JULIA MCCOY, CEO

Express Writers
Dear Marketer,
Ranking in the top of Google is the dream of every brand with a blog and every
SEO expert.

Why do we care so much?

Because reaching the top of Google is like reaching the podium in the Content
Olympics.🥇 It’s like winning a gold, silver, or bronze medal…

With a few perks thrown in.

More traffic? Yours. More clicks in the SERP? Yours. More qualified leads coming in?
Yep, that too.

For example, positions #1, 2, or 3 on a given search engine results page (SERP),
on average, get over 54% of the clicks from that page’s overall traffic.

Considering the average click-through rate for paid search is 1.91% across all
industries… well…

(Tell me again why you’re bothering with paid search??)

Anymore, knowing how to get to the top of Google (for free, without paying a cent
for ads) doesn’t qualify as information that’s simply “nice to have.”

Instead, in this dog-eat-dog world of content shock and bro marketing and dying ads…

It’s essential.

Ready to learn how to improve your Google search results, AND repeat that success
over and over?

This is what it takes.

Read the full blog on this topic: How to Rank in the Top of Google, Win Traffic,
Prospects & Buyers (Bonus: Free Checklist)

JULIA MCCOY
CEO, Express Writers Creator, Content
Hacker Author & Course Educator

Psst… Join my free Facebook group, or sign up to our newsletter for my new blogs!
 PART 1. How to Rank in
the Top of Google: 3 Factors
About Content
Content is one of the key factors that drives search rankings.

In a nutshell, it’s about quality, consistency, and relevancy.

1. Quality Over Quantity in Content Really Matters

2. Content Consistency Wins
3. Content Doesn’t Rank in the Top of Google
without Relevancy and Usefulness
Here’s the full lowdown on each.

1. Quality Over Quantity Really Matters

Want to know how to rank higher on Google? Prioritize content
of the highest caliber.
From the direction Google itself has given about what quality content looks like,
we know:

• Quality content is relevant to what the target reader is searching. It’s the answer
they’re looking for when they type in a question or keyword phrase.
• Quality content is easy to read and easy to understand for the target audience.
(That doesn’t mean the content is simple. It means it’s well-written, well-formatted,
and well-researched. It means the content is written to the level of whatever
audience it’s meant for.)

3 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 • Quality content serves a purpose. It teaches, informs, entertains, or guides
the reader.

So, if you have a ton of blogs that don’t quite hit the mark for this level of quality,
you’re not going to rank as well as a competitor with fewer blogs who absolutely
NAILS this definition of quality with every single post.

Need great content? We can help. See our pricing.

To further demonstrate how & why quality matters, let’s dive into a case study.

CASE STUDY: CONTENT HACKER

Content Hacker is my
new site, launched on
June 28, 2019 – less
than two months from
writing this ebook/
blog post.

The site is basically a

newborn baby, but.. we
already have a top 10
spot in the rankings.

4 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 Three months later, right before I published this piece of content, I checked again.
As of early September, we’re ranking for a total of 2,500 keywords+, bringing in
345+ organic visitors. This amount goes up weekly. Just four weeks ago, we were
at 85 keywords present!

How did we do it?

By focusing on content quality > quantity.

We only have 11 blogs and 14 pages total published on the site. However, the
average word count for all of our blogs is 4,500. Our longest blog clocks in at
5,000 words.

5 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 Before creation, I spent days on ideation. I picked out focus keywords like
ergonomic home office, remote freelance writing jobs, and wrote mega-blog
outline complete with synonymous keywords.

Guess what we’re starting to rank for in Google, with this brand new site?

Each one of our mega-blogs are starting to rank for their focus keywords in Google.

Content works, guys.

But you have to do it right.

Each of our mega, 5,000-word blog guides are deeply researched, thoroughly
outlined, takes days (or even weeks!) to write, and includes plenty of supporting
images, facts, graphs, GIFs – you name it.

6 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 It’s no coincidence that the keywords we’re winning are within those ultra-long-form
guides. Our steady growth on Content Hacker is mainly thanks to quality content.

Just look at that solid, upward-trending line, below, for proof:

7 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 2. Content Consistency Wins
Here’s the thing:

You can’t just depend on one factor to buoy your content to

the top of Google, because the search engine doesn’t look at
one factor – it looks at many.
That’s why consistency, along with quality, is so important when it comes to content.

You can’t publish an exceptional blog once and let the rest slide. Let me say it louder,
for the people in the back: Every. Single. Content. Piece. Must. Be. Exceptional.

Think of it this way: Each content piece is like a building block. They stack on top
of each other, one by one, to create a wall. That wall represents your reputation
and authority.

Do you want a strong, towering, solid wall that will stand up to storms? Then you
can’t add even ONE weak brick to the structure, because it will undermine the
strength of the whole.

Every single brick needs to be strong on its own. Every single content piece needs
to be consistently good for better results in the rankings. Let’s look at another case
study to demonstrate what I mean.

CASE STUDY: EXPRESS WRITERS

At Express Writers, our growth over time is due to the one-two punch of quality
+ consistency.

Check out how our growth shot up and kept a steady pace after I implemented
a commitment to those two factors as part of our content strategy:

8 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 Currently:

• 99% of our prospects come to our agency through Google search.

• We rank for over 23,000 keywords.
• We get 90K organic visitors coming in per month.
• We have earned over $4.5 million in sales from over 5,000 clients.

It’s all thanks in part to one fact:

We have NEVER missed our goal of publishing one blog post per week for eight years.

That’s right. For eight years, we have managed to publish at least once every
week. That’s 416 straight weeks where we had a post researched, outlined, writ-
ten, designed, edited, and ready to go.

The consistency part of the equation has always been there for us. When I finally
added a commitment to quality around 2016-2017, we took off. More than that,
we keep growing. Take a look at our keyword positions from December 2018:

9 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 • 504 keywords ranking in the top 3 positions in the SERPs.
• 1,024 keywords ranking in spots #4-10.

Now look at the data from August 2019:

• In just eight months, 30 keywords climbed into the top 3 of Google.

• Another 193 keywords made their way into positions 4-10 (which is nothing
to sneeze at – ALL of these are on the first page!)
• Another 355 are still gradually climbing, and have moved into the second-page
territory in positions 11-20.
• Last but not least, an astonishing 2,749 keywords started ranking. They’re not
in the top of Google yet, but given time, we’ll probably see plenty of them move
upward, too.

10 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 We see a similar trend when we examine our backlink data and referring domains
using Ahrefs. The middle graph, in particular, shows that slow-yet-steady incline
I’ve been talking about this whole time:

Steady, constant, upward-trending growth.

That’s what consistency helps you achieve. It’s a major part of how to rank in the
top of Google.

Don’t get me wrong, though – it requires a major, CRAZY amount of investment

of not necessarily dollars, but time and effort. For the Write Blog content alone,
I lead a team of < 5 content creators and a designer to produce what you see here
every week. Each blog has a lead time of about two weeks.

But – the investment pays off in dividends. It amounts to daily, qualified leads
coming in on autopilot.

It’s worth every penny, every drop of sweat, and every tear shed.

11 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 3. Content Doesn’t Rank in the Top of
Google without Relevancy and Usefulness
The final major content factors you need to rank higher on Google?

Content that’s topically relevant to your target audience, and

useful for their needs.
Even if you post amazing, wow-worthy blogs consistently, they won’t rank well
unless they relate to the target reader and are topically on-point.

What do I mean by that?

Your blog topics should cover information that’s important to your target audience.

Depending on the length you want the end result to be, you need to either drill-down
into your subject or provide a broader overview.

For an example of a blog that’s topically off the mark, look at this post from CNET:

It’s about 700-800 words, but it’s all over the place. Within a few paragraphs, the
author covers composting, lawn care, smart technology for gardeners, and gardening
for the apartment-bound.

12 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

13 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]
 Huh? Who is the author actually writing to, here? Each of these topics could
make a great 800-word post taken by themselves. Plus, they could all be targeted
to different people: apartment-dwellers, the eco-conscious, tech junkies, and
busy homeowners.

Instead, they’re all included in a post that seems disjointed and, ultimately, unhelpful
for a specific user coming to this blog with a specific gardening question.

Pop quiz:

Where do you think this blog is currently ranking in Google? (Hint: It’s a well-
written, optimized post on a well-known website. It’s accurate and well-formatted.
The only issues: It’s scattered, provides a broad array of information vs. diving
deep into one topic, and doesn’t quite jive with the user intent of a person searching
for “gardening tips.”)

I’ll give you a few seconds to come up with a guess.

Give up? 🤔

It’s on page 3.

The takeaway: Relevancy and usefulness matter if you want to rank in the top
of Google.

To show you a successful example, let’s look at FreshCap Mushrooms, an EW

client. *cue case study*

14 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 CASE STUDY: FRESHCAP
MUSHROOMS (EW CLIENT)
FreshCap Mushrooms is a brand on a mission to change people’s lives with the power
of mushrooms. They specialize in education on mushroom farming and mushroom
varieties, and sell an array of mushroom extracts and powders in their shop.

Needless to say, their blog is a huge part of their online presence. This is where
they do the brunt of their teaching on the subject of mushrooms plus related
health + wellness topics.

15 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 Once this brand committed to consistency and quality in their blog posts on topics
relevant to their target audience, they have seen a lot of success that continues
to grow. They now have 14K organic keyword positions on Google.

16 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 See that noticeable upward curve at the end of the graph? That’s when their content
strategy really started making an impact.

That’s the power of relevant, useful, high-quality content. Remember, this is content
with the following attributes:

• It addresses the user’s needs. When they’re typing the target keyword into a
Google search, the user most likely has a question or problem to solve, or a pain
point they want to alleviate. The content helps them do it.

• It’s in-depth. Each piece of content focuses on ONE topic (or topic facet) and
explores that subject fully.

• It serves a purpose. The purpose can be to entertain, inform, or teach your

readers – it’s up to you to determine the goal. Whatever you do, make sure it
serves a purpose for the audience.

17 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 PART 2. How to Rank in
the Top of Google: 3 More
Important Factors
The “how to rank in the top of Google” question isn’t solely answered with content.
Along with exceptional blogs, articles, and the like, you also need some supporting
website factors in place.

Don’t neglect any of these – they’re all equally important to build the reputation
of your site (and thus your content).

Quick three factor checklist:

1. Quick Site Speed and Page Load Times (Under

3 Seconds)
2. Good Internal Linking
3. Excellent Usability
Read below for the full lowdown.

1. Quick Site Speed and Page Load Times

Want to rank? A laggy site may kill your chances.
If your pages take eons to load, well, nobody has time for that. ⏳

As you know, waiting for a slow page to load is like watching paint dry. We’re
nearing 2020 – we expect speed!

According to Think with Google, as page load time slows down, bounce
rate increases.

18 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 If your page takes over 5 seconds to load, the likelihood your visitor will immediately
bounce increases by over 100%.

Yikes. That person will never become a lead. And, I don’t know if you’ve heard,
but Google isn’t into that, either.

Faster website = better user experience = better rankings.

To speed up your website, check out this guide from Moz with best-practices.

2. Good Internal Linking

Along with consistently good content and a speedy site,
the structure of your pages matters for getting your website
to the top of Google.
Think of this factor as the overall organization of your site pages. Are they cluttered,
haphazard, and difficult to navigate? Or do they seamlessly link to each other?

19 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 When your site structure is on-point, Google search bots can:

• Crawl and index your domain and content more easily

• Understand the relationships between pages, including:
• Which pages are more important/less
important in the grand scheme of things
• Which pages are topically related

Here’s a good example of a clean, organized site structure (also called site
architecture) from Single Grain:

The concept of good site structure applies to internal links in your blog content,
too. When you link to your other, relevant content pieces inside a blog post, you:

• Help Google make connections between them

• Help your readers get additional, related information on whatever topic
they’re perusing

Helpful is good. Aim to be helpful as you structure your site links between pages,
and your rankings will improve, too. Think of this as a foundational aspect of how
to rank in the top of Google.

20 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 3. Excellent Usability
If you’ve been reading the Write Blog for any length of time, you’ve
probably heard me mention the concept of usability before.
It means your website shouldn’t be merely beautiful to look at – it should ALSO
be beautiful to use for better Google rankings.

What do I mean by that?

Think of some tool or object in your life you love using. Maybe it’s your fancy
coffee maker, or your iPad, or the new tech gadget you just bought. It can be as
simple as your favorite pen – or a specific website.

If you love using something, that object is probably extremely usable. The same goes
for websites. The ones you love using will more than likely check the boxes for
the principles of good usability, which contribute to a beautiful user experience.

The Daily Egg sums them up like this:

• Availability and accessibility – This just means the website works and you can
access it. (For people with disabilities like hearing or vision impairment, not
every site is usable on this basic level unless the brand, company, or designer
addresses their needs.)

21 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

 • Clarity – The “how” and “why” of the website are clear – you know what it’s
“for” just by looking at it. It’s not confusing to use.

• Learnability – You don’t need instructions to use the website. It uses familiar
concepts like different colors for links, larger text for headings, and a highly-visible
area containing the main navigation, for instance.

• Credibility – The website is trustworthy. It includes markers of authenticity like

an about page, correct spelling and grammar, a logo, contact information, reviews,
testimonials, or credentials.

• Relevancy – The site owners know their target users and cater their content
so it’s relevant to this group. The website addresses the needs and problems of
those users.

A great example of an exceptionally usable website is Airbnb.

It’s fast, responsive, and effortless to use because Airbnb knows exactly why you
visit them: You want to find a rental for your next trip to a specific city.

Once you enter some broad details, you’re taken to pages that narrow down your
search successively:

22 expresswriters.com /expwriters [email protected]

It’s all easy and intuitive. You don’t have to think too hard about how to find the
rental that suits your needs – you just do.

THAT is the essence of a usable website: When its expected function performs as
expected, and you’re able to complete your desired task without any effort.

To learn more about usability and how to make your site as user-friendly as possible,
check out this overview from the Interaction Design Foundation and this usability
testing guide from Hotjar.