How to rank first page on Google

Step #1. Choose a keyword

Most of you have probably done this already but if you haven’t, you need to choose a keyword that you want to rank for on the first page of Google.

Step #2. Check the competition

Just as it’d be tough to start a successful variety store across the road from Walmart, it’s hard to rank on the first page of Google when competition is fierce. So the next step is to understand the competitive landscape—starting with who you’re up against.

To do that, search for your keyword and look at the first page of results.

If they’re all from huge well-known brands and you’re a startup that nobody’s ever heard of, getting to the first page is going to be pretty tough—at least in the short-to-medium term.

For example, look at the search results for “dresses.”

Step #3. Choose or create a page (that aligns with search intent)

It’s important to realize that Google ranks web pages, not websites.

For example, we rank on the first page for “where to get backlinks” and “where to buy backlinks” with two different pages.

Now, the page you want to rank on Google might be your homepage, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be any page. Just make sure it aligns with search intent (i.e., is the type of content Google wants to rank for your target keyword).

How do you check this? Compare it to what’s already ranking on the first page.

You’ll have an easier time ranking if your page aligns with the three C’s of search intent, which are:

Content-type;Content format;Content angle

Let’s break these down.

Content-type

This is the most common “type” of content in search results. It’ll usually be one of these:

Blog post;Product page (a page about a single product);Category page (a page showing multiple products);Landing page (a page pitching a product or service)

You can get a sense of the dominant content type by looking at page titles and URLs.

For example, we can see that all the pages ranking for “how to make pancakes” are blog posts…