Kris Reid Explores Thinking Outside the Box and Dominating Page Ranks on the Robert Plank Show
How do you conquer Google? That’s what Kris Reid, founder and CEO of Ardor SEO, talks about on this episode of the Robert Plank Show. The almost-half-hour discussion packs a punch with topics including link building, boosting search rankings, and thinking outside the box.
A Certified Authority Marketer
Robert Plank is a computer programmer and designer for membership sites. He’s also passionate about internet marketing. From this, he birthed the Robert Plank Show.
He invites his listeners to get the best tips on internet marketing straight from the subject-matter experts. Some of the topics he already covered include:
Robert is also an author. He wrote the book, “WWHW: Why, What, How-To, What-If”. It’s a guide to creating a podcast, an online course, or a book using easy-to-follow steps.
In fact, with his methods and tools, such as templates, a person may be able to write and publish a book in half a day!
When it’s all about productivity and efficiency in online marketing, Robert is one of the authorities to go to.
Sometimes, Things Happen by Accident
On this podcast episode, Kris talks about page ranking based on his experience. The “Coolest Guy in SEO” says that it seemed to happen by chance.
Kris used to work as a software engineer in a bank that used legacy programs. When the 2007-2008 Global Economic Crisis hit and he was laid off, he decided to do something else.
That time, he learned how to become a programmer and designed a game called Mob Warrior. He, however, needed to promote his product. It eventually led him to the world of search engine optimisation (SEO), specifically link building and ranking on Google.
Diving Deep into Page Ranking
Kris describes “page rank” as the algorithm behind Google. It’s also what set the mega search engine apart, killing its competitors.
Larry Page, one of the founders of Google, ascertained that if you’re a writer of a book, and you’re the reference of the other books, then you must be the authority in your niche.
Larry figured that it must be the same with websites. From there, he developed page rank.
Page rank has always fascinated Kris, and that has become one of the leading objectives of his company Ardor SEO—how to generate links for a website to make it an authority in its niche.
This discussion between Kris and Robert also touches on a crucial aspect of SEO: the ever-changing rules and algorithms Google implements. Kris explains that, before, marketers could trick the search engine with:
However, he goes on to say:
“What Google is trying to do is they keep on updating their algorithm for the best results and user experience. They checked websites to see they learn fast, they’re mobile-friendly, they’re link profile is organic. They don’t want people to be manipulating the system.”
By updating the rules and algorithm, it forces marketers to do away with black-hat techniques or unethical methods of promoting websites. Instead, they learn to provide better-quality content, and that enhances user experience.
6 Tips to Rank Well on Google
According to Kris, there are ways to rank well on Google.
1. Use an aged domain
It takes a while for a domain or a website address to rank on Google because the search engine wants to make sure you’re an authority site. This means that, not only do you have valuable content, but you also have relevant and high-quality links.
That’s why businesses should take care of their old, but active, domains. If they don’t have a domain yet, they may rank faster if they buy an aged domain on the web.
Note that this strategy may not work well if you’re trying to rank using your brand name.
2. Encourage a “linkback”
One of the effective ways to become an authority is getting linkbacks. It means that other websites link back to your page.
Kris gives an example of a drug-treatment company that’s brand new and doesn’t have an aged domain. It, however, has an excellent selling point. It could then use this unique selling proposition (USP) to reach out to online journals, for example. The company could write content for these sites, and that could give them a linkback.
3. Understand how Google works
Kris then goes on to touch some “misunderstandings” about how Google operates. For example, some clients might see their websites ranking high for their chosen keyword, but it may not be the entire picture.
According to him, users usually look for information using keywords, not the official name of the store. “Google manipulates search results to show what they think you want to see,” he says.
4. Customise your marketing strategy
One of the vital tips Kris shares with Robert is bespoking an online marketing plan.
According to Kris, Ardor SEO and the client always take time to answer questionnaires and go through the process of knowing the objectives.
He then shares stories about clients who’d like to rank for certain keywords where big companies already dominate. It may be necessary for the new client to be open to other less-competitive keywords to make the budget and the plan more worth it.
He states, “We win when you win. It’s in our very best interest to get you a positive ROI as quickly as possible. The sooner we can get you more money than our service cost, then you’re a customer for life.”
5. Show your passion
When it comes to link building, showing your passion is an effective step. “People get in the business because they love doing what they do,” Kris says.
Not all business owners are digital marketers, but they can still showcase their brand by pairing it with passion. As an example, he talks about butchers who could be using certain knife brands for years. SEO marketers may then reach out to this knife company to propose a testimonial from the butcher. The manufacturer may love it because it provides an authentic valuable content. In turn, the content can provide a linkback to the butcher, and the company can benefit from the excellent content and enhancement of user experience.
5. Pick up the “low-hanging fruit”
According to Kris, one of the common mistakes in SEO is not picking up the “low-hanging fruit”.
Instead of trying to rank for new keywords all the time, you can search for all your valuable keywords and update your content with them.
As an example, he cites a website of a lawyer whose meta description contains the target keyword. If they could edit the page content and add the keyword there as well, that particular page could be on the first page.
Being on the first page is essential since it gets 99.02% of the traffic. Being at tenth place may still be great since it usually obtains 6% traffic. If the lawyer used internal linking (adding links to his other pages), he could even jump onto higher spots.
Kris also shares some of the tools Ardor SEO uses, such as Moz and Ahrefs, to help better understand and determine the best-suited keywords for their clients.
To learn more, listen to the actual podcast on the Robert Plank Show.
Would you like to learn more about how to rank in Google? Book a call today with Ardor SEO.