Most brands that practice search engine optimization dream of reaching rank one for strong keyword terms associated with their industry. Rank one is the most visible and most clicked position in an SERP – and it’s often many times more powerful than its closest competitor, rank two. Moving from rank two to rank one for a sufficiently high-volume keyword could help you get thousands of additional organic visitors every month easily.
But what if your industry is ridiculously competitive? If there’s an entrenched and motivated competitor in the rank one spot, it may take an exceptional effort (and a huge monetary investment) to displace them.
So is rank one an unachievable dream?
The Brute Force Route
Let’s start by taking a look at the brute force route. The idea here is to displace your top competitor by outdoing them in every search optimization category you can think of. If your content is more keyword optimized, if you have more backlinks, and if you have a better reputation, you should be able to outrank your competitor.
The problem, of course, is that if your competitor is heavily entrenched and still actively optimizing for a target keyword, you’ll need to significantly step up your efforts to outdo them. Think of it this way; if a car is speeding at 100 mph, you’ll never be able to catch up to them even if you reach that 100 mph speed. Instead, you’ll need to travel at 110 mph or more just to catch up with them, let alone pass them.
Still, the brute force route is possible. The big question is whether all that extra effort is truly worth it.
Here’s how you can begin your approach:
- Work with a marketing firm. First, consider working with a dedicated online marketing agency with proficiency in SEO. Marketing agencies typically have significant experience helping their clients manage search optimization campaigns, so they’re already super familiar with what it takes to compete in a highly competitive environment. They can help you assess your budget, plan for target keywords, and prepare a strategy that is as cost efficient as possible while still giving you the power you need to displace your competitors. Even more importantly, they can help you identify practically unwinnable fights and find alternatives when necessary.
- Prepare to up your budget. If your competitor is spending an absurd amount of money, you’ll probably need to match them if you want any hope of displacing them. That means you’ll have to up your SEO budget.
- Double down on your onsite content strategy. Content is still king in the SEO world, so get ready to double down on your onsite content strategy. If you’re trying to reach rank one for a specific target keyword, that keyword should show up on virtually every page of your site – and it should be prominently featured throughout your core pages. On top of that, you need to be publishing new blog posts regularly.
- Aggressively (and strategically) build links. Backlinks are necessary for SEO, serving as trust indicators in the eyes of Google and other search engines. Accordingly, if you want to displace a competitor at rank one, you’ll need to aggressively and strategically build links. Start by mimicking the backlink profiles of your top competitors, then look for opportunities that they’ve missed so you can differentiate your profile.
Is It Worth It?
Is all this effort worth it?
Every situation is different, so it’s impossible to provide a universal answer. In some cases, the target keyword is so valuable that it’s worth exhausting your marketing budget to get that rank one spot. In other cases, you’re much better off spending that money elsewhere. It all depends on the value of the keyword, the level of competition present, and the alternative strategies currently on the table.
Alternatives to Reaching Rank One
If you feel like reaching rank one is an impossible dream in this situation, don’t worry. There are plenty of alternative ways to directly compete with the competitor in that top spot.
- Look for less competitive keywords. If your favorite keyword is too hotly contested, consider targeting a rank one spot for a collection of alternative, less competitive keywords. Which words and phrases are valuable, but less popular?
- Serve a niche audience. If you can’t beat them, avoid them. Instead of focusing on a head keyword, optimize your content and backlinks on more specific, niche keywords. Focus on a specific audience segment or a specific geographic area to differentiate yourself.
- Use PPC ads. Pay per click ads provide us an alternative route to the top of any SERP you want. If you’re willing to pay for the traffic, you can get your ad featured above even the most dedicated organic competitor; the fact that your entry will be labeled an ad is only a small disadvantage.
- Focus on multichannel marketing. SEO is but a small part of your overall marketing strategy. Consider dedicating more of your budget to other channels.
The bottom line is yes; it’s definitely possible to reach rank one in even the most competitive industries. The problem is that it’s not always worth it to do so. Competing for rank one can be exhaustively expensive, and it may not yield enough results to justify what you spent in terms of time or money. Strategize carefully before proceeding.
