If you are hoping to rise to the top of search results, the key is to start small. While seemingly counterintuitive, specialization is the key to befriending Google, according to Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s webspam team.
Building Your Reputation
In a recent seminar, Cutts advised business owners, “If you want to get a reputation, start small, expand in your niche.” For example, rather than targeting the general, universal term of “content,” Communicate Better’s website focuses on becoming an authority on SEO content and SEO website copy. If you want to break into the insurance industry, instead of attempting to rank for the broad term “insurance,” a more powerful strategy would be to publish SEO content on umbrella insurance in California, for example.
When Google begins to view your website as an authority site for your niche, you gain credibility and relevance, which builds your long-term reputation for the search engines (and customers!). Starting with small niche steps not only builds your short-term search results and traffic, but is the building blocks to ranking well in the long-term for your broad terms.
Riding the Success of Long Tail Keywords
Although the long-term goal of many websites is to rank in the first position for their industry’s most powerful one-word keyword, this should not be your primary strategy. Instead, target relevant long-tail keywords through your SEO content, which not only have less competition for rankings, but will likely result in more targeted traffic and conversions. According to Search Engine Watch’s Josh McCoy, “…when you look at the big picture all the long tail keyword traffic…will collectively drive much more traffic to the site and convert better than the competitive broad term that became an obsession.”
Consider your own psychology and behavior when you conduct a search. If you are looking to hire a writer for your website, do you type “writer” into the Google search bar, or do you utilize the more effective phrase “SEO content writer” instead?
In addition, you can experience higher rankings in the search results more quickly with long-tail keywords – which means more traffic and more sales both now and in the future.
Rather than exhaust your efforts in fighting the war for placement for your broad terms, why not win plenty of battles in ranking for niche, long-tail keywords?
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