Perks of a Page One SERP

I had a discovery call with a new client the other day, and the meeting was just rolling along. We had the number of pages, page titles, and timelines worked out, and then I asked about their SEO strategy to reap the perks of a Page One SERP. (Search Engine Results Page)

Crickets.

Assuming they didn't hear me, I asked again.

I heard some papers shuffling, so I knew we were still connected, and then the prospect asked, "So, what's the big deal about a Page One listing?"

I about spit my soda out.

Then he explained that he plans to drive traffic to the website via PPC ads, so he wouldn't need to spend the time or money to get to Page One. Besides, some of his friends have "gotten on that SEO train and wasted tons of time and money."

I was frantically jumping up and down on the inside. But I kept my cool and asked another question, "Where is the best place to hide a dead body?"

Crickets. Again.

"On the second (or any other) page of Google, of course!"

Sorry, just an old SEO joke there.

There are two ways to get traffic to your website; you can chase down prospects with PPC ads (Pay Per Click) or let potential customers find you on the highly-coveted Page One for your keyword.

The PPC mentality costs you money, while getting to Page One requires time.

The big perk about PPC is you can potentially have traffic to your site within a couple of hours. And they'll keep coming in as long as your wallet is open.

The great news about a Page One SERP is the main cost is time, not dollars. After you make changes to your website, it can take 90-120 days before the needle moves. For example, I moved my website from page 10 to Page One in about six-months time.

So, what's the payoff for that investment of time, you wonder?

Most of my clients find me via the terms construction copywriter, building materials copywriter, or freelance B2B copywriter. The rest come from referrals; I don't advertise anywhere, and I've yet to make a cold call or send a cold email.

Getting to Page One has simplified my schedule and given me more time to write since I'm not constantly marketing my services across different platforms.

Organic Traffic for Your Website

Free organic traffic is the biggest perk of a Page One SERP, thanks to internet math. The more times you appear in the SERPs, the more chances for a client to visit your site.

Let's say your CTR (Click Through Rate) is at 1%.

For one hundred visitors, you would get one click-through.

If you increase the visitor count to one thousand, that would mean ten click-throughs for your website. That's ten times the potential clients due to a Page One ranking and the increased traffic.

It's true; getting to Page One can be a challenge depending on your niche and products. But, once you get there, it doesn't take much effort to stay there. You've probably seen these stats before, but here they are again.

Recent studies have shown that Page One gets between 70-90% of all visitor clicks from the search results page.
If you are currently on Page Two and thinking that's OK, only 6% of all visitor clicks go to Page Two listings.

Now that SEO joke makes more sense, doesn't it?

And a couple more factoids for you to consider before we move on.

Over 80% of daily search queries (5.6 billion - estimated) occur on a mobile device. However, rather than clicking through to page two, most mobile users will enter a new search term.

I'm almost positive that everyone knows that the top four and bottom three spots of Page One are PPC ads. And most searchers have learned to disregard them and scroll down to the organic listings.

Increased Trust for Your Business

Another perk of a Page One SERP means that you have met Google's stringent ranking criteria better than 99.99% of the other websites that exist. Because Google says you are the best, it's much easier for clients to feel comfortable buying your products or services.

I always ask my prospects how they found me during our initial discovery call. A few always respond that they read one of my guest blog posts and followed the author link back to my site. But the majority say they found me on Page One of the SERPs.

If you search for a construction copywriter, you'll see that there are 11,600,000 potential matches. Scroll down slightly, and you can find my site hovering between spots 5-7.

I can't think of an ad, headline, teaser, or bullet point that can even come close to conveying this same message of credibility and trustworthiness, no matter the character count.

Improve Your Industry Visibility

A Page One SERP is the new "location, location, location" for businesses today. Your brand awareness gets another slight boost every time your website appears in the SERPs.

The more familiar your brand or company becomes, the easier connecting and engaging with potential clients. Improved SERP visibility can also lead to other business opportunities beyond copywriting.

• Guest blogging positions

• Podcast interviews

• Panel discussions

• Public speaking

• Consulting projects

Many A-list copywriters have branched into teaching, creating courses, or running private mastermind groups. By staying visible front and center with a Page One SERP, you begin to establish yourself as an industry expert or SME (Subject Matter Expert) within your niche or industry.

One of my current projects is Foundryy.com, the online resource for becoming a contractor. The project started as a simple website content project but has morphed into a steady mix of writing, consulting, and podcast interviews. I expect this project to last into late summer or early fall 2022.

And yes, Matt found me via his construction copywriter search.

Are You on Page One of the SERPs?

If you're missing out on the perks of a Page One SERP, here are a couple of tips to improve your ranking.

Let's say your keyword is "B2B copywriter," and according to Google, there are 6,250,000 possible matching results.

It will take some work to get to Page One for that keyword since there is a lot of competition ahead of you.

So, let's try a different version of that keyword and see what happens. You can tweak the keyword by adding one, maybe two, at most, other words.

I tried "professional B2B copywriter" and ended up with 1,590,000 possible matches. I found my site on page nine for that term, LOL.

Wow, it's the same thing for "world's best B2B copywriter" almost 1,191,000 matches for that term.

Changing it to "best B2B copywriter," we are now down to 658,000 matches.

My next choice was "expert B2B copywriter," the results show over 457,000 potential matches.

Now let's try "affordable B2B copywriter," which shows 121,000 results. Now there's a keyword you can win.

As you improve your SERP score for "affordable B2B copywriter," you also enhance your SERP ranking for the term "B2B copywriter".

Another great tip to get to Page One is ensuring your website is "Google compliant." And the easiest way to check your compliance is to go to the Google Page Speed Insights Tool and check it for yourself.

Enter your URL address, click "Analyze," and Google will do the rest.

You will get a list of relatively easy-to-fix issues that requires your attention. Be sure to check both the desktop and mobile versions of your website. The goal is a page speed of 90 or higher.

Is it worth the time and effort to get a Page One SERP? Of course, it is!

Curtis Dennis

Construction Copywriter