How to Rank Higher on Google: A Guide to Outranking Your Competition

If you’re wondering how to get your insurance blog to rank higher on Google, you’re not alone.

Every business owner and marketer is trying to figure out how to climb up the search engine results page (SERP) and get more eyes on their content. 

Ranking higher means more traffic, more leads, and ultimately more customers. The good news?

It’s totally doable with the right strategy!

Let’s walk through a few easy steps on how to rank higher on Google search against your competitors.

pro tip: bookmark this article for easy reference if you get called away.

Step 1: Google Your Query

google your query

To start, you’ll want to do some basic research. Head over to Google and type in keywords or phrases that your potential clients are searching for.

For example, if you’re writing an insurance blog, you might try something like “how roof age affects insurance premiums” or “best insurance for older homes.”

If you’re stuck on what to search for, ask your team or clients what kinds of questions they get asked all the time.

This is a great way to find out what your audience is curious about—and what keywords you should be targeting. Once you’ve got a few ideas, go ahead and Google them.

Step 2: Understand What People Are Looking For (Searcher Intent)

To rank higher in Google, you need to think about why someone is searching for something.

What’s their goal? Are they looking to solve a specific problem, or just browsing for general information? 

For instance, if someone searches for “how roof age affects insurance premiums,” they could be wondering whether they should replace their roof or how an old roof might impact their insurance rates.

If someone is searching the term “age of roof and insurance” their search will return mostly roofers and maybe one insurance agency. In this case, I would choose “how roof age affects insurance premiums” as my title and include context around the alt keyword “age of roof and insurance”.

Google will understand that your intention is focused on insurance, which is better for your domain authority, and it may also show your site in the second example.

You want to create content that answers all the questions people might have related to that search.

The more helpful and complete your content is, the better chance you have of Google giving it a thumbs-up and moving it higher up the page.

Step 3: Take a Good Look at the Competition

Now that you’ve Googled your query, check out who’s ranking at the top. Are the results relevant to your niche? You might see some big players like Forbes or Quora.

These sites have a lot of authority, but their content might not be exactly what your audience is looking for.

If you keep scrolling, you might find a post from a smaller insurance blog. Maybe it’s not well-written or isn’t super detailed, but it’s still showing up because there’s a gap in the content Google has available for this query. That’s your opportunity!

Step 4: How to Rank Higher on Google by Filling Content Gaps

One of the best ways to rank higher in Google is to spot these gaps in the content. If the search results for your keyword are lacking in-depth, useful information, you can swoop in and create something better. 

Think of it as an open invitation to write a blog post that truly answers your audience’s questions in a clear, helpful way.

For example, if a lot of the results for “roof age and insurance premiums” don’t explain the details very well, you can write a comprehensive guide that breaks it all down.

Not only will this help your readers, but it also increases your chances of ranking higher because your content is more valuable.

Step 5: Make Your Content Easy to Read (and Easy for Google to Understand)

content readability

Now that you know what content you need to create, it’s time to put it all together. One of the best ways to get on Google’s good side is to make sure your content is well-organized. 

Use headings, subheadings, bullet points, and lists to make your article easy to follow. This not only helps your readers, but it also makes it easier for Google to understand what your post is about.

Here’s a quick outline for writing a blog post on something like “roof age and insurance premiums”:

Introduction: Explain why roof age is important when it comes to insurance.

Section 1: How Roof Age Impacts Insurance: Talk about how insurance companies view older roofs and how it affects premiums.

Section 2: Should You Replace Your Roof?: Offer tips on when to repair or replace the roof to avoid higher insurance costs.

Section 3: What the Future Holds: Discuss how changes in roofing materials or insurance policies might affect homeowners.

When you structure your blog post like this, it’s easier for people to find what they’re looking for—and for Google to see that you’re answering important questions.

Step 6: Focus on Quality Over Quantity

quality content ranks higher on google

It’s easy to think that cranking out tons of content is the way to rank higher, but in reality, it’s more about quality than quantity.

Google loves content that’s informative, well-researched, and genuinely useful.

So, don’t just write for the sake of writing—make sure every post brings something valuable to the table.

Aim for at least 1,000 to 1,200 words if you’re covering a more complex topic, but don’t worry if it’s a little shorter as long as it’s packed with good information.

Step 7: Use SEO Best Practices

seo best practices

To rank higher in Google, it’s important to use basic SEO best practices. This means:

  • Using Keywords in the Right Places: Make sure your target keyword (like “how to rank higher in Google”) is in your title, the first sentence, and at least one of your subheadings.
  • Meta Descriptions: Write an engaging meta description that includes your keyword to encourage more clicks.
  • Internal Links: Link to other helpful content on your website to keep readers engaged.
  • External Links: Link out to reputable sources when it makes sense to do so.
link building

Backlinks are another important factor in how Google decides which content to rank higher. Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your content.

The more high-quality sites that link to your blog, the more Google will trust that your content is valuable.

To get backlinks, you can:

  • Reach out to other sites or bloggers and ask them to link to your post.
  • Write guest posts for other blogs and include a link back to your content.
  • Create shareable content like infographics or guides that other websites want to reference.

Your Insurance Blog Can Rank Higher in Google!

Ready to start improving your rankings? Use this guide to create a blog post that not only answers your audience’s questions but also gives you the whole idea on how to get your website to rank higher on Google. 

If you need help optimizing your content, get in touch, and I’d be happy to assist!

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