Getting listed on Google is a prime concern for website owners because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing them to get far more eyes on their content in the long run. However, the process of reaching the SERP is in and of itself relatively challenging. Furthermore, cracking into the top ten on the very first page of the SERP is a different matter entirely, and many website owners struggle to figure it out.
A new study released by Semrush sought to demystify the techniques and tactics that can be used to rank as highly as possible on Google’s SERP. In order to gather the data, the researchers contributing to this study analyzed over 28,000 web domains that covered a wide range of areas and niches. Out of all of these websites, just 7.65% managed to stay in the top ten for the entire duration of the 13 month long study.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the vast majority of the top 100 sites that stayed in their positions for all 13 months had at least one backlink leading to them. 92.3% of these websites used backlinks to great effect, which just goes to show that this is a fundamental aspect of managing your SEO that can lead to amazing results if used in an appropriate manner.
Now, breaking into the top ten is no mean feat, but staying there for any extended period of time can be excessively challenging with all things having been considered and taken into account. For one thing, just 19% of all websites were able to stay within the top ten past six months. After this period elapsed, most websites began to fall off the radar due to one reason or another. This might indicate that a consistent and proactive approach is usually required to keep things running smoothly.
To expand on the benefits of backlinks a bit further, 55.1% of domains that were unable to enter the top ten at any point during this study did not have any backlinks. As a result, establishing a few backlinks should be the first step that you should take in order to start moving in a positive enough direction.
Another thing that might be useful in pushing ever upwards in search engine results page rankings is ascertaining which keyword length you should strive to aim for. Based on the findings presented within this study, sites that entered the top ten had keywords that were between 3.2 and 3.5 words long on average. This suggests that overly long keywords are not the right way to go, especially now that Google is prioritizing quality over quantity each and every time.
However, that’s not to say that the content itself can’t be long form. While a relatively short keyword is enough to do the trick, top ranking content was about 3.5 times longer than the bottom ranking content. As a result, website owners should ideally try to create comprehensive articles that are packed with information and only use keywords when they are absolutely necessary. A qualitative approach is essential here in order to make headway.
It might be tempting to go for the long haul and try to stay in the top ten for as long as possible, but the data suggests that it might be too difficult. Just 5% of all sites can stay on the first page for an entire year, and the intense competition in this space could create considerable hurdles on numerous fronts.
Top ten ranking sites stand to gain a lot, since they can draw 4,000 organic visitors every month just from Google search. With 44.9% of sites reaching the top ten at some point or another, not to mention how critical backlinks were to this accomplishment, it might be a good idea to start focusing on them rather than the old school keyword stuffing approach.
Getting referrals from other domains can also be a big boost, as would keeping keyword size to the right level. A research heavy approach can come in clutch here, since there are far too many moving parts to figure things out as they proceed.
Read next: Title Tags With Keywords Have 85% Chance of Top 5 Spot on Google’s SERP
A new study released by Semrush sought to demystify the techniques and tactics that can be used to rank as highly as possible on Google’s SERP. In order to gather the data, the researchers contributing to this study analyzed over 28,000 web domains that covered a wide range of areas and niches. Out of all of these websites, just 7.65% managed to stay in the top ten for the entire duration of the 13 month long study.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the vast majority of the top 100 sites that stayed in their positions for all 13 months had at least one backlink leading to them. 92.3% of these websites used backlinks to great effect, which just goes to show that this is a fundamental aspect of managing your SEO that can lead to amazing results if used in an appropriate manner.
Now, breaking into the top ten is no mean feat, but staying there for any extended period of time can be excessively challenging with all things having been considered and taken into account. For one thing, just 19% of all websites were able to stay within the top ten past six months. After this period elapsed, most websites began to fall off the radar due to one reason or another. This might indicate that a consistent and proactive approach is usually required to keep things running smoothly.
To expand on the benefits of backlinks a bit further, 55.1% of domains that were unable to enter the top ten at any point during this study did not have any backlinks. As a result, establishing a few backlinks should be the first step that you should take in order to start moving in a positive enough direction.
Another thing that might be useful in pushing ever upwards in search engine results page rankings is ascertaining which keyword length you should strive to aim for. Based on the findings presented within this study, sites that entered the top ten had keywords that were between 3.2 and 3.5 words long on average. This suggests that overly long keywords are not the right way to go, especially now that Google is prioritizing quality over quantity each and every time.
However, that’s not to say that the content itself can’t be long form. While a relatively short keyword is enough to do the trick, top ranking content was about 3.5 times longer than the bottom ranking content. As a result, website owners should ideally try to create comprehensive articles that are packed with information and only use keywords when they are absolutely necessary. A qualitative approach is essential here in order to make headway.
It might be tempting to go for the long haul and try to stay in the top ten for as long as possible, but the data suggests that it might be too difficult. Just 5% of all sites can stay on the first page for an entire year, and the intense competition in this space could create considerable hurdles on numerous fronts.
Top ten ranking sites stand to gain a lot, since they can draw 4,000 organic visitors every month just from Google search. With 44.9% of sites reaching the top ten at some point or another, not to mention how critical backlinks were to this accomplishment, it might be a good idea to start focusing on them rather than the old school keyword stuffing approach.
Getting referrals from other domains can also be a big boost, as would keeping keyword size to the right level. A research heavy approach can come in clutch here, since there are far too many moving parts to figure things out as they proceed.
Read next: Title Tags With Keywords Have 85% Chance of Top 5 Spot on Google’s SERP
