Google referencing tutorial: position your site on page 1

By Charlotte Goyard

Published: October 24, 2024

When you know that Google accounts for over 92% of searches in France and worldwide (December 2019 data), it's only natural to want to optimize your site's Google referencing .

Apart from a few countries that are still resisting the invader (Russia with Yandex, China with Baidu, etc.), positioning your website or blog on the first page of Google remains a must if you want to do business on the Internet.

However, this requires strategy, method, hard work and the right tools, if you opt for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

The aim of this tutorial is to show you the different levers you can use to be visible on Google, and how to rank, using the positioning of this very article as an example.

Discover the fundamentals of SEO and the steps you need to follow to appear in the search engine and gain organic traffic today!

See all software Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Understanding the basics of Google search engine optimization

How to appear on Google

There are several ways to appear on Google's 1st page:

👉 Use the Google Adwords advertising network.

This paid search technique (also known as SEA for Search Engine Advertising) involves paying a bid for a given keyword.

👉 Create a listing on Google My Business/Google Shopping/Google+/Google News according to your activity.

As Google loves to highlight its own services in the results, your listing can be displayed according to the search, the history, the geographic position of the surfer or any other criteria for personalizing the results.
It should be noted that Google Shopping is not free and works on the same principle as Google Adwords.

👉 Work on the natural referencing of your website/blog (also known as SEO for Search Engine Optimisation, or free referencing) to be present in the remaining results.

Unlike Google Adwords, this method is "free". It's more sustainable over time, as it doesn't require a permanent budget.
On the other hand, it does require work, expertise and SEO tools. This is the method we'll be looking at in this article.

How do I get listed on Google?

Here are the 3 pillars of natural referencing on Google.

1. Technical pillar

For Google to index your site, it needs to be able to understand and access it as comfortably as possible. Several criteria are therefore important in the design of your website:

The technology used: Google interprets HTML markup language, combined with CSS for formatting, better than a site built using JavaScript programming language ;
Site accessibility: Google's crawler (Google Bot) must be able to quickly crawl the most important pages on your site.
- orphan pages,
- 404 errors, redirection errors, etc,
- long loading times (due to heavy images, for example).
Responsiveness to all screen sizes: Google aims to present sites with the most pleasant browsing experience possible.
URLs rewritten with short, understandable words to enhance the browsing experience.
Generate a sitemap, an XML file listing all useful URLs, and send it to Google (via Google Search Console, formerly Google Webmaster Tools) to indicate which pages of your site should be indexed.

2. Content pillar

For Google to position you in its results on a given topic, it needs to understand that your site "talks" about that topic.

Your content must be :

high-quality, varied and complete, so that :
- Google to see you as an expert on the subject;
- have as many subjects as possible on which to position yourself;
- meet 100% of your target audience's demand, and cover all business opportunities;
unique: Google's objective is to present relevant content to the Internet users who use its search engine.
Through its Google Panda algorithm, it hunts down any duplicate or overly-similar content that doesn't add any value for web users.
What's more, content theft is also punishable by law (article L.122-4);
structured, to optimize Google's understanding, with :
- a document title (title tag),
- a main title (h1),
- paragraph and sub-paragraph titles (h2, h3, etc.),
- images to illustrate (with a file name containing real words and an explicit alt tag to tell Google what the image represents);
hierarchically structured and accessible via links (internal linking) to enable both the surfer and Google to discover this content.
Here's a classic internal link structure:

3. Popularity pillar

If people are talking about you, it's because you tell interesting and credible stories. You're reliable. Google translates this reliability for a website by the number of links to your site from other sites (backlinks).

Just as in real life, a recommendation doesn't carry the same weight depending on who's recommending you. For a website, we prefer links :

from sites in the same universe,
ideally authoritative, i.e. known and credible,
with a certain popularity.

☝️ Google, with its Google Penguin algorithm, seeks to track down "cheats" who try to boost their positions by buying links, using site networks (PBNs), etc. There's nothing illegal about these practices, but they can seriously damage your SEO if they're poorly managed.

Theory is good, practice is better! We're now going to take a look at the steps you need to follow to position your content, and therefore your site, on Google, by working on content and popularity.

How to rank well on Google? 4-step tutorial

To work effectively on these three pillars, the use of several SEO tools is generally essential. This is why SEO, which is a "free" acquisition channel, can represent a certain monthly budget.

To keep costs down and simplify the process, this tutorial is based on two tools we've selected to support our approach: SEObserver and SEMrush.

If you don't have these tools, please note that you can reuse the tutorial methodology by combining other SEO tools (see the list of alternative tools at the end of the article).

Step 1 ^: Define the subject

The aim of this tutorial is to position this article on page 1 of Google.

▷ Topic: SEO,
⇲ Angle " tuto, guide ",
🎯 Marketing target: junior to intermediate SEO, or senior SEO looking for new tools.

1.1 Finding queries

When we position content on the 1st page of Google, we position it in relation to a query, a keyword, in other words a need expressed by the web surfer.

→ So we look for the most relevant query in terms of intent, search volume and feasibility.

⚙️ For this step, we need a keyword research or generator tool to obtain an exhaustive list of queries typed by Internet users on Google.
With SEMrush, we use the "Keyword Magic Tool". Type in "SEO" (the theme of our article), then click on the "Search" button.

We browse through the queries, which are automatically sorted by decreasing search volume.

🔎 The "referencing" query is a high-volume generic query (6,600 searches per month) with a stable seasonal pattern. (in the third Trends column, you can see the volume of searches per month and therefore its evolution throughout the year).

We can then type the query into Google to check the results proposed for this query and the intention behind it. The proposed results have the angle "tuto, guide, training" and are aimed at a rather beginner target, which corresponds to our objective.

1.2 Defining query feasibility

To be able to position our article on Google's 1st page, the query must be reachable, i.e. other competing sites that also deal with the subject must not be too "strong" compared to our site.

→ We'll therefore try to determine the level of competition on this query to see if it's realistic to work on it. To do this, we're going to study the sites that rank on page 1.

⚙️ For the feasibility study, this time we use SEObserver. We click on the "Keyword Competition Checker" button and enter our site (/) to compare the power of the appvizer site with other sites.

1️⃣ We look at the power of the sites themselves (middle column, Root Domain).

TF (Trust Flow) is a metric from the Majestic SEO tool that gives an authority score out of 100, and RD (referring domains) corresponds to the number of external sites making a backlink to the positioned site.

🔎 There are 4 very large sites compared to the others (sites 2, 3, 7 and 8) that we won't be able to compete with.

2️⃣ We then look at how these sites "rank", i.e. position themselves on Google (right-hand column, SEMrush Domain).

KWs indicate the number of queries on which these sites rank, Traff indicates the estimated number of monthly visits thanks to natural referencing.

🔎 Sites 1 and 6 are rather effective SEO sites, so it will also be difficult for appvizer to compete with them.

3️⃣ We now look at the pages that are ranking. The URLs indicate that this is a deep page (it's not the site's home page, but a page dedicated to this query) and the left-hand column (URL) gives us the "power" of these pages.

🔎 We note that they all have backlinks and that site 4 will also be difficult to compete with, given the number of backlinks to its deep page.

4️⃣ Finally, we look at the Topical Trust Flow: this is the theme of the backlinks, which can be discovered by hovering over each coloured box.

For example, if a page's content is technical and its backlinks come from travel sites, this casts doubt on the quality of the site's backlinks.

🔎 Hovering over the TF for our example, we can see that it doesn't seem consistent for site 4.

➡️ Conclusion: this query doesn't seem impossible for appvizer; sites 1, 4, 5, 9 and 10 can a priori be dethroned.

However, backlinks to the article will undoubtedly be necessary.

1.3. Check that the SERP is stable

→ The SERP (Google's search results) can be subject to more or less significant and frequent movements (changes in site position), depending on the theme.

⚙️ Still in SEObserver, click on "SERPmachine" to observe the stability of the SERP over the last 30 days for the query "referencement google".

🔎 The sites in the top 10 are broadly the same over the last 30 days, so the SERP seems relatively stable. So if our article is positioned, there wouldn't be too much turbulence to expect from Google.

Step 2 ^: Write the article

→ So we're going to write an article on the query "referencement google". To maximize our chances of being listed in Google, we opt for a two-pronged strategy:

2.1 Identify the long tail, related subjects and define semantics

⚙️ Using the SEMrush tool, we click on the "Keyword Magic Tool" tab, then retype our query, with the aim of identifying alternative keywords. Click on "Exact match" or "Questions".

The keywords appear grouped according to themes close to our query (such as "site", "comment" and "page", as seen on the left). The list on the right corresponds to all the keywords on this theme.

For example, by clicking on the how theme, we see that "how to SEO" or "how to improve a site's SEO" can be addressed in the article.

🔎 This gives us an overview of the vocabulary, or semantic field, most commonly used by sites that are well referenced in Google on the topic "referencing google".

☝️ The most important keywords are both those that appear most often and those present in important tags such as Title, h1, etc.Using these keywords allows us to stay within the semantic "framework" expected by Google, but does not guarantee a position on page 1.

Indeed, Google's objective is to offer the most relevant content to Internet users, in order to remain an essential search engine. If the content is just a rehash of everything else on the web, it has no added value, and Google has no reason to offer it to users.

To rank, you need to provide a new, original and unique response.

2.2. Plan and write

When you look at the Google results for the query "google search engine optimization", you'll see some rather geeky content about what SEO is and what it's not.neric content on what SEO is, how it works and SEO tips and best practices, but it's still largely theoretical.

→ In order to stand out from the crowd, we're going to explain the theory, but also create a very practical tutorial to show you how to implement these SEO tips.

2.3. Defining the title tag

The title is a very important criterion. By optimizing the title with the query (rather at the beginning), long tail and related keywords, you can really achieve positive results in terms of positioning.

The title should also summarize the article and make you want to read it.

Last but not least, it should be no longer than 70 characters.

→ As a reminder, we have as elements: "référencement google", "site internet", "site web"That's why we're going to try :

Google referencing: tutorial for positioning your website

Step 3 ^: Position your article by hunting for backlinks

It's important to give content a chance and time to position itself.
However, if the article doesn't make it to the 1st page, you need to give it some "juice" through backlinks.

When we analyzed the competition, we saw that it would certainly be necessary to have backlinks in order to rank.

There are several possible strategies for achieving this:

buy backlinks on specialized platforms. This solution is not very long-lasting and is of relative quality;
requesting backlinks, by canvassing relevant sites with a short e-mail. This is the preferred method;
wait for natural, spontaneous backlinks (this is the method recommended by Google).

3.1 Identify sites that are already providing backlinks to competitors' articles

→ If sites have cited competitors' content as a source, it may be relevant for them to cite this article too. So we need to identify them so we can contact them.

⚙️ To do this, we once again rely on the SEObserver tool. Once in the "Competition Checker", click on Options > Find top backlinks > URL.

The result is a list of the competitors' best backlinks to their home pages. All that remains is to export the list of sites ("Export" button) for easier follow-up when canvassing.

3.2 Identify other sites to cite the article as a source

We need to identify sites that are not competitors, but complementary to the subject.

For example, we could approach SEO consultant/agency sites interested in discussing the method.

1️⃣ To do this, go to Labs > Domain extractor > domains currently ranking in the TOP 100 > on google.fr for the keywords "SEO consultant" and "SEO agency".

You can also add criteria to narrow down the results.

In this example, we'll require a healthy TF (Trust Flow = Authority)/CF (Citation Flow = Popularity) ratio (> 70%) and sites that are themselves recommended by at least 20 other sites (Referring Domains).

2️⃣ Export the list and quickly check site quality in: Labs > Domain Profiler.

Copy the list of URLs (by 100) just exported. Select "category = domain" and "view = detailed".

The aim here is to detect any inconsistencies in site profiles.

3️⃣ We'll be checking to see if there's a network of sites (PBN) that Google can detect and therefore potentially penalize.

To do this, we'll look to see if there's a significant discrepancy between "Referring Domains" (number of unique sites making a backlink) and "IP" (number of different IPs [= site owners] making a backlink).

In fact, if the same IP (person) owns several sites that backlink to the same site, it's certainly a network of sites.

4️⃣ We'll also check to see if the site has a lot of sidewide backlinks, i.e. links that are repeated on all pages of a site (e.g.: in the footer of a site, in the top of a page, etc.): in the footer of a site, in the right-hand column of a blog in the "my friends" section, etc.).).

This type of link is less valuable than a single link contextualized in a single article. To be used in moderation and only on legitimate sites within the same theme.

We look at the difference between "Referring Domains" (number of unique sites) and "Backlinks" (total number of links). The greater the difference, the more sitewide links there are.

5️⃣ We then check whether the keywords (Keywords column) on which the site is positioned are consistent with its universe, and whether the anchor profile (Anchors column) seems natural (Anchors" column) seems natural (we expect brand and URL-type anchors, not anchors optimized for positioning on a query).

6️⃣ Finally, we look at the quality of the "TopBacklinks". Among the site's best backlinks, we expect real, legitimate and healthy sites rather than sites dedicated to netlinking (PBN, directories...).

7️⃣ Once you have this short list of sites, you can further refine your analysis by going to the SEObserver home page > Enter a website.
Enter the site whose analysis you wish to refine.

We check whether netlinking activity is consistent over time by looking at the evolution of Topical Trust Flow (stable or changing color) and the evolution of the number of RDs (black curve).

A regularly changing TTF may be synonymous with the creation of artificial links of dubious quality.

A regular drop in the RD curve may also indicate a site that's losing speed as it loses backlinks.

8️⃣ Finally, we're going to check the evolution of traffic. Since TF (Trust Flow) and TTF (Topical Trust Flow) can be manipulated, the traffic indicator is almost the most important.
A site that's up and running and attracting more and more visitors is, a priori, a site that's doing well.

In the hunt for backlinks, TF and TTF are the metrics that will send you the juice to boost your site. But without traffic, this juice may not be sustainable, because it's artificial.

In the example above, although TTF is stable and the site has good metrics (TF/CF ratio, anchor profile, etc.), the site has had virtually no visits for two years. As a result, this site will not be retained.

Once the analysis is complete, all that's left to do is to contact the sites that have been selected and ask them for a backlink.

Step 4 ^: Monitor article performance

Now that the article has been written and published, it's time to track its positioning on Google in order to :

4.1. Enter the keywords to monitor

→ We're going to track the evolution of the article's positioning on its main query, but also on related and long-tail queries.

⚙️ To do this, we use SEMrush: we create a project for our domain, Appvizer FR, then go to "Position Tracking".

Then enter the list of keywords whose positioning you want to track (for our example: "tuto referencement google", "referencement google", etc.).

You can create a "google referencing" campaign to track overall progress. Add appvizer.fr to track the evolution of the entire domain in relation to this campaign and queries.

4.2. Track the evolution of your site's positioning and that of your competitors

Several criteria are displayed, such as average position, visibility, estimated traffic, etc.
The date tab on the right allows you to determine the period to follow to see the evolution of our website's positions over the time periods of your choice (yesterday, 7 days, 30 days, etc.), as well as the overall evolution of the serp.

The "Winners and losers" tab allows you to detect our competitors' ranking gains (or losses).

4.3. Tracking backlinks

While we have an idea of the backlinks created by the sites we approach, we have no control over the natural and spontaneous backlinks recommended by Google.

⚙️ To get an accurate picture of the situation, we're going to take the SEObserver tool and set it to detect new backlinks received by appvizer.

This allows you to check the latest links created, the site and its metrics for the linking page, the anchor and the presence/absence of dofollow (for a backlink to send juice, it must be in dofollow).

In "Backlinks" > Timeline of backlinks, you can also check all the new backlinks created for the query "referencing google" to competitors.

SEO tools to improve your ranking

As explained at the beginning of the tutorial, this guide has been produced using SEMrush and SEObserver, as they complement each other and enable you to carry out all the stages of SEO.

However, if you are unable to use these tools, here are a few free (generally limited) and paid alternatives.

Research tools and keyword generators:
- free for ideas (but not search volume): Google Keyword Planner, Keywordshitter, Answer the public ;
- paid tools: Insight Yooda (for the French-speaking market), Ahrefs and Moz (for international use), Ranxplorer (to analyze competitors' keywords).
Semantic analysis tools :
- free: Alyze.info ;
- paid tools: 1.fr, Yourtextguru, Seoquantum.
Backlink tracking tools:
- free (for your site only): Google Search Console ;
- paid tools: Majestic, Ahrefs.
Traffic estimation tools :
- free: Similarweb ;
- paid tools: Ranxplorer, Insight Yooda (for the French-speaking market), Ahrefs and Moz (for international use).
Positioning tracking tools:
- free: Serplab ;
- paid tools: Advanced Web Ranking, Monitorank.
Serp and competitor analysis tools:
- free: Serposcope ;
- paid tools: Ahref's SERP Checker.