Appearing on Top of Google SERPS – How Getting Toronto SEO Services Can Help?

Getting prominent placements on Google search results pages can benefit businesses in plenty of ways. However, there are no guaranteed techniques to always end up on top of Google’s SERPs. That’s because Google evaluates user intent behind all searchers and provides them with links that are directly related to the search terms, past user behavior on Google, and user locations. For instance, if a user types “best shoes,” Google will display websites that are relevant in terms of the user’s location and websites that the user has previously visited. Of course, paying Google to get top links is a different ball game. However, there are ways to organically appear on top of Google SERPs.

Organic Results

A recent study of billions of Google search results discovered that 25% of searchers click on the top link. The number of engagements websites receive from Google depends a lot on their SERP rankings. Ranking in the second position is also great. But, as we go down the list of search results, engagement steadily decreases.

Unintentionally, Google has started rewarding websites in the top positions disproportionately high. Ending up on top of the pile, organically is a long and complicated process. However, websites must not get complacent with their SEO efforts once they start ranking high. If a website gradually progresses from page ten to page one in six months, it must persistently boost its SEO efforts until it earns the top rank. Yes, the competition amongst websites for the top spot is ferocious, but websites need to consistently stay in ‘aggression mode’ to boost their chances.

Google’s Featured Snippets

Another excellent way of topping Google’s search rankings is appearing on its ‘Featured Snippets’ section. These small text boxes are displayed by Google when searchers ask specific questions. Featured Snippet receives close to 8% of all clicks. These text boxes are called ‘position zero’ as they appear above all regular results.

Google is still A/B testing the ‘featured snippets’ feature. Their aim is to improve searcher satisfaction. So, there’s no guaranteed way of having your website in the featured snippets section. Part of their A/B testing is to change entries on featured snippets from time to time. So, websites that lose rankings may lose this coveted spot after a period. Still, if websites want their content to be displayed on the ‘featured snippets’ section, they must –

• Summarize answers of commonly searched questions (related to their industry or expertise) in one paragraph.
• Make sure they first achieve a ranking on Google’s first search results page. Only websites that rank in the first few positions of Google’s SERPS qualify for the ‘featured snippets’ section.
• Optimize the website by structuring it properly and adding keyword-friendly headings. Google’s algorithms first have to understand webpages appropriately before mining the text that’ll be displayed in the featured snippets section.
• Optimize images using keywords.
• Answer commonly searched questions from the ‘People also ask’ section in separate blog posts.

If the website is lucky, Google’s algorithm may also grab the website’s business description, increasing the likelihood of user engagement.

Google Local Businesses

Local businesses must be well aware of Google Maps’ listings that show up on top of search result pages whenever the searched words have ‘local intent.’ Businesses must create and optimize their ‘My Business’ pages on Google to ensure the next time a potential client located nearby looks up for a specific service/product; their website is displayed on Google’s Local Businesses section.

How Can SEO Experts Help Business Websites Achieve These Results?

Businesses that get Toronto SEO services usually have their websites achieve top positions on Google’s SERPs. Professional SEO experts spend multiple hours ensuring their clients’ visibility on the most used website is maximum. Here’s what SEO experts do to boost their client’s SERP rankings –

• Assessing Google’s Perspective

SEO experts crawl their clients’ websites, similar to Google’s algorithms. Of course, it’s still unclear how Google ranks websites. But, every year or two, the search engine company releases updates regarding their search policies. SEO experts identify potential red flags in their clients’ websites. They use this information to optimize underperforming webpages on the website.

• Mobile Responsiveness

Since 2016, Google has started treating websites that load on both phones and PCs more favorably over others. SEO experts conduct speed tests on their clients’ websites to recognize and eliminate elements that may be negatively impacting their mobile responsiveness.

• Technical Overhaul

Sometimes, minor technical issues prevent websites from ranking higher. SEO experts assess these technical or admin issues and correct them to improve website performance.

• Google Analytics Data

SEO experts assess the latest traffic trends to ensure their clients’ websites make the most of them. They keep track of major algorithm updates and recommend the best SEO practices.

Overall, these experts make their clients’ websites genuinely relevant and as user-friendly as possible!