few users (around 0.63%) will look at the 2nd page or beyond when searching.

As they say in SEO circles, the best place to hide a dead body is on the second page of Google.

If you want more traffic and business, it pays to be in the top results.

But how do you get your website to appear at the top?

One thing to remember is that search engines rank web pages, not entire websites.

While improving your entire website is great, getting specific on your most important search terms and the corresponding web pages is key.

Search engines use complex algorithms to rank web pages, but these can be simplified into two major factors:

Relevance and authority.

The way I like to think about it is this:

If there are 100 books on a topic, how would a librarian provide the best recommendations on the top books to read?

They might consider factors such as:

• How useful is this book to the target audience?
• How well is it written?
• How old is this book?
• Has it won any awards?
• Do other authors and publications reference this book?
• How often does this book get borrowed?
• Has the author written any other popular books?
• Is the author a known authority on the subject?

These factors would all come into place when providing a recommendation.

Now, using this same thinking for web pages, let’s look at relevance and authority’s role in rankings.

SEO Ranking Factor 1: Relevance

It’s in the search engine’s interest to show results most relevant to a user’s search to deliver a valuable experience.

Relevance is simply this: how relevant is the web page to the search term?

For example, for the search term “web designer Melbourne”, you could expect the most relevant web page to be for a Melbourne web designer.

For that page to be the most relevant, it might have content such as:

1. A relevant headline. e.g. “Pixel-Perfect Web Designer in Melbourne”
2. Useful information divided into headings. e.g. The web design process, web design best practices, examples of previous work, profile photos, and information from the web designers.
3. FAQs and relevant answers. e.g. How much does a website cost? What’s the best structure for a landing page? How long does it take to design a website?

Creating the most relevant and useful content will help your web pages rank higher than your competitors.

SEO Ranking Factor 2: Authority

Authority is a search engine’s way of identifying how trustworthy a web page is.

Just like a librarian might consider awards and critic recommendations before recommending a book, search engines use similar methods to identify the authority and trust of a web page.

A web page with high authority would have:

• Listing on common web directories and industry associations
• A growing number of 5-star reviews on Google
• A secure web page
• A fast-loading website
• A high number of clicks to the web page
• Website visitors staying on the website for a long time
• Media mentions and links from other websites (backlinks)
• Authority is an important yet often overlooked aspect of SEO.

If your content is great but you are not ranking in the top results, then you likely have an issue with your web page authority.

Although it takes time, building authority has a huge payoff.

Showing up at the top of the search results is a powerful trust factor, and it will help to get more clicks to your website and more sales through your pipeline.

Action steps for you:

Now that you know about relevance and authority, let’s do a quick review of your most important web pages:

1. Identify the keyword that you want your web page to rank for e.g. “web design Melbourne”
2. Use Google search to find what pages are ranking in the top results for your keywords and open the top three results
3. How does your website content compare? Is it more relevant and useful than the top results? How could you make your content more relevant, clear and thorough than your competitors?
4. How does your authority score compare to your competitors? (use Ahref authority checker)
5. Does your website appear on popular directories, such as Apple Maps, Google Maps, Hotfrog and industry association websites?

If you’d like to work with our SEO team to get in the top search results, book a call with me and let’s review your SEO growth opportunities.