Oct 6, 2025 | Search Engine Optimization
How I Ranked #1 For My Target Keyword In 30 Days
Most people think SEO takes forever.
They’re not wrong; usually it does.
But sometimes, when you get the fundamentals right, things move way faster than anyone expects.
This post is about one of those times.
In just 30 days, I took a brand new page, optimised it for a competitive, transactional local keyword “SEO Palmerston North” and hit number one in Google.
Why am I sharing this?
Because it’s proof that the “slow game” can have quick wins, and that anyone (not just big agencies with massive budgets) can pull this off if they understand what actually matters.
In this guide, I’ll cover everything from:
-
- Building domain authority the right way
- Securing backlinks and citations (from sites with over 50,000 monthly visitors)
- Creating content that actually ranks (and converts)
- And a few small but powerful moves that make all the difference
By the end, you’ll know the exact process I used to rank first for “SEO Palmerston North” and how you can use the same approach to rank in your own city.
Let’s get started.
Step One: Build Domain Authority From Reputable Sources
Domain Authority is important not just for Google’s algorithms or ranking factors for both SEO and local SEO, but for the way Google decides who to trust.
Here’s the thing: Google can’t read your content the way a human can.
It doesn’t “understand” quality the way you or I do. Instead, it looks for signals (little votes of confidence) that say, “This site knows what it’s talking about.”
That’s what a backlink really is: a referral.
If someone you respect refers you to a business, you instantly trust it more, even if you’ve never heard of that business before. The trust transfers.
Google works the same way.
If a reputable site links to you, it’s like saying, “This site is worth checking out.” But if that same link comes from a brand-new domain with no traffic and no authority, it means almost nothing.
For example, let’s say one of the biggest SEO blogs in the world, Backlinko, linked to your agency website.
Google knows Backlinko gets almost a million visitors per month.
It knows Backlinko is an authority in the SEO niche.
So if Backlinko links to you, two things instantly click in Google’s brain:
- Backlinko is trusted.
- If they trust you enough to link to you, then you must be worth something, too.
That’s the power of authority links. It’s not about the hyperlink itself; it’s about who’s mentioning you.
This is why referrals work so well in business, too. The trust is built-in. You don’t start cold; you start warm. You’re essentially borrowing someone else’s reputation for a moment. You ethically hijack it.
And when you do that with the right links from the right places, your domain’s perceived authority skyrockets.
That’s step one. Before anything else, before the on-page tweaks, before the content, you’ve got to build real authority.
And here’s where it gets fun.
This is how I was able to build domain authority for a brand new website (barely a month old) to a DA of 31 on Ahrefs.
For context, one of my competitors has been in the game for over ten years. Their website sits at a DA of 55.
So in 30 days, I got halfway to where they’ve climbed in ten years.
Why? Because promotion and building domain authority isn’t an afterthought in my SEO and GEO strategy.
It’s the foundation. While most people write a page and hope it ranks, I build the signals that tell Google, “This site deserves to rank.”
Key Takeaway
If you want to show up more in AI overviews, get mentioned in ChatGPT, and rank for competitive keywords on Google, you have to build domain authority and get your business listed in places it matters most.
There’s no way around it.
And the way you build domain authority is simple: you get reputable sources within your niche talking about you. Not random sites. Not spammy links.
Real mentions from places Google already trusts.
When Google sees those signals, it starts to treat your site differently.
You stop looking like “just another website” and start looking like a credible player. That’s when rankings move fast.
Step Two: Build Links and Citations
The concept of domain authority is about getting reputable sources to talk about you.
The mechanism (the actual hands-on way that happens) is links and citations.
A link is a vote of confidence.
It’s someone saying, “Hey, this brand is worth paying attention to.” Citations are mentions of your business details (name, address, phone) in trusted directories.
Together, these signals tell Google you’re real, relevant, and worth showing in search results, local packs, and even AI overviews.
This is the toolset that powers authority.
But not all links are created equal.
Here’s my very, very simple way to identify a high-quality link:
- It’s from a website with a high DA (ideally 30+).
- It gets decent monthly traffic (the more, the better).
- It’s within your niche (or closely related).
If a link ticks all three boxes (and especially if it scores high on each one) Google notices. You get rewarded.
For example, I have multiple links from StoryChief.io. They get 50,000 visitors per month, and they’re a content marketing site; completely relevant to what I do.
That’s one of the reasons I was able to build domain authority so fast.
And now, because that authority is in place, ranking any page on my site is easier.
Link Building And Domain Authority: The Video Game Boss Analogy
If one arm of the boss is super strong but the rest of the body is weak, you’re relying on one area to hold the fight. You’re vulnerable everywhere else.
But when you level up the whole boss, every limb, muscle, and bone structure, the entire thing becomes harder to beat.
That’s what domain authority is. It’s overall strength.
Links are the power-ups you use to build it.
When you get multiple links like the StoryChief one (and others from marketing websites with 10,000+ monthly visitors) you’re not just stacking power.
You’re multiplying it.
This is how links and domain authority work together.
The more reputable sites you have talking about you, the faster you build authority. And the faster you build authority, the easier everything else in SEO becomes.
But here’s something most people miss.
In most cases, these people will only link to a site (or a piece of content on your site) that actually gives value to them.
In a perfect world, they’d just link straight to your money pages. You’d ask, they’d say yes, and boom, your service page gets a powerful backlink.
But that’s not how link building works.
You need content that makes them look good, too. Content that serves:
- The page they’re linking from
- Their readers
- Their own brand and reputation
Linking to a service page like “SEO Palmerston North”? That doesn’t do anything for their audience. It’s not shareable. It’s not helpful. It’s just a sales page.
But a guide like “How to Do SEO for YouTube”? That’s value.
That’s something they want to point their readers to, because it helps their audience and positions them as a trusted source for finding great content.
That’s why it’s important to have more than just money pages on your website.
You need what I call link bait: valuable, informational blog posts designed to attract links.
These posts don’t just sit there collecting dust; they’re the assets you use to get people talking about your site, which in turn boosts the authority of every other page you care about.
Key Takeaway
If you want powerful links, don’t just think about what helps you.
Think about what helps them. The more value your content provides to other site owners, their brands, and their audiences, the more likely they’ll link to you and those links are what push everything else higher in Google, local packs, and even AI overviews.
Step Three: Optimise Your Money Page
All the authority in the world will help get people to click on your site, but it won’t automatically make them stay or convert.
To actually rank and dominate a keyword like “SEO Palmerston North,” your page itself needs to answer the right questions and beat the competition.
Here’s the starting point: search intent.
Ask yourself: why is someone typing this keyword into Google? What are they really looking for? In this case, business owners in Palmerston North want to know:
- What New Zealand SEO services are available locally?
- How much will it cost?
- Why should they choose one agency over another?
Once you understand intent, you need to do competitor analysis. Look at the pages already ranking for “SEO Palmerston North” and break them down:
- Are they listing prices?
- Do they explain why local search engine optimization matters for that business?
- Are there gaps or missing details that you can cover better?
Your goal is to find competitive advantages; things that your page can do better than the others.
Maybe your competitors are vague about pricing. Maybe they don’t explain the process clearly. Maybe they overlook certain benefits that resonate with local business owners.
Once you identify these advantages, leverage them in your content.
Be comprehensive. Be clear. Be the page that answers every question someone might have and does it in a way that’s easy to read and trust.
Think of it this way: your money page is the final boss.
Links and domain authority have given you the strength to show up in search, but now the page itself has to deliver a knockout performance.
Cover intent, outshine competitors, and answer the questions your audience actually cares about.
Why This Works
Here’s my take on why all of this actually works.
Some of it is confirmed through Google’s updates and studies, some of it comes from my own experience reverse engineering the system.
At its core, Google’s goal is simple: to provide the number one solution to the searcher’s problem.
All those algorithms, updates, and signals (helpful content, links, user experience, local SEO signals, AI overviews) they’re just tools Google uses to figure out which pages are most likely to solve the problem someone typed in.
If you always ask yourself:
“Am I providing the absolute best solution to this person’s problem?”
…then you’re already thinking like Google.
Of course, you still have to play the game: build links, optimize content, promote your pages, and follow SEO and GEO best practices.
But the principle remains the same.
Everything else (whether it’s local SEO, large language models, AI features, or the next Google update) is secondary to that one question.
Focus on providing the best solution possible. Couple that with solid SEO fundamentals like link building, content promotion, and on-page optimization.
Do that, and you won’t have to worry about tricks, hacks, or algorithm changes. You’re aligned with Google’s number one principle and that’s why this strategy works.
Conclusion
Ranking number one for “SEO Palmerston North” in 30 days wasn’t magic.
It was methodical.
Every step from building domain authority, securing high-quality links and citations, creating content that adds real value, to optimizing the money page and understanding search intent worked together to push this page to the top.
The big takeaway? SEO isn’t about shortcuts.
It’s about aligning everything you do with one principle: provide the best solution to the searcher’s problem.
When you combine that philosophy with the fundamentals, the results follow. Authority grows, rankings rise, and your site starts performing for keywords that matter.
If there’s one thing to remember: focus on quality, focus on value, and play the long game with smart, strategic steps. Do that, and you can achieve fast, meaningful results just like hitting number one in 30 days.
More from this author:
How to Rank Higher on Google: Advice Straight from Google’s Own blog and Experts
How I Create Content That Ranks on Google and YouTube (Without a Big Team)
How to Write Content That Ranks #1 on Google
Sep 28, 2025 | Search Engine Optimization
How to Rank Higher on Google: Advice Straight from Google’s Own Blog and Experts
Everyone wants to rank higher on Google. But with all the talk about AI, LLMs, GEO, and “new SEO hacks,” it’s easy to get distracted by the noise.
So I went straight to the source: Google itself.
Between talks from Danny Sullivan, blog posts on AI experiences, and their repeated guidance on helpful content, the message is clear:
Ranking well isn’t about chasing every shiny new trend.
In this post, I’ll break down Google’s own advice and add my own insights from years of experience building sites from zero to thousands of daily visitors.
You’ll learn what actually works, what matters most, and the underlying principle that drives Google’s ranking decisions, which, spoiler, is simpler than most people think.
Tip #1: Good SEO is Good GEO
Danny Sullivan, Google’s public search liaison, made something very clear at WordCamp US:
“Good SEO is good GEO.”
He addressed many of the misconceptions surrounding new trends.
Things like LLM text, GEO optimizations, and “secret formulas” people claim will get you ranking instantly.
His message?
You don’t need to do anything drastically different from what already works with standard SEO.
As long as you’re creating unique, helpful content for real people and following the fundamentals like proper keyword targeting, on-page SEO, and solid site structure, you don’t have to worry about all the flashy trends.
This makes SEO a lot simpler.
Instead of chasing every new shiny tactic, focus on providing the best content possible. Understand your audience, answer their questions, and follow the SEO basics.
That’s enough to succeed in any industry, whether it’s the top business directory in New Zealand, or you’re selling the best shiny disco slippers.
And here’s an important note: in every industry, there will always be trends, goldmine opportunities, and people trying to position themselves as experts in the “next big thing.”
They’ll claim to know a formula that guarantees rankings.
But the fundamentals will always outlast trends.
Focus on the fundamentals, create genuinely helpful content, and you’ll consistently win no matter what new SEO gimmick is being promoted.
Point 2: Google’s Guidance on AI Experiences Confirms SEO Fundamentals
Google recently published a blog post titled Top Ways to Ensure Your Content Performs Well in Google’s AI Experiences on Search.
Their advice? It’s remarkably familiar:
- Focus on unique, valuable content for people
- Provide a great page experience
Sound familiar? That’s because it’s the same as traditional SEO fundamentals.
Some marketers try to position themselves as GEO or AI experts, claiming secret formulas to rank.
But these technologies and acronyms have only been around for a year or so. There’s simply not enough data yet to confidently say what works and what doesn’t.
The best approach is to rely on what we do know (what’s already working) and follow Google’s own instructions.
So, what does “great page experience” mean in practice?
- Make your content easy to navigate
- Use clear H1, H2, H3 headings
- Follow technical SEO best practices
- Include photos, videos, and other helpful media that enhance the page
Google’s goal with every update (traditional algorithm or AI-driven) remains the same: deliver unique, valuable content that serves the user.
In other words, if you stick to creating helpful content and optimizing the user experience, you’re already aligned with what Google wants. You don’t need to chase every new acronym or trend.
Point 3: My Philosophy — Provide the Best Solution at Scale
Here’s how I see it, based on years of experience and some pretty extreme examples:
- Ranking a brand new domain (one month old) for competitive SEO keywords
- Beating competitors with 10+ year-old websites
- Building sites that get 1,000+ daily visitors
- Helping others grow sites to 50,000+ visitors per month
It all comes down to one principle: put yourself in the shoes of the searcher.
If you reverse engineer the search intent (figure out what someone typing a keyword is actually trying to accomplish) you can create content that matches that intent perfectly.
Keywords aren’t just for SEO; they’re feedback on what people want.
When you create content that:
- Fully satisfies that intent
- Is comprehensive and easy to use
- Provides the best solution to the searcher’s problem
…then you’re aligned with Google’s core goal.
Their “secret” has already been told in their own words: provide unique, helpful content for people.
Here’s the kicker: do this at scale. Produce consistently, across multiple keywords, and couple it with solid search engine optimization services (link building, content promotion, technical optimization) and you never have to worry about whether you’re chasing the latest SEO, GEO, or AI trend.
It doesn’t matter what niche you’re in.
Recipes, fat-loss guides, YouTube Search Engine Optimization tutorials — the formula is the same:
- Take the keyword
- Analyze search intent
- Study the top competitors
- Create content that blows them out of the water — head and shoulders above everything else
Do that, and you’ll win. Every time.
Conclusion
Ranking higher on Google doesn’t have to be complicated. If you follow Google’s own advice and focus on the fundamentals, you’ll consistently get results.
The key takeaways are simple:
- Good SEO is good GEO — stick to creating unique, helpful content and the basics of SEO. Don’t chase every shiny trend.
- Focus on people, not algorithms — provide valuable, user-friendly content and optimize the page experience. Google’s AI updates and blog posts confirm this is what matters most.
- Provide the best solution at scale — reverse engineer search intent, create content that outperforms competitors, and do it consistently while following solid SEO fundamentals.
Everything else (LLMs, AI, GEO hype) is secondary. Align your strategy with Google’s core principle: deliver the best solution to the searcher’s problem, and you’ll win, no matter the update, trend, or tool.
Featured Image Source
Sep 14, 2025 | Search Engine Optimization
How I Create Content That Ranks on Google and YouTube (Without a Big Team)
In this post, I’m going to teach you how I create content that ranks on Google and Youtube as a one-man army.
I’ve created guides that rank #1 for multiple keywords with thousands of searches per month:
I’ve created videos that ranked #1 on Youtube for my keywords and get promoted through its suggestions algorithm:
These results have been achieved with a simple 4-step process I use to consistently and systematically rank #1 for my targeted keywords on Google and Youtube.
Let’s begin.
Step 1: Choose A Popular Content Topic
The first thing you want to do before you begin writing any content is to choose a topic that gets attention consistently, month in and month out.
Back in the days, I used to create Youtube videos and blog posts about whatever I felt inspired about in that moment.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and it’s super enjoyable.
Unfortunately, just because something’s enjoyable to you doesn’t mean it’s market-validated.
If you want real business results, you need to choose a topic that’s tried and true.
You want to pick a topic your market is drooling over – like Lakers fans swarming a hot dog stand after an overtime game.
To do this, I use Google Keyword Planner
.
I start with brainstorming some topics related to my business and throwing them into the keyword planner:
Here’s what I’m looking for when I’m analysing the topics:
- A decent amount of monthly search volume.
- Directly related to your business.
- An area of expertise that you’re confident enough to write on.
- Ideally, if you can find keywords with CPC attached, that’s great too because it shows commercial intent..
Here’s how I applied the above process to my own business for the topic “SEO Help for Small Business.”
First, I chucked my main keyword into Google Keyword Planner:
Here’s why “Small Business SEO” is a great keyword (and topic) to go after:
- It’s directly related to my business.
The topic is literally search engine optimization for small businesses; exactly what I offer. It’s not just relevant, it’s dead on target.
- It carries commercial intent.
People searching this aren’t just casually browsing. They’re small business owners trying to solve a real problem: how to rank higher and get more customers. That means some of those searchers are ready to pay for help.
- The competition is a good sign.
Yes, there are other people targeting this keyword, but that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it means the market is already validated. If other businesses are investing to rank here, it’s because they know there’s money in it.
- The search volume fits the market.
Google Keyword Planner shows a range of 10–100 searches a month, but that’s just one variation. When you group all the related keywords together, you’re looking at a few hundred searches a month. For a New Zealand market, that’s actually a healthy, realistic audience: not too small, not too big, just right for a niche like SEO marketing.
If you do this for your own business and find similar patterns, then tada – you’ve found a topic worth creating content around!
This sets the tone for your content writing because you’re not left guessing what the market wants.
On the contrary, you’re doing the complete opposite! You’ve found a topic that has the potential to bring you business for years to come.
(Keyword being “potential” – we’ll cover how to turn that potential into reality in the next steps)
Once you’ve validated your topic idea, it’s time to move on to analyzing your competition’s content.
Step 2: Content Competitor Analysis
Now it’s time to chuck the topic into Google and take a look at the content you’ll be competing against.
Ideally, you want to look at the first three pieces of content that rank for your keyword and run a content audit on them.
(You’ll be using this information for your own content once you begin creating it)
Running a content audit on your competitor’s content will give you the “inside scoop” on where their content is lacking and how you can capitalise on it.
Here’s the mental process I use when I run a content audit:
- What’s working well with their content, and how can I make it better?
- What are they missing that I can add to my own content?
- What other ways can I add value to my own piece of content?
Essentially, this process is about creating your “battle plan” against your competitor’s content.
At the end of the day, if you want to rank on Google or Youtube, your content needs to be the best content available on that topic.
Once you identify every edge possible, you’re coming readily prepared once you begin creating.
If you want to outrank your competitors, here are a few ways to actually create content that puts you in a league of your own:
- Go deeper with your content. If their content only gives a taste tester, make sure your content gives the whole-damn meal. Keep it as simple as possible. Don’t overcomplicate it just to sound smart – do the opposite. Be clear, direct, and helpful.
- Cover closely related topics. If the main topic is solid, go a bit wider. Add relevant subtopics that people also want to know about. This keeps readers on your page longer, shows Google you’re the authority, and gives you more chances to hit extra keywords without stuffing.
- Use images and video. People don’t want a wall of text. It’s too difficult to read and grasp, and it’s boring. Break it up with visuals. Screenshots, diagrams, and even a simple photo can make things way easier to follow. Suppose you’re good with a video camera – even better. Video adds trust and keeps people around longer.
- Make your content more emotionally compelling. Most content is dry. Make yours memorable. Use stories, analogies, metaphors. Whatever helps people see the point without working too hard to understand it. Our brains like pictures and visual examples to grasp onto.
- Showcase your personality. Don’t sound like R2D2’s goofy-cousin. Readers can tell when you’ve used AI these days. People want people, not robots. Write like you talk. Be a real human. Add a bit of edge or humour if that’s your style. That “zazz” is what makes people actually enjoy reading your stuff and trust you.
Here’s how I applied it to my own business:
Here’s an example of one of the first ranking pieces of content on Google for this keyword:
When I see a piece of content like this, to me, it’s a goldmine.
Why? Because my job isn’t just to write something on the same topic. It’s to create competitive advantages to make something so much better that Google (and real people) can’t ignore it.
Here’s what I spotted and how I can beat it:
- No images.
Their’s is just a wall of text. That’s an easy win. Good visuals (clean diagrams, examples, even screenshots) instantly make content feel more helpful and more readable. Aesthetics matter.
- No video.
Video is a huge differentiator right now. Everyone’s churning out AI-written articles, but hardly anyone’s pairing them with a quick, human video walkthrough. Add video, and suddenly you stand out.
- Boring word count.
Yes, it’s 3,000 words. But those 3,000 words have no soul. It’s dry, robotic, and formatted like it was written for a search engine, not a human. Inject personality, use smart formatting, make it fun to read, and now you’re miles ahead.
- No personal brand.
Most SEO agencies hide behind a logo. No face, no voice, no trust. When you show up as a real person with a name, a face, and some actual experience, you instantly build credibility that others don’t.
- No stories or analogies.
People don’t just remember facts. They remember stories. Analogies turn complex ideas into “aha” moments. Sprinkle those throughout, and you’ve now made technical content emotionally sticky.
Put all of that together, and you’ve got serious firepower. When it’s time to create, you’re not just making another article.
You’re building a better, sharper, more human piece of content that has everything the current top-ranking piece doesn’t. That’s how you win.
With these notes in mind, when I go to create my guide, I want to make sure to fill in the gaps where they’ve dropped the ball so I can capitalise on it.
Step 3: Create The Content
If you’ve done the previous steps, now it’s time to put pen to paper and get to creating.
The reason why your previous steps are so important now is coz you know exactly what to create.
You don’t have to walk through the writer’s mud of stressing about what to create, the flow of your content, and everything else under the sun.
Now you’ve got a strategic, smooth-flowing content outline you can follow.
Before you dive into writing, make sure you’ve covered the essentials. Every solid piece of content should answer these four things:
- What’s this actually about? Give people a clear idea of the topic up front. No fluff, no clickbait.
- Why should they care? Spell out the benefit of reading it. What are they going to get out of it if they stick around?
- Why should they trust you? Don’t be a ghost behind the screen. Show them why you’re worth listening to – real proof, not hype.
- How do they actually do it? This is the meat. Walk them through the steps in a way that’s simple, practical, and easy to follow.
This is the same format I use for every piece of content I use.
It’s hit home-runs every time for one reason:
It’s simple while covering all the need-to-know elements that a piece of content needs.
You want to give the consumer every piece of information they need to know about that particular topic.
This method takes more time and energy than just whipping up an AI-generated blog post with fancy headers, emojis, and bold + italics every so often.
But Google prefers it, and your efforts will pay off.
Once you’ve created your content covering this format, it’s time to add in the edges you discovered in the previous step.
By the end of this process, you should have an absolute mammoth of a piece of content.
An asset that, when coupled with SEO, will serve your business for years to come.
All that’s left now is to promote your content.
Quick note about AI-generated content:
Even though it might seem handy that it can spit out a 1,000-word article in less time than it takes me to chug a glass of water…
You still need to be confident in the topic because AI can make a ton of mistakes with the creation process and spit out figures and facts that aren’t even true.
Also, because AI can create content at the drop of a hat – all of a sudden, one way you can differentiate yourself is by actually writing it.
As Syndrome from The Incredibles says:
“When everyone’s super, nobody is.”
As it relates to AI-generated content:
In a sea filled with AI-generated content, the one who stands out is the one who actually writes with their true voice.
(Just something to keep in mind)
Step 4: Promote Your Content
“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
If we relate that to your beautiful, new piece of content:
“Does your content even exist if people don’t know about it?”
The answer is a resounding “heck naw.”
This is where a huge portion of people fall off.
They think it’s enough to just create SEO-optimised content and it’ll rank.
That works if the competition is you, yourself and Irene.
But wouldn’t it make more sense to build some defence walls around your content through promotion?
This way, not only will you put your content in front of the right people, but it will also help build links.
These links will:
- Help your content rank higher coz it’s one of Google’s main ranking factors, but also
- Protect your content from other competitors who try to outrank you.
Here are a few simple ways I like to promote my content:
- Email it to your target market. For example, when I finished my SEO guide for small businesses, I promoted it to small businesses in NZ that I wanted to help and just reached out. Nothing salesy or spammy. Just a short, friendly message sharing my resource with them.
- Promote it on your socials. Drop it on your personal accounts and if you’ve got business pages (Facebook, Insta, LinkedIn, whatever), share it there too. Most people forget how much reach they’ve already got in their own circles.
- Answer questions online. Look for places where your audience is already asking questions. Forums, Reddit, Facebook groups, etc., and give helpful answers. If your content genuinely solves the problem, link it. But keep it real. No link dumping.
- Guest post or do a podcast swap. This takes a bit more effort, but if you’ve got something valuable to say and someone else has an audience you’d like to get in front of. It’s a win-win. Plus, it builds links and authority.
Once you’ve done that, you’re all finished.
The most important thing is to choose a few methods of promoting your content and send it till the cows come home.
For me, I love guest posting and cold email outreach. I love connecting with people and genuinely trying to help out where possible, so those two methods are a match-made-in-heaven for me.
Google will take a bit of time for your content to rank, but if you’ve done the steps listed in this post, you’ll be ranking on Google in time.
Wrapping Things Up About Creating Rank-Worthy Content
The process I’ve shared with you is the exact same process I’ve used to build websites from 0 to 1,000 daily visitors in one year.
It’s the exact same process I used to build a YouTube Channel with over 3 million views, 25,000 subscribers, and 33 years of total watch time on my videos.
The most important things to remember are as follows:
- Pick the content your market loves (that’s validated through market research)
- Create the best piece of content on the internet on that topic (that puts your head-and-shoulders above your competitors), and
- Promote that content as if your business life depends on it.
If you do this consistently, you’ll achieve business growth like you can’t even imagine.
Sep 7, 2025 | Search Engine Optimization
In this article, you’re going to learn the best practices for on page SEO keyword optimization.
That’s a fancy way of saying where to put your keywords so they actually help your SEO profile.
This is a mistake a lot of businesses in New Zealand still make.
They either guess, overstuff, or miss the places that matter most and that can cost them rankings and traffic.
Heck, even Google themselves has said they use keywords in the right place to determine whether your content gets ranked or not (due to relevancy):
Here’s what you’re about to learn:
- Exactly where to place your keywords for the biggest impact
- A real-life example of correct keyword placement
- How to choose the right keywords to target in the first place
Let’s get into it.
Step #1: How To Find The Right Keywords To Use
Before you even think about writing content, the first step is to figure out which keyword you’re going to target for the page you’re creating.
Sure, you can (and should) include multiple related keywords within your post.
That’s normal.
But you need one primary keyword that everything else revolves around.
Think of it like a theme.
All the other related terms and phrases can flow naturally into the content, but that primary keyword is the one you’re signaling to Google: “This page is about this topic.”
The keyword you choose will depend on two things:
- Your market — what industry you’re in and what makes sense for your type of business.
- Keyword research — actually checking what people are searching for, how competitive it is, and whether it’s worth going after.
For example, I run an SEO agency that helps businesses build their online reputation, drive traffic to their website, and get more leads with SEO.
Any piece of content on my website (whether it’s my homepage or a blog post) should connect back to SEO and the benefits it has for New Zealand businesses.
That keeps everything consistent and tells both people and search engines exactly what I’m about.
Since driving traffic to a website is a big part of what SEO is all about, one of the keywords I chose for a blog post was “how to drive traffic to your website”
I’ll also use other keywords naturally within the article. Things like:
- get more traffic to a website
- Increase website traffic
- how to get more people to your website
How Did I Know This Was a Valuable Keyword to Target?
The answer: keyword research.
Keyword research is simply identifying the exact search phrases your target market is using to find solutions to their problems.
When you create content that directly aligns with these keywords, Google understands it better and your SEO benefits as a result.
When I’m identifying valuable keywords, I focus on three key metrics:
- Search volume – How many people are actually searching for this term? Consistent search volume over time is ideal, so you know it’s worth targeting.
- Commercial intent (CPC or advertising spend) – Are people spending money on this keyword? If there’s advertising revenue associated with it, it usually means there’s a business opportunity behind it.
- Competitor analysis – I throw the keyword into Google and check the top three pieces of content that already rank. Can I create something better? Because at the end of the day, you’re competing with these pages. You have to make a post that’s genuinely more useful, complete, or engaging than what’s already out there.
In the example above, there isn’t a huge amount of CPC or commercial intent for “increase website traffic,” and the search volume is actually quite low.
That’s largely because we’re targeting the New Zealand market; a smaller audience naturally means fewer searches.
Also, it’s fine that the CPC isn’t very high compared to a term like “google search engine marketing.”
This isn’t a keyword with direct commercial intent, and that’s completely okay. Not every keyword needs to have immediate buying potential.
I use this article to build links to my website. That not only drives traffic (which can eventually lead to a purchase indirectly) but it also establishes authority in Google’s eyes.
That authority helps me rank higher for other relevant keywords, and even gets my content mentioned in AI overviews and ChatGPT insights.
Even so, this keyword is still valuable.
It directly aligns with what my target clients are searching for, and it helps me create content that attracts the right kind of traffic. Metrics aren’t everything – relevance and intent matter just as much.
Step 2: Where to Actually Put These Keywords
Google speaks its own language.
To communicate to Google that your content is about a specific keyword, and to help boost your rankings for that term, you need to place that keyword in the right spots.
Here’s where you should put your keywords:
Meta Title
This is the clickable headline that shows up in Google’s results.
It’s one of the strongest ranking signals. Put your primary keyword in the meta title, ideally near the start, and write it in a way that makes people want to click.
H1 (On-Page Title)
Your H1 is the main heading on the page. It should include the keyword, but it doesn’t have to be identical to the meta title. Think of it as the headline readers see once they land on the page.
URL
If you can, include your keyword in the URL slug. Keep it short, clean, and descriptive. For example: “/increase-website-traffic” is better than “/blog-post-123.”
Meta Description
Not a direct ranking factor, but including your keyword here can boost click-through rates by signalling relevance to searchers.
Intro Paragraph (First 100 Words)
Mention your primary keyword early on. It tells both Google and readers they’ve landed in the right place.
Subheadings (H2s and H3s)
Use your keyword (or natural variations) in some of your subheadings. It reinforces context and helps scanners pick up key points.
Image Alt Text
When it makes sense, add your keyword in the alt text of images. This helps with both accessibility and image search visibility.
Internal Links
When linking to this page from other parts of your site, use the keyword (or a close variation) as the anchor text if it feels natural.
Step 3: A Real-Life Case Study – “SEO Palmerston North”
Here’s a real-life example of how I used this exact process for one of my own posts.
In this post, I’m targeting the keyword SEO Palmerston North.
Below, I’ll break down exactly where that keyword appears on the page and why. I’ll include screenshots for each section so you can see it in action.
Meta Title and Meta Description
The meta title includes SEO Palmerston North near the start to help with both rankings and click-throughs.
The meta description also includes the keyword naturally, so searchers immediately know what the page is about.
H1 Title.
The H1 matches the intent of the keyword without sounding robotic. It reassures both Google and readers they’re in the right place.
URL
The URL is short, clean, and includes the keyword.
Intro Paragraph (First 100 Words)
The intro naturally mentions SEO Palmerston North early, so it’s clear what the page is about without any keyword stuffing.
Subheadings (H2s and H3s)
Relevant subheadings include the keyword or natural variations where it makes sense, reinforcing context for Google and helping readers scan the page.
Image Alt Text
Images on the page use descriptive alt text that includes the keyword where appropriate. This helps with accessibility and adds a tiny SEO boost.
Step 4: On-Page Keyword Placement Checklist
Before you hit publish, run through this list to make sure your primary keyword is in the right places:
- Meta Title — Includes the primary keyword near the start, written to attract clicks.
- H1 (On-Page Title) — Includes the keyword naturally and sets the page topic clearly.
- URL Slug — Short, clean, and contains the keyword.
- Meta Description — Contains the keyword and entices people to click through.
- Intro Paragraph (First 100 Words) — Mentions the keyword naturally so both Google and readers know what the page is about.
- Subheadings (H2s / H3s) — Use the keyword or close variations where it makes sense.
- Image Alt Text — At least one image uses the keyword in descriptive alt text.
- Internal Links — Relevant pages on your site link to this page with natural anchor text (if possible).
Tip: You don’t need to force the keyword into every single one of these areas. It should read naturally, feel helpful, and never compromise the quality of the content.
Wrapping It Up
This is one of those SEO fundamentals a lot of people skip or overlook.
It’s easy to get caught up chasing advanced tactics, but the basics are what everything else is built on.
Making sure your keywords are in the right places sends a clear signal to Google about what your content is about.
Going back over these basics and applying them consistently will help your SEO, make it easier for the right people to find you, and over time, help you rank higher because of it.
Aug 24, 2025 | Search Engine Optimization
Want to rank #1 on Google for your keywords?
In this article, I’ll show you exactly how I did it – step by step. One of my past sites (HealthVI) ranked #1 for keywords that get thousands of searches every month.
This wasn’t luck – it was a repeatable process that I’m about to teach you.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- How to write content that hits your target market’s pain points
- How to sound like a human, not a robot
- How to blend friendly, persuasive writing with “business talk”
- How to funnel readers toward action (without sounding pushy)
Sounds good?
Let’s begin.
Step 1: Identify The Problem
If it’s one thing I’ve learnt from my content marketing, it’s this:
The main reason why someone is digesting your content is coz they need help with a problem they can’t solve themselves. Think about it – they wouldn’t be clicking on your content if the problem didn’t exist (and to a degree of “annoyance” that forces them to actively search for a solution).
For example, my Local SEO guide helps New Zealand business owners who want to become the go-to business in their city on Google.
If these business owners already knew how to do SEO, they wouldn’t need my guide. But because they’re reading it, evidently that’s not the case. And that “truth” is very telling (at least for me).
These readers aren’t reading my guide coz they like me. They don’t know me from a bar of soap. They’re reading it coz I can help them solve their problem. This makes my job waaaay easier.
Keep the focus on helping them solve their problem, and we’ll be fine and dandy.
This brings us back to the fundamentals of business/trade.
You give me something you have that I want, and I give you something I have that you want. We’ve been “doing business” for millions of years since the caveman era.
You’ve got meat, I’ve got fruit. – You want fruit, I want meat. If we trade, then tada – we’ve done business.
However, that “business” is only born out of a burning desire.
This is what I’m asking you to focus on:
- Your target market wants something from you.
- They want help solving a problem that bugs them.
- A pestering itch they need to scratch, but don’t know how.
Make sure that when you’re creating your content, scratch that itch for them.
Step 2: Write With Flair
People want to connect with people, not robots. When you create content, write like you’re talking to that person. I like to visualise that I’m at a bar with a person from my target market.
They’re asking me a question, and I’m providing them with the answers. When I visualize this, I’m not talking to them like AI. I’m talking to them just like how I’d talk to an old friend over a cuppa’ Joe at 9 am on a crisp winter Sunday mornin’.
For example, instead of using the word “because,” frequently I’ll replace it with “coz.”
Why do I do this? Coz this is how I talk.
People prefer colour, personality, and flair. If you write with a hint of flair, people will sense it and be drawn to your content.
They’ll connect with you on a deeper level that surpasses your business relationship – and this is where true trust is built. As they see your human side, they’ll show you theirs.
A quick side note – this takes practice. I’ve been writing for 10 years, and I still fall short on my content.
Sometimes I’ll miss an opportunity to inject a story. I’ll over-explain something. I’ll ramble. That’s okay, too.
Just keep practising – you can bring up ChatGPT and just start mind-dumping. It’s like learning to play an instrument. It can take years to become proficient enough at the instrument.
But once you’ve learnt it, it’s time to just let go and play.
Step 3: Interweave Your Writing With “Business Talk”
Once you’ve identified the problem and you’ve practised how to write like you talk, the next step is to weave the two together. The “yin-yang” of content creation.
This is what I like to call entertaining education.
Here’s the intended goal:
You want the person consuming your content to “feel things.” Happiness. Laugh. Curiosity. Doubt. Skepticism. Emotions that hook them into your content.
But you want to combine that flair-voice with solving their problem.
There’s a simple framework I’ve used over the past 10 years that’s helped a ton with this.
Here it is:
- Identify exactly what you’re helping them with
- Tell them the benefits of consuming their content.
- Use stories to drive home the credibility and make it concrete.
This is exactly what I did with my SEO for Dentists guide. I state exactly what the content is about as well as the benefits they’ll receive from reading the content.
After that, I give a few concrete examples that solidify the credibility and show that it works.
Then I get straight into teaching them exactly what it is and how to do it:
Ultimately, this framework is about providing crystal-clear answers to the fundamental questions:
- What is it you’re teaching them?
- Why should they trust you, and
That’s the 80/20 of content creation.
Here are a few more content-creation tips I’ve picked up over the past few decades:
Tip #1 – Don’t jumble your text.
Take a look at this paragraph here:
Compare that with this one:
Can you see how much more visually appealing the second image is compared to the first?
What’s funny is they’re both literally just text. No images. No videos.
But coz the second example has been formatted properly, it looks 10 times more visually appealing, readable, and scannable than the first.
This is coz the second example separates their text with:
- Shorter, snappier paragraphs.
The first example feels like you’re reading the slides off of a dull, bland university lecture.
The second example feels like a human-to-human conversation.
Tip #2 – Use Images.
Adding images is one of the easiest ways to break up the text and add colour to your work. It also gives you the opportunity to communicate with your reader in a visual format.
Take this example from my Local SEO guide:
In it, I’m showing an example of what the Google SERP’s look like when they search for the keyword “roof repair rotorua.”
Instead of just using text as an example, I wanted to give a visual that would make it more concrete and also break up the text.
Tip #3 – Shorter, Snappier Paragraphs.
This one doesn’t need too much explanation.
Shorter, snappier paragraphs don’t just force your text to have spacing between them; they also teach you how to communicate effectively.
Rather than taking 3 blocks of text to explain a point, you learn how to do it in a few sentences.
Step 4: “What’s Next?”
Now that you’ve put all that effort into creating content, it’s time to give the reader an opportunity to take the next step into your business funnel.
It could be something like:
An invitation to join your email list. Book an SEO audit. A strategy call.
Don’t overcomplicate it.
Something natural that flows on from your piece of content that gives them the opportunity to become a client of yours.
You’ve already put all the time and energy into creating the content; it makes sense to capitalise on the rapport you’ve just built with them and invite them to take a bigger step into your business world.
For example, in my Local SEO guide, I invite the reader to grab a free Local SEO audit from me, where I can show them personalised strategies to help them rank higher on Google:
This is a logical, sequential flow-on invite to take a further step into my business world that gives them real value.
Not only that, but it gives me an opportunity to strengthen my rapport with them in hopes that, if we’re a right fit, we can do business together.
Here are a few other invites you can extend for your business:
- Download a free resource (like a PDF checklist, mini course, or toolkit relevant to your offer)
- Start a free trial of your product or service
- Watch a demo video that shows how your solution works
- Join a private community or group where they can connect with others like them
- Take a quiz that gives them personalised insights or recommendations
- Schedule a discovery call to talk through their specific situation
Whatever is the best fit for you and your business, just do that.
(Hint: usually it’s something – especially free – that gives them a whole lot of value from their end but takes not too much time and energy from your end).
Wrapping It All Up
That’s the exact same content-creation process I’ve used to build my own websites from 0 to 1,000 + daily visitors.
It’s the exact same process I’ve used to help other businesses reach traffic levels of 80,000 + monthly visitors.
It’s proven through experience. It’s been battle-tested, dragged through the mud, and has come out on top.
Use it for your own business and watch the content-creation magic work wonders.
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May 3, 2022 | Search Engine Optimization
On-page search engine optimization refers to the tactics that you use when optimizing web content so that search engines and users can understand your content better. So you really want to optimize your content for SEO because an SEO-driven approach does have its benefits. Doing on-page content optimization for your website, blog post, or article; can help you rank higher in the search engine results and increase your organic search traffic. This can in turn lead to more brand awareness, leads, and sales.
Write Content for People first, then Search Engines
Placing keywords in the right areas of a web page is a technique used in optimizing your content for search. Adjusting the important on-page SEO factors with the keywords you are targeting for that page, it can help you rank better for those chosen keywords. You have to be careful though, as you don’t want to stuff your content with keywords. Keyword stuffing is when you excessively use a keyword on the page in an attempt to get a better ranking in the search engine results pages [SERPS].
The search engines can pick up on this and can penalize you for this in the search results. Overuse of keywords is not good for ease of readability and not as much importance is placed on keyword density nowadays as it used to be. This is why SEO-friendly content should be well written with people in mind first and not solely for the search engines.
Important On-Page Factors in SEO to consider
Some elements in content optimization that you can adjust so you can win with your on-page SEO include:
- Content
- URLs
- Title Tag
- Meta Descriptions
- Header Tags
- Alt Tags
- Internal Linking
Use Targeted Keywords in your Content Optimization
Content optimization will make it more possible that your content will be seen by people when they type in specific keyword phrases into the search engines. So carefully chosen keywords that you use in your content can improve your search rankings for those keyword terms. Therefore keyword research is required to find the right keyword phrases you want to get ranked for.
You can do keyword research using various paid or unpaid keyword research tools. Once you have done your research and have chosen the keywords you are targeting, you can begin to strategically use the keywords in the on-page factors below.
It’s a good idea to put the keywords that you are targeting for SEO in the first 150 words or first paragraph on the page. Google places more importance on the words that are at the beginning of the page and will be able to better understand what your page is about.
SEO-friendly Page URLs
Your webpage URL should describe what your page is about. It is recommended that you try to keep the URL as short as possible, include your target keyword in it and that you use hyphens between words.
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Optimize the Page Title Tag
The page’s Title Tag is the most important on-page SEO factor as it has a heavyweight in calculating relevance for the search engines. It is placed in your web page HTML and is seen in the search engine results as the bold text that you click on to get to your web page. Each page should have its own individual Title Tag within 50-60 characters and include the keywords that the page is being optimized for. If you go over the 60 character limit it will cut off the title, so it’s best to stick to the character length allowed.
It is recommended to place your keywords at the front of your Title and that you put your brand name at the end. A format for writing Title Tags is:
Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword | Brand Name
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Optimize Meta Descriptions
Once again Meta Descriptions are also placed in the HTML of the web page and can be seen under the Title Tag on the search engine results page. Ideally, each page has a unique Meta Description that includes your target keywords once and should be around 155-160 characters long. The Meta Description describes the topic of your web page to the person searching and should include a call to action to encourage people to click through to your website.
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Structure Content by using Header Tags – H1, H2, H3, etc
Header Tags are HTML Tags that help organize and format your content on the web page making it easier to read. The H1 Header tag is the most important heading and describes what is in the body text. Header Tags go from H1 down to H6.
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Image Alt Tags can articulate Image Context
Using high-quality images is great for breaking up the written content on your page and adding a visual aspect to it. You should use your focus keyword in the name of the image file and add Alt Text descriptions to the images on the web page. This is a must as it helps the search engines understand what the image is about and describes images to visually impaired people.
Screen readers and browsers can read Alt Text to people who are visually impaired and convey the image to them, which is great for their useability. It can also help you get in Google’s image search.
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Benefits of Internal Linking
When you link from a page on your website to other pages on your website, this is internal linking. Internal linking is good for sending page authority [also known as Page Rank] to other pages, and in turn, tells the search engines what pages are important and ranks those pages better too. It is best practice to use keywords in the anchor text when you do your internal linking.
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The above are just some of the basic on-page content optimization tactics that you can focus on for SEO gain. Optimizing web page elements like Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, URLs, and images help users and search engines understand what your content is about. So optimizing content for SEO can increase search traffic to your site and improve your search rankings.
You May also Like: How to choose an SEO Company
This article was written by Justine Koenders
Featured Image Credits: Pixabay
