That’s the most frequently asked question to an SEO. A very simple question to which the answer may not be very simple. To be honest, this question triggers a chain of answers and theories in me, none of which would be of interest to you. let me try and put this as simple as I can.

Ranking number one on Google is not an easy task. Many SEOs fail to get a top rank (even a number one listing) because they just do the basics right and nothing beyond. SEO has grown beyond H1 tags and strong tags. The reality is that if you just get these basics right, the chances of getting a top rank is difficult, especially when you are targeting competitive keywords.

Essentially, to get a number one rank (or a page one listing) on Google, you have to be very strong in analyzing your competition. And when you are better than them, you rank better.

That’s the story in a nutshell. Analyzing your competition and fighting the way up is indeed not an easy task either. A bird’s eye view of the whole process looks something similar.

- Finding out who and which are the sites that are ranking top 10 for the targeted keyword.
- Finding out all the SEO metrics about them.
- Finding out their quality links.
- Finding out their onsite optimization strength.

Beating all those metrics in a very natural way is the key to success. Of course, it may vary as to how much time it takes and how high you get. Sometimes, Google even thinks that sudden increase in the SEO metrics is artificial so even if you’ve done everything white hat, it may take some time before Google let’s you rank high. But once they find that you are not black hat and everything is genuine, it’s just a matter of few days before you make it to the top.

Although, beating your competition is the right way to get a top rank on Google, you have to make sure that, you don’t end up doing the quick fixes and shady stuff or you are taking a big risk.