Principles of getting a website into the top 10
Getting a new website into the top 10 search results is no easy task — it takes knowledge and painstaking work. But you can do it yourself if you know and understand the key promotion parameters and the requirements for them.
1. Competition
The more saturated and competitive the niche, the more work a new website will need. But conditions differ for every industry, region and keyword. In some regions, even the most popular queries face almost no competition. And different companies may compete for the top spots in different search engines.
2. Uniqueness
An important factor for reaching the top is the site's uniqueness. If information is duplicated across similar sites, they will never lead in search. That's why it's important to create your own unique content that answers users' queries and is built around semantics. It should be interesting, useful and answer the visitor's question. To write it, use a tool or service that helps build a semantic core around which the content will be structured.
3. Quality of linking sites
To earn search engines' trust, you need to establish initial credibility. It's usually based on analysing backlinks: which site linked to yours first, whether the links were bought or natural, and so on. The more trustworthy the site linking to you, the more trust you'll gain. Over time, this factor will help your promotion.
The landing page
A landing page is the page a user lands on after typing a query into the search box. It should be optimised not only for search bots but also "for people". To get maximum conversions, a landing page should use the following tools:
— An attractive, memorable unique selling proposition (USP). The headline should give an idea of the products or services you offer.
— Content that fits your niche. The page should answer the user's query and promote your product based on its benefits and uniqueness.
— The advantages of buying from your company. Tell visitors why, all else being equal, they should choose you.
— Content structure. Use different formats for quick, easy reading: photos and videos, comparison tables, charts, etc.
— Attractive design. The site should look logical and appealing, with special attention to navigation. Intuitive sites attract the most traffic.
— A call to action. A landing page should prompt people to act: call the number, fill in a contact form or submit an online request. This way you'll get the maximum response from potential customers and collect data you can use to build mailing lists.
What is an SEO analysis
Before promoting a domain, run a thorough SEO analysis — checking how well the site matches users' main queries. The analysis will reveal the site's strengths and weaknesses and the problem areas that need optimisation. A content plan for promotion and the main direction of development are based on a thorough comparative SEO analysis.
A quality SEO analysis involves the following:
— Analysing site errors, removing duplicate pages and search junk. Eliminating factors that slow down promotion and indexing.
— Analysing the published content (its effectiveness for marketing and SEO, structure, relevance, usefulness and readability).
— Assessing the landing page's key elements and how well they match users' queries in Google. The title, description, H1 heading and content should contain the keyword in different forms. You also need to check the links on the page.
Search volume and keyword competition
How popular a query is depends on how often it's searched over a certain period. A calendar month is usually used as the basis for analysis.
By search volume, there are 3 categories of queries:
1. High-volume. These are searched most often. Such queries usually consist of one word: windows, doors, cars.
2. Mid-volume. This group usually includes two-word phrases: windows Kyiv, double bed.
3. Low-volume. These are searched least often and consist of three or more words: buy a sofa in Odesa, shoe repair Dnipro, etc. Users searching low-volume queries are potential customers and the site's target audience.
Another fundamental SEO parameter is "competition": how much demand there is for a query and how many companies are promoting for it. There are 3 types of queries:
1) Low-competition. The least popular and therefore cheapest queries. With minimal investment they bring maximum return and can quickly push a site into the top.
2) Medium-competition. Sites in this category rank more slowly, and promotion costs more.
3) High-competition. Very popular and expensive queries; optimising for them takes the longest and is the hardest because of the many direct competitors.
Besides these parameters, many other factors affect results: domain age, advertising, a social media blog, the chosen topic, the quality of the SEO specialist's work, mobile and desktop versions, etc.
