10 Steps to Improve Your Google Ranking Today

In this article, we will tell you the exact steps for how to improve Google rankings for your website ‒ today. This is the same process our SEO experts use to rank our web pages and our clients’ higher on Google. If you want to rank higher on Google quickly, this is our ultimate guide to how to rank higher on Google.

Modern SEO in 2025 goes beyond traditional rankings. Google now uses AI to compile answers from multiple sources, creating AI Overviews and featured snippets that appear before traditional search results. The strategies in this guide will help you rank higher in traditional search results AND increase your visibility in these new AI-powered features.

How to Rank Higher on Google Today

Before we get into the steps to help you improve your Google rank, first let’s summarize what you will need to do. Luckily, these steps should only take about ten minutes max. The key is to find a keyword or phrase that you are already ranking for, but not that high. Once you find the keyword you are ranking for, find the pages on your website that are utilizing that keyword. Then, you can optimize that page or pages for that keyword – and watch your ranking improve for that page!

This process works quickly because there is no need to perform new keyword research, or to check your competition. You can take work your website is already doing for you and simply capitalize on it to earn a higher search ranking on Google. Next, we’ll tell you the nine steps for how improve your Google search ranking.

Step 1: Where Do I Rank on Google?

The first step is to find the keyword or phrase that you are already ranking for, but want to improve. Open Google Analytics, and find your “Queries” report. You can find it by going to Acquisition > Search Console > Queries. This report will tell you the keywords and phrases you rank for; the number of times you appear in Google, which are called impressions; the number of times your pages have been visited from these phrases, or clicks; and how high you rank for the phrase. This will help you narrow down what keyword or phrase you want to optimize for.

Step 2: Set an Advanced Filter

The key is to look for phrases that you already rank for, but that you would like to rank even higher for. How do you find these phrases? The answer is an advanced filter. First, click “advanced.” Then, set “average position” to greater than 10. Finally, click apply. In this scenario, you will find your pages that are showing up on page two of the search engine results page. Ideally, this trick will help you move those web pages of your site up to page one!

Step 3: Sort the Report by Rankings

Next, click the column header “Average Position” to sort the report. You will need to click it twice so you can see the 11s at the top.

Here’s a tip: you can save your filtered, sorted Queries as a shortcut in Google Analytics. Next time, they will be even easier to find. Simply tap the “Shortcut” link at the top of the report, name it, and then click OK. Then, the report will always be seen in the left navigation side of Google Analytics.

Step 4: Choose the Phrase You Want to Rank Higher For 

Your report might include some random keywords and phrases. Ignore those. It’s normal for a website to rank for some unrelated phrases. Also, skip any keywords that include your brand name. You want to rank and obtain traffic from keywords that are non-branded. Instead, look for keywords or phrases that will ideally find you new business. For example, if you are a veterinarian in Chicago, you will want to rank for “emergency veterinarian Chicago.”

Step 5: Confirm Your Ranking

Next, you need to confirm your ranking for your chosen keyword. You can do this by searching the word or phrase on Google. You might see your page ranking higher or lower than the report from Google Analytics suggests. There are several reasons this could be the case:

• You may have more than one page on your website that ranks for that word or phrase;
• Your site might rank in image search results;
• It might rank differently today than it did in the average ranking in across the date range in your reports; and
• Your search results might be personalized for you based on a few factors, like your location or browsing history.

If you encounter this issue, log out of your Google account. Or, use the “private” or “incognito” setting in your web browser. You can even try using a web browser you don’t typically use to search.

Hopefully, however, you can confirm that your website is ranking for that keyword or phrase right about where you thought based on your Google Analytics report.

Step 6: See How the Keyword is Used on the Web Page

Now, you need to check how the keyword is used on the web page. Does the keyword show up in the right places? (You can search for the keyword b using control + F or command + F on a Mac.) Now you can check the following:

• Does the keyword or phrase show up on the page?
• Does it appear all together, or broken up?
• Where does the keyword appear? Is it in the title, header, and the body text?
• How many times is it used?

If the phrase isn’t in the title, header, and body text, then the page has not yet been optimized. This means the Google ranking happened on accident. This means it’s time for the next step, optimizing the page.

However, you might want to check that the page isn’t already ranking for a different keyword or phrase. If you optimize it for a new phrase, you might lose out on ranking for the keyword that the page was already optimized for. To make sure that doesn’t happen, go back to your Queries report and look for any other phrases that appear often on the page. Confirm any possible keyword rankings in Google, or enter the page address into SEMrush. It can tell you all the words any individual web page ranks for, and in what position.

Step 7: Optimize the Web Page for the Keyword 

The next step is to optimize the web page for your chosen keyword as well as possible. To do so, you will want to use some SEO best practices:

• Make sure to use the keyword once in the page title. Your page title is the title tag, which doesn’t actually show up on the page itself. However, it’s still important for SEO purposes.
• Use the keyword again in the header. Your header is the H1 tag, which is typically the headline of the page.
• Re-use the keyword a few times in the content of the page. For example, if your page is about 1,500 words, then four to six times is optimal.
• Make sure to remove any broken links from the page and add any quality internal or external links from high authority pages, if you can.

Step 7.5: Check Technical SEO Fundamentals

While optimizing for your target keyword, don’t forget these technical elements that Google considers:

Page Speed Optimization

– Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to check your page loading speed

– Compress images and optimize file sizes

– Fast-loading pages rank higher and provide better user experience

Mobile Optimization 

– Ensure your page displays properly on mobile devices

– Google uses mobile-first indexing, so mobile performance is crucial

– Test your page on different screen sizes

Image Optimization

– Add descriptive alt text to all images on the page

– Use high-quality images placed near relevant text

– Compress images to improve page speed

Meta Description

– Write a compelling meta description (150-160 characters)

– Include your target keyword naturally

– This appears in search results and affects click-through rates

Step 8: Improve the Quality of the Page

One often overlooked aspect to search engine optimization is the quality of the web page itself. Search engines love a high-quality web page. So if you are attempting to improve your page’s ranking, it’s important to create the best possible content on that page. Add as much detail, examples, links, and anything else you can think of to make the best possible page on the internet on that topic.

If you are really feeling motivated, create an infographic to add to the page. And don’t forget the user experience – how does the page work on a mobile device? All of these factors can affect your search engine rankings. This is how you will really rank higher, rather than just loading the page with keywords.

Content Structure and Formatting

– Use short paragraphs (2-3 sentences max) for better readability

– Add a table of contents for longer articles

– Include jump links to help users navigate to specific sections

– Use bullet points and numbered lists to break up text

– Lead with the answer – put your main point at the top of the content

Content Satisfaction Signals

– Answer the user’s question immediately and clearly

– Structure content so users don’t need to bounce back to search results

– Include related subtopics and entities that Google associates with your keyword

– Use the inverted pyramid structure: most important information first

Visual Elements

– Add relevant screenshots, charts, or diagrams

– Avoid generic stock photos

– Include step-by-step visual guides when appropriate

– Use before/after comparisons where relevant

Step 9: Check Your Rankings in a Week

The final step is to wait a few days to a week and check your rankings. Is your page ranking higher for that keyword? Fantastic! You can repeat these steps with any other keywords or phrases you are already ranking for, just not as high as you’d like. Improving Google rankings is a constant and ongoing effort. It can take a lot of time to rank higher for several web pages. But the best part is, you can do these steps over and over for various pages of your site and see an overall improvement.

Step 10: Optimize for AI Overviews and Modern Search

Google now uses AI to compile answers from multiple sources. To appear in AI Overviews:

Structure for AI Visibility

– Write clear, direct answers to common questions

– Use logical heading structure (H1, H2, H3)

– Include related entities and concepts naturally in your content

– Create content that can be easily parsed and quoted

Choose the Right Content Format

– Search your target keyword to see what format performs best

– If videos appear in results, consider creating video content

– Some topics work better as visual guides or infographics

– Match your format to user intent

Build Topic Authority

– Create topic clusters around your main keyword themes

– Link related pages together with descriptive anchor text

– Focus on depth rather than breadth in your content

– Become a consistent source in your niche

Advanced Strategies for Long-term Success

While the 10 steps above provide quick wins, these additional strategies will help you maintain and improve your rankings over time:

Internal Linking Strategy

– Link to relevant pages using descriptive anchor text

– Create hub and spoke structures for related topics

– Prioritize links to your highest-converting pages

Content Promotion

– Share new content on social media platforms

– Engage with relevant online communities

– Build relationships with other websites in your industry

– Consider email newsletters to promote content to your audience

Monitor Brand Mentions

– Track where your brand is mentioned online (even without links)

– Respond to mentions and engage with your audience

– These mentions signal authority to search engines

Stay Updated with SEO Changes

– Follow Google Search Central blog for algorithm updates

– Use Google Search Console to monitor your site’s performance

– Regularly audit and update older content to keep it current

Improve Your Google Ranking with SEO Design Chicago

Hopefully, this article taught you some easy steps to improve your Google ranking. If you still need help, or are confused about how to improve your Google search results, contact us at SEO Design Chicago today! Our professionals can help you rank higher with our expert search engine optimization tips and tricks. Whether you are a small business or an e-commerce site, we can help you draw more organic traffic and rank higher on local search.

FAQ:

• How does Google rank No. 1? – Google uses over 200 ranking factors to determine which page ranks #1, including content quality, keyword relevance, page speed, mobile-friendliness, backlinks, and user experience signals. No single factor guarantees the top spot – it’s a combination of technical SEO, high-quality content, and user satisfaction signals.
• Can you pay Google to rank higher? – You cannot pay Google to rank higher in organic (free) search results. Google Ads allow you to pay for placement in sponsored results, but these are clearly marked as advertisements and separate from organic rankings. Organic rankings are earned through SEO best practices, not purchased.
• Does Google traffic increase ranking? – More traffic alone doesn’t directly improve rankings, but user behavior signals do matter. If visitors stay on your page, engage with content, and don’t immediately return to search results, these positive engagement signals can indirectly help your rankings over time.
• How does Google choose who ranks the highest? – Google’s algorithm evaluates content relevance, expertise, authority, trustworthiness (E-E-A-T), technical performance, and user satisfaction signals. Pages that best match search intent, provide comprehensive answers, load quickly, and come from authoritative sources typically rank highest.
• How to rank higher on Google organically? – Focus on creating high-quality, relevant content that answers user questions, optimize for target keywords, improve page speed and mobile experience, build quality backlinks, and ensure your content satisfies user intent. Follow the 9 steps outlined in this guide for the fastest organic ranking improvements.
• What is the ideal content length for ranking higher? – There’s no magic word count. Focus on thoroughly answering the user’s question, whether that takes 500 or 3,000 words.
• How important are AI Overviews for rankings? – AI Overviews are increasingly important. Structure your content clearly and answer questions directly to increase chances of being featured.
• Should I optimize for voice search? – Voice search optimization overlaps with good SEO practices: clear answers, natural language, and addressing specific questions.
• How do topic clusters help rankings? – Topic clusters show Google you’re an authority on a subject by covering related topics in depth and linking them strategically.
• What role do brand mentions play in SEO? – Unlinked brand mentions across the web signal authority to Google and can influence where you appear in AI-generated results.