Search engines exist to help people find what they need, be it a service, a nearby local shoe store, or their favorite coffee shop. The algorithm behind the search engine is not a set of random factors chosen by the developers. Rather, it’s based on customer trends and user experience, and it should reflect the most appropriate, effective solution to a problem.

To reach the top results of Google, then, you need to be the answer to your customers’ queries, in whatever form they come, which depends on a variety of factors. From voice search optimization, keyword implementation, content volume and quality, location, all the way to the actual experience you provide through speed and ease of navigation.

This is all an intricate network that defines how well your brand serves your customers’ needs and preferences. To gain more visibility, you need to make sure that you live up to your promises, or preferably exceed them, and that you have ample recognition in your target demographic. Here are a few methods to help you claim those top spots in Google over time.

Make sure your website works in your favor

The look and feel of your website serve more than an aesthetic purpose. How you build your web presence will determine how high you can rank in Google based on a myriad of factors. Your site’s loading speed is crucial, while ease of navigation and mobile optimization both make your site more relevant for search engines.

Each of these and many other website ranking factors are regularly updated, so it’s best to stay in the SEO loop and continuously learn about how Google adapts its ranking factors.

Localization for reaching more people

Targeting any specific market is difficult no matter how exquisite your services might be. If you’re trying to earn the spotlight in a densely-populated place such as New York, and you have a shop or an office there, you need to stand out among thousands of others just like yourself. For Google to put you towards the forefront and rank you higher, you need to implement the latest local SEO best practices for your industry.

That means claiming your business in various online directories, ensuring NAP consistency across the board, and most importantly, ongoing localization of your content to ensure greater visibility for your local audience. To do that, many businesses rely on specialized SEO services in New York to rank higher with the help of the most cutting-edge strategies available. It’s vital to recognize that this, among other SEO tactics, is not a one-time effort, but a commitment that takes expertise and intimate knowledge of your target market.

Make use of various tools

As a business owner, you are driven by emotion and ambition, and even though you might be able to remain impartial when using data in your strategies, there are all kinds of marketing and SEO tools to help you achieve better results online.

Build your own toolbox and rely on the best SEO tool online to continuously refine your presence, research keywords with ease, and recognize the shortcomings of your current strategy. From maintenance, monitoring, to report-making, these tools can simplify your strategy and help you keep up with your competitors to outrank them online.

Ongoing content creation and link-building

Google loves nothing more than quality, extensive, informative content. Of course, other factors also come into play, such as keywords, mobile optimization for readability, diversity in terms of formats, and the like. Taking care of all that often means that you should employ experts to ensure a continuous output of relevant, trend-driven content.

Add to that, your ranking depends on how useful the rest of the internet finds you to be. That said, you need to be recognized by others in your industry, by your customers and users, all through links that you’ve dispersed through white-hat SEO. If you try to get more links by brute force, you’ll simply be penalized by Google, hence the need to practice approved methods of link-building only.

User-generated content

Engagement is a multilayered beast, and it doesn’t end or begin with your website. However, what you do with your brand reputation can create enough buzz around your brand to help Google understand just how relevant your business truly is. That means that you should leverage your existing customer experiences by publishing reviews on your website, and by inspiring them to post them on Google and other review platforms online.

They help Google realize that customers are happy with your service, which makes the search engine far more inclined to send more people your way when they search for your services. Reviews are yet another opportunity for organic keyword implementation, since your customers will naturally use positive phrases in relation to your core service to talk about your brand. Plus, customer-made videos, blogs, and other content forms help them feel like a part of your brand story, and that alone will likely get more people eager to take part in what you do online. Google recognizes and rewards such effort over time.

Search engine optimization is a constantly-changing game, and it pushes all players to put their best foot forward every single day. Every interaction with your customers is another opportunity to earn a strong review, while every time you publish something relevant is a chance to earn a link on a trustworthy, industry-relevant platform.

SEO is made up of all those little efforts, and it requires constant growth to truly put you on the digital map, so let these tactics work in your favor, and always refine them as trends change to make sure your business will always be relevant.

Author Bio:

Jolene Rutherford is a marketing specialist – turned blogger, currently writing for technivorz.com. Interested in digital marketing and new technology trends. Love sharing content that can help and inform people.