How I Ranked #1 On Google: The Immediate Traffic Surprised Me
Here’s the exact step-by-step process.
Google is the most popular search engine globally, and ranking high on Google can be a make-or-break for any business. So, how do you rank #1 on Google overnight? In this post, I’ll walk you through what I did to rank an article at the top of Google’s search results from day 1. Keep in mind that this may not work for everyone, but this model works well for me.
Notice: I have affiliate relationships with the software I use and benefit from my affiliate links.
The Results
Three days after publishing a blog post, I noticed traffic arriving on the page via Google. Surprised, I headed over to my keyword tracking tool (I use SEMrush) to see how this page was generating traffic so quickly.
The page landed in position #1 right out of the gate. It didn’t rank in position 35 and work its way up; it started in position one.
With a monthly search volume of 3,600, it became my top traffic earner overnight.
Here’s how.
Keyword Research
Creating content that can rank on Google starts with keyword research. Most keyword tools today give a keyword phrase a keyword difficulty score. The higher the score, the more difficult it will be to rank for that keyword phrase, primarily based on the backlink profile of the top-ranking pages for that keyword.
In other words, a new website with a low number of backlinks will have a hard time competing with domains that have a robust backlink profile.
[A backlink is simply a link from one website to another.]
After doing some preliminary research, I found a low competition keyword phrase with a decent search volume.
The search volume is an estimate only but gives you an idea of how many times that keyword is searched on Google each month.
I use my Keyword tool to find keywords to enter a general topic. Then, I use the filters to sort by lowest keyword difficulty first and start creating content.
Topical Authority
It’s also important to note that Google works diligently to discover what your website is about. The more “on-topic” your content is to what Google believes your website is about, the quicker and higher your pages will rank on Google.
In this case, I already have topical authority in the niche that my content was about, so that was helpful.
But what if you don’t have topical authority?
One way to gain topical authority is to guest post on high Domain Authority websites in your niche. DA is a metric created by Moz that rates the overall “authority” of a domain. My keyword tool calls this Authority Score or AS. The authority score is calculated based on the number and quality of backlinks for the most part.
By guest posting on high DA websites, you can start to build your website’s authority in the eyes of Google.
And if you aren’t doing blog outreach for backlinks, you can build topical authority over time by creating a lot of quality content focused on a specific topic.
Creating Content That Ranks
There’s no doubt that Google has gotten smarter over the years and can determine the quality of a website’s content. In fact, one of the main factors that go into your ranking on Google is how well your content answers the searcher’s question or responds to the searcher’s intent.
To rank quickly on Google, you need to create content that is not only high-quality but responds directly to the query.
One strategy that bloggers often miss is checking Google to see what type of content is already ranking.
When you type your target keyword into Google, you can look at the SERP (search engines result page) and quickly evaluate how well an article might perform.
If the SERP shows videos in the top 3 positions, your article is not likely to rank in the top 3 positions. Instead, you would need a video.
When the SERP returns articles, you are in an excellent position to rank. What’s more, is when you see a forum ranking on page one, you have a great chance of ranking quickly.
In other words, the SERP is a good indicator of what Google is currently looking for.
After researching my target keyword, I found that the top-ranking articles were only 600 words long. The target keyword was scored 34 out of 100 for keyword difficulty, and with my domain authority, I knew that it would be an easy target.
In addition, Quora, which is a forum, had a question ranking on page one of Google for this term.
The Overall Strategy
So, to rank quickly, I needed to write an article that was around 600 words long and target the keyword phrase. I wrote an 800-word list post.
I used my AI writing assistant to complete the blog in a short amount of time. The paragraph generator was a time-saver for sure.
I also needed to answer the searcher’s question directly in my content. Most of the ranking pages didn’t directly address the topic, so I focused specifically on the direct keyword and didn’t add any “fluff” to the content.
I optimized the headline for the highest click-through rate potential. I use the AIOSEO plugin for WordPress, which has an AI that analyzes your data and gives you a score for your headline.
In addition, I have Index Now set up using the AIOSEO Plugin, which submits the article to the search engines immediately and automatically.
Finally, I used an internal linking strategy to pass link equity to my new page from a page with more authority. This prevents “orphaned content,” which are pages that have no internal links. Google can discover and index orphaned pages, but it’s not as likely as if you had a linking strategy in place.
I use the Link Whisper plugin for internal linking, although AIOSEO also has a new linking tool onboard.
After following these simple steps, I was able to rank number one on Google for my target keyword overnight!
By doing all of these things, I was able to rank number one on Google for my target keyword phrase within a few days. It likely entered within 24-hours, but I didn’t observe the traffic immediately.
So, if you’re looking to rank quickly on Google, follow these simple steps:
- Do Keyword research, and find low competition phrases
- Write high-quality content that directly answers the searcher’s question.
- Use an AI writing assistant to speed up the process.
- Optimize your headline for click-through rate.
- Set up Index Now using AIOSEO or another tool.
- Use an internal linking strategy with a plugin like Link Whisper.
- Monitor your rankings and traffic over time.
The steps above are a surefire way to rank quickly on Google. You can ensure that your content is of the highest quality and responds directly to the searcher’s intent by following these simple tips. In addition, you’ll be able to rank quickly and dominate your competition!
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