When it comes to Google, ranking on the top of the search engine results page generally means that more people will click on that result first. If you Google what you do, you may be wondering why another wedding vendor is showing up before your website and how to improve your Google search ranking.

Now there are a number of reasons why your competitor is ranking above you, but we should first acknowledge that searching what you do on Google may not be the best way to figure out where you appear in the search page. So when you search yourself, it may not provide the most accurate result as it is taking into consideration how frequently you search that page. Instead, use a SERP checker. You can do a few free searches per day on this SERP checker.

If you find that your competitor is ranking above you on Google, It’s important to understand all the ways your competitor is outranking you and how you can reach their level of success someday. Hopefully sooner rather than later, right? In this blog we’ll explore a few ways why your competitor might be ranking above you on google and how to improve your google search ranking.

1. Number of backlinks

The first way when looking at how to improve your google search ranking is through backlinks which are when one website links to another. Search engines recognize that when one website links to another it considers it to be of higher value and so will increase the chances of it appearing higher in search. 

To break it down further, if a photographer writes a blog about their most recent wedding and mentions you in the blog (with a link to your website). Their website now has a link to yours that clients can click on. 

So going back to why your competitor may be outranking you in search, it’s hard to out-rank a site on Google that has 3-5 times the number of backlinks than you do. So if your competitor has more backlinks, you might need to start focusing on building more backlinks to your website.

A few ways you can accomplish this are:

• Get featured in wedding publications
• Use online directories such as the Ontario Wedding Association or your local chamber of commerce.
• Add links to your site on your social media platforms
• Write guest posts on other blogs or websites
• Let other influencers in your niche know about an article you’ve written about on your site that they might want to link to

These are just a few ways to get started!

2. Quality of links

When creating backlinks, it’s important to acknowledge that the quality of your links is really important as well. If your competitor has built a large repertoire of links from national publications and popular wedding blogs, there’s obviously more of a chance to rank above you. That’s not to say that you can’t seek those things, but again, this is something that you should be aware of when trying to build your links

When building backlinks it’s always good to make connections and build smaller credit links, such as local vendors or small blogs, but as you grow your business, it’s important to scale your links and focus on larger publications too.

3. Content quality

One of the most important and achievable ways to boost your SEO is through putting out quality content such as search engine optimized blog posts. The content that you’re putting out there should contain valuable information to your ideal client.

If you find that a competitor is ranking higher in search than you, first check their blogs. Are they consistently writing content on their website that provides value to clients (and google)? Blogging consistently can be a way to drive more traffic to your website and rank higher in Google. 

Read next: How to write search engine optimized blog posts.

4. How to improve your google search ranking with blogging

When it comes to content on your website, Google knows whether your website has been updated recently. If you haven’t updated your website in a couple of years, Google will not want to show your site for concern that it may contain outdated information!

Blogging is one way to add fresh content to your site on a regular basis. To stay relevant, you need to upload consistently and have exciting new content to keep your ideal clients coming to your site. Having lots of tips and information for your ideal clients will help them to see you as trusting & knowledgeable too!

5. On-page SEO

Certain areas of your website are more valuable to Google in terms of content. When you create your pages, your page titles & meta descriptions explain to search engines what that particular page is about.

Take a look at your home page. Is your most important keyword used in the page title and meta description? This is how Google connects what’s being searched for and what your page has to offer. Now take a look at your content,  is your most important keyword written on the homepage? It definitely should be!

If you want to learn about optimizing your home page for SEO, download our SEO Checklist!

6. User experience

Finally, it’s really important to take into consideration your user experience. If you’re really stumped on why other sites are “winning” on Google, one more factor to analyze is how easy-to-use your website is. 

Try searching for your own website and see if it loads in under 3 seconds. Navigate through it and see if it’s “user friendly” or easy to navigate through. You don’t want people spending time searching for specific sections and giving up because they can’t find what they’re looking for.

Also, Google does rank your mobile version of your website. Your website needs to be easy to use on a mobile device (phone, tablet, etc.). Especially if you’re big on Instagram where someone is likely clicking over to your website.

If you’re looking to boost your website SEO but are not sure where to start, our SEO for the Wedding Pro will take you from start to finish on how to get your website found on Google. Check it out here.