How I got my site to #1 in Google

So what's new? Everyone wants to be #1 in Google - but can it be done? I ran an experiment to find out.

Results: I did it - I got to #1 with my own name: Dominic Yeadon see it in Google here. In fact at the time of posting this I was not only # 1 but also 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 out of the first 10 natural rankings listed, plus the only Adwords advert. OK I hear you say, but Dominic Yeadon is a pretty unique search string isn't it? (Hmmm... could THAT be how those darn Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) companies get your money?)

OK, OK! Maybe they're not ALL snake oil salesmen. Tell me if you've found a good one please.

Google don't publish how to get to #1 in Google (obviously), but many experts have found out the factors that affect ranking, and here are two:

• SEOMOZ have a list of the top 10 factors : SEOMOZ.org's list.
• Vaugh's have a more scruffy list of 100+ here: Vaughns-1-Pagers.com list

Get your webmaster/web agency to check out these 2 links, because just reading these lists will make a big difference.

For speed however, my tip is still to use Google's Adwords which will get you to #1 inside one hour. If you have a campaign going live in the next week, you can't afford to wait several months to get out of Google's sandbox and score a natural ranking, just put some money into an [Adwords campaign]. Works every time and because it's [CPC] you only pay for visitors, not ad impressions [CPM].