Everyone wants to be there but it’s hard to get there. Where? The #1 spot on Google of course. The internet is a competitive place and there are so many websites out there creating amazing content that dominates the search results.

You’re creating awesome content too but your blog posts aren’t anywhere near the top spot on Google. Your content can be the most useful and entertaining but that’s not enough to beat out the first-place holders for their spot. So how do you get there?

Get your website to the top of search engine results, here’s how to use blogging to rank #1 on Google.

Create pillar pages.

One way to get your website to the top of Google is to focus on creating pillar pages. What is a pillar page, you might ask? A pillar page essentially helps organize your website and blog content according to how people search the web for information. A pillar page or blog post is basically a comprehensive guide on the topic you want to rank for.

For instance, if you have many blog posts about how to use Pinterest in your marketing, a pillar page would be an in-depth guide to marketing with Pinterest overall. Then all of your many blog posts on Pinterest can link back to your Pinterest pillar post. This will make it easier for your readers to learn everything they need to know on your blog. It also helps you rank higher in Google because users are now searching the web using longer and more conversational search queries. Organizing your content around a pillar page will help Google easily identify that your content is answering the search queries of users.

Here’s a visual example via Hubspot below:

Create a buyer persona for your ideal audience using Hubspot’s free Persona Templates and determine a broad topic that your audience would be searching the web for. Choose a topic that’s not only valuable to your readers but one that’s broad enough to allow you to come up with a number of specific keywords for subtopics that are related to your pillar page topic.

You’ve seen featured snippets before; they’re the results that show at the very top of the page when you ask Google a question, even before the #1 spot, that don’t just include a link to an article but feature a sneak peak at the answer the article provides. These featured snippets get more views and clicks which means more visibility for your blog. So, when creating your content you need to answer questions to grab that featured snippet spot and improve your ranking.

While there’s no guarantee to getting a featured snippet, if your content can answer questions, you’ll improve your chances. With some research and brainstorming, find out what questions your audience would be asking on the web and answer them. You should use the question for the H2 heading, for example, “What is a pillar post?” And then provide the answer starting with “A pillar post is…”. When you optimize your content for featured snippets, you have a much better chance at reaching a larger audience.

Create linkable content.

Adding links to your blog posts not only make your blog more authoritative but they also give you a boost in search engine results ranking. Creating “linkable” content can even make your blog posts go viral. By creating content with valuable links, you’ll be able to get more shares and more links pointing back to your blog and website which will help you nab the top spot on Google.

PiktoChart: https://piktochart.com/blog/how-to-create-an-infographic-and-other-visual-projects-in-5-minutes/

For instance, you could create a post about your industry statistics that links back to high-quality and trusted sources – this type of content will get shared and linked by tons of your peers in the industry. You could also create an eye-catching infographic with embedded html that makes it easy for someone else to copy and paste on their own website. If you think you have to be a graphic designer to create a beautiful infographic, think again. You can use a free tool like PiktoChart to easily craft stunning infographics that will get a ton of shares and engagement.

Encourage comments.

The comment section is a great way to develop relationships with your readers but did you know that your comment section can also help to improve your SEO? According to studies, the longer your content is the higher it ranks in search engine results. But before you start attempting to write insanely wordy blog posts, know that your comment section counts as part of your content too. This means if you have a healthy comment section filled with quality comments, your content will be ranked higher on Google.

To encourage more of your readers to comment on your posts and improve your SEO there are a number of simple tactics you can use including:

  • Ask a question at the end of your post
  • Ask readers to share their thoughts at the end of a post
  • Reply to comments to encourage more conversation
  • Make it easy to comment – don’t make users login to comment
  • Comment on other blogs

A comment section that’s bustling with activity is sure to let search engines know your content is entertaining and important.

Getting to the #1 spot on Google might have seemed impossible before, but with these tips your blog will rise to the top and be found by hoards of people online. So, get out there and start implementing these strategies and your blog will soon soar to new heights.