“Google only loves you when everyone else loves you first.” – Wendy Piersall
Ranking in the top three-pack is the ultimate goal of all modern businesses, irrespective of the type of business. It does not matter whether the business is a local firm who uses search engine rankings to draw customers to its door or whether the company’s core business is conducted over the internet such as an eCommerce store.
Studies have shown that the Google’s first page receives 95% of all of the web traffic. Therefore, based on these statistics (and others), it is highly probable that you are losing out on a substantial number of sales if your business is not ranking highly on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
Millions of bloggers, businesses, and website owners compete for a spot on the first page of the SERP. These numbers are being added to on a daily basis, making it more of a challenge to rank highly in your business niche or category. Therefore, to be seen by your target audience, it is vital that you make sure that your business continues to rank at the top of the SERP for your focus keywords.
There are several ways to drive your website to the top of the SERP. However, it is important to note at this juncture, that this article deals with white hat (or above-board techniques). It might be quicker and easier to utilise what is commonly known as black-hat techniques; however, the risk of being penalised by Google, Bing, or Yahoo is not worth it.
Maintaining Your SERP Ranking
There are several methodologies that you have to follow to maintain your website’s ranking at the top of the SERP. Here are a couple of the most relevant methods for your consideration:
Ongoing Research
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is not a one-off exercise. Continual adjustments need to be made to ensure that your website stays at the top of the three-pack. Therefore, it’s important to track your site’s ranking statistics as well as monitoring the backlinks to your website using SEO software.
Expanding Your Range of Keywords
Staying at the top of the SERP ranking is not merely a case of ranking for a limited number of keywords. It’s vital to continue to expand the number of keywords that your website ranks for. This is where keyword research tools are useful. Not only do these tools suggest keywords that you can add to your website’s keyword ranking list, but they also analyse your competitor’s keyword usage so that you change your search engine ranking strategy to stay ahead of your competition.
Make Sure Your Website is Mobile-Friendly
Google (and other search engines) will not penalise your website by reducing its ranking on the SERP if it is not mobile-friendly. However, as the quotation mentioned above states that if your target audience spends time on your website, it will rank higher on the SERP. Statistics show that the number of users who browse the web on their mobile devices has surpassed the number who access the world wide web on their traditional computers. Therefore, it makes sense that if your website is mobile-friendly, users will spend more time on your site; thereby, adding to your ranking statistics.
