Getting listed on the first page of Google is an incredible accomplishment. Your efforts shouldn't stop there, however.
A general listing without all the bells and whistles just won't get
you the same amount of site traffic as it used to since users tend to go
for the one that stands apart from the rest. The search engine competition is fierce, so don't get left behind while everyone else makes the necessary changes to get noticed.
Consider how you would approach building the perfect web page. You
might fine tune your headings, messaging, include images, and add
resources to increase conversions. Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is just as important in the search engine result pages (SERPs).
Here are a few tips that should help your Google search result attract the most attention.
1. Unique, Relevant Page Titles
Use as many characters as possible. That's prime real estate!
A good character range to work with is 50-65 characters. Google search results will truncate right around the 65 character mark.
Pixel width of your title tag
should be considered, because words with wide letters such as A and W
won't be able to fit as many characters. Google will completely ignore
anything past the 70 character mark and potentially report a “Long title
tag” error in Google Webmaster Tools.
Your page title should be unique and relevant to the topic of your
page. Include your targeted key phrases as close to the beginning as
possible and, if it applies, localize your page title.
For more tips on titles, see "How to Write Title Tags for Search Engine Optimization" and "Ecommerce Title Tags: Top 5 Ways to Increase Clicks".
2. Search Engine Friendly URLs
If your domain name has your targeted keyword(s) in it, that's a
bonus, however, don't go out of your way to buy an exact match domain
name and get caught up in the exact match domain algorithm.
Utilize search engine friendly file names and permalink structures to
make your listing more relevant, for example, /awesome-web-page/. URLs,
for example, ?pageid=246, don't say anything to the user and won't help
your rankings.
3. Enticing Meta Descriptions With a Call-to-Action
Your meta descriptions won't have an effect on your rankings, however, this is your chance to encourage searchers to click your link over your competition's.
Your descriptions should range from 100 to 150 characters. Use them
wisely. Anything shorter or longer might result in an error reported in
Google Webmaster Tools.
Describe what the page or service is about and then ask the user to
do something with a call-to-action (CTA). In my example, I include my
phone number and mention that we pick up the phone (you'd be surprised
how many companies don't).
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you had multiple page
title tags in the head of your webpage? How about multiple meta
description tags? Check out this Google SERP experiment.
4. Google Authorship
Google authorship is one of the most effective ways to make your
search result stand out from the others, especially if nobody else in
your niche is doing it. If you Google anything SEO related, the SERPs
are peppered with faces; however, if you're in an industry that is less
tech savvy, like construction or real estate, you could likely be the only one with your face in the search results.
Authorship is pretty easy to implement. If you haven't already claimed your content with Google authorship, follow this tutorial to find out how.
5. Google Local
Optimizing your website and brand for local can be very beneficial
whether it's for a huge company or a small mom-and-pop shop. You can
review the accuracy of your business listings with tools like GetListed.org.
Claiming your business listings and filling out your profiles
completely help Google to understand more about your business.
Businesses with more citations from high-quality websites will rank
higher.
By helping Google understand the link between your business listings
and your website, you are more likely to have the map listing shown just
below your search result.
6. Personalized Annotations
Google tries to make recommendations more discoverable to those who
would find them most useful. Because people trust their friends'
recommendations, personalized annotations display who have already +1'd a
webpage or blog post.
You can increase the likelihood of these annotations to show up in search results by adding a +1 button and a Google+ badge on your page.
Inline annotations aren't currently supported in mobile browsers.
7. Google Reviews
A great way to increase your local search rankings is to simply ask your customer and clients for Google reviews.
Make asking for a Google review part of your process. About 10 percent of my company's clients actually take the time to submit a website design review.
While I'd like to get a review from 100 percent, the ones who do add up
over time, and those gold stars really stand out in the SERPs!
Most service industries have the luxury of hand-picking who they ask
to submit a review. On the other hand, restaurants and hotels, for
example, have to take a different approach by monitoring their reviews
and find ways to address unhappy customers with resolutions that will
hopefully turn those poor reviews into great reviews.
Conclusion
Don't be satisfied with a Google listing that doesn't highlight you
against the competition. Implementing these guidelines will ensure that
you're well on your way to an optimized search result.