The population is going digital, more than 80% of the population has access to the Internet. Google is one of the most popular search engines, it alone holds 91.99% of the search market share in 2021. It, therefore, seems necessary to appear on this search engine.

There are different ways to increase your visibility or simply to appear on the Internet… To do this, we will see how Google works, the opportunities to appear for free on the results pages, and some techniques to be more visible.

How does the Google search engine work?

Google is primarily an online database (index) where websites are listed. This index is constantly updated thanks to crawlers. In this database, Google gathers a lot of information for each page such as the address (URL), the content, the elements that make it up (title, images, etc.), and outgoing and incoming links. To this are added various elements calculated using algorithms of which he has the secret.

This information will allow him to determine, depending on the request, when this or that page should be displayed in the results pages (SERP).

The place of content to be visible on the Google search engine is increasingly important. The level of requirement also increases over time. Google is becoming more quality-conscious. We must provide Google with value-added content, and texts that answer the questions of Internet users, and that give satisfaction to visitors. This is what any site manager must have in mind, to satisfy his prospects and his customers.

How to appear on Google for free?

First scenario: you want to appear on Google, without having a website.

• Google My Business Profile or “Business Listing” (formerly Google My Business) is a web page representing your business. You can enter your address, telephone number, and opening hours, and integrate photos, videos, and other useful information. This data can thus be consulted by Internet users. This makes it easy for you to have an online presence for free. We advise any company, especially those whose catchment area is local, to create a Google My Business Profile which allows them to integrate the results of Google Maps. Among the elements that will allow you to stand out from other companies, there are seniority, customer reviews, proximity, and your activity on Google My Business Profile (photos, publications, etc.).

• Social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. whose business pages are indexed by Google. If you are looking to have a presence on the Internet and want to maintain a link with your customers, then use these social platforms.

• Specialized websites depending on your sector of activity. If we take the example of restaurants, Tripadvisor meets these criteria. This site will manage to position itself on competitive requests, which you could hardly do. By registering on this site, you will be able to appear in a good position through it.

How do I get my site to appear in Google?

You have just created your site, but it is not automatically visible on Google. As described above, your site must be known and indexed by Google, this can be done in two ways:

• By getting a link from an outside site to your site. By discovering this link Google will discover your site and may add it to its index (database). These are backlinking techniques… To learn more about how to get better and more traffic on your website or blog, it’s here. 

• Ask for your pages to be indexed via the Google Search Console. Please note, this can take several days or several weeks and does not guarantee the indexing of your content. You can track this progress with the Indexing Status Report or the URL Inspection Tool. This sends the indexing request directly to Google.

You are now indexed on Google, but that does not mean that you are on the first page or that the traffic will flood in at once. Do not confuse indexing and positioning.

How to get more visibility on Google Search Engine?

To increase your traffic, you have to be highlighted by Google. To be promoted by Google, your site must earn the trust of Google.

It should be noted that 95% of Internet user clicks are made on the first page. In addition, the first three non-advertising positions of Google represent 70% of clicks, they are called the Golden Triangle of SERPs (Search Engine Result Page). The first position garners 50% of user clicks. This first page is a strategic position to aim for. There are two methods to gain visibility on Google.

Paid Advertising (Search Engine Advertising)

Paid referencing (or advertising) consists of buying keywords in order to display an ad at the top of the search results pages when a user types in a query related to them. This mechanism can be activated on Google using the Google Ads advertising network (formerly Adwords), and in particular via the Google Ads “Search” campaign type. You then serve ads and only pay when someone clicks on them.

Reach the first page of Google quickly

SEA allows you to instantly gain traffic and visibility. This strategy requires spending money to get promoted by Google and stops as soon as you stop paying. If your goal is to have immediate results, this is the tool to use. You can find qualified prospects interested in your services and products.

Accurate monitoring of your expenses

Thanks to the Google Ads platform, you can create campaigns that each has a budget that cannot be exceeded. You can decide the maximum price you are willing to invest per click on your ad. You will only pay if a user clicks on one of your sponsored links. You can follow the performance of your campaigns on Google Ads, stop them or reduce their budget.

Precise targeting

Google Ads allows you to position yourself on specific keywords and therefore to appear on the searches that Internet users will carry out. It is possible for you to target the exact audience you want to reach and thus not lose money with Internet users who will not or hardly convert. There are three possible targets:

• Geographic targeting: you can target a state, a postal code, a city, a country, or several of these elements.
• Targeting by language: you choose which language the Internet user speaks.
• Targeting by device: you tell Google that you want to reach Internet users who use a mobile, a tablet or/and a computer to carry out their research.

Create your first Google Ads campaign

Google’s advertising network is open to all advertisers. You can therefore create your own campaigns. We advise you all the same, before starting, to master the good practices of this tool and also to pass the Google Ads certifications beforehand. We also provide you with a guide to help you create your first Google campaigns.

Despite these resources, online advertising remains real expertise, which is why we recommend that you be accompanied by a Google Ads agency that will be able to frame your campaigns, monitor your objectives, and optimize your performance.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

This strategy allows you not to pay to be visible on search engines. But it requires regularity, rigor, resources, and time to position yourself on the first page of Google thanks to SEO. You should know that each web page can be positioned on various keywords or queries. To appear on the first page of Google, your site must be among the first 10 sites selected by Google.

Define your keywords

To define your keywords, you need to know what keywords your prospects are typing to find a product, a service, a service like the one you offer. If you are looking to generate leads, you need to position yourself on transactional keywords (a need to purchase your services or products). There are two criteria defining a keyword; the number of monthly searches and its difficulty in positioning. If you hope to get results quickly, focus your efforts on keywords that offer little difficulty and have a little research, long-tail keywords. It can also be interesting to position your blog on informational keywords to increase your notoriety.

You can use different tools to know which keyword to position yourself on. Google Ads provides a free “Keyword Planner” tool that lets you know the search volume and the associated average cost per click.

Optimizing your content

Each site has a trust index coming from its content, inbound links, and notoriety. It is partly thanks to this that Google will be able to determine the position of a site for a given query (keyword). Thus offering the Internet user quality content. If Google thinks the user is looking for a local product or service then it activates “Local Map Pack” which will show Google Maps below the results.

We will focus on optimizing your existing content:

• The title tag: corresponds to the title of your page that will appear in Google results (SERP), it must be between 50 and 65 characters.
• The meta description describes your page in Google results, it must have a maximum of 150 characters.
• Optimize your titles: you only need to have an H1 title and a good hierarchy of H2 and H3 subtitles. Titles should contain the keywords you are working on the page.
• Optimize your photos: photos must have an “alt” attribute describing them with their context. Remember to add as much of a caption below the image as possible.

All this information can be found through chrome plugins like “SEO META 1 Click”. This will allow Google to better understand which keywords you want to rank for. This represents the basics of on-page optimization.

Create content

We advise you to create a publication schedule for your articles. Most companies opt for creating a blog in order to share their news, articles or tips, etc. In addition to the previous optimizations, it is important to keep a number of rules in mind:

• each page must be optimized for at least one keyword, a key expression: the keywords must be present in the titles at least H2
• fresh content: Google appreciates that a website frequently publishes new articles with unique and relevant content. If you need help creating an efficient SEO strategy, you can go through an SEO Agency in Lahore, an expert in the field.

Conclusion

To appear on Google, you need to devote time and energy to it. To place yourself on the first page of Google, you can therefore use PPC and SEO techniques. If you want to go further, we can help you define your overall digital strategy.