“We want to be number one on Google” is a goal most website owners share — usually without defining it. Number one for what? There’s no general ranking for a website on Google. There’s a ranking for each page in each search, and it changes with the searcher’s location, device and the time of the search. So the first step towards the top is turning a vague goal into a list of specific searches worth competing for, then working on each one with a clear method.
This article offers a realistic plan for doing exactly that. If you’re new to SEO, start with the big picture in our guide to SEO in Saudi Arabia.
Why page one specifically?
Most clicks go to the top results, and a very small share of searchers open page two. On top of that, the results page is no longer ten blue links: there are ads, maps, images, videos, “People also ask” and, for some searches, AI-generated summaries. That means “position one” may sometimes sit below the fold, and appearing in the map or the questions box may matter more than the traditional ranking.
Step one: choose battles you can win
A new website won’t outrank major sites tomorrow for a broad term like “marketing”. But it can climb for more specific searches — which are often closer to a purchase. Score candidate keywords on three criteria:
| Criterion | The question |
|---|---|
| Value | Is someone searching this a potential customer for me? |
| Volume | Do enough people search for it to justify the effort? |
| Difficulty | Who ranks now? Huge, established sites, or weak pages you can beat? |
More specific long-tail keywords, such as “visual identity design for a restaurant in Riyadh” rather than “identity design”, often combine high value with lower difficulty. A group of them together can bring more traffic than one broad term.
Step two: examine the pages that rank
Search the keyword on your phone in a private browser and open the top five results. Note:
- Page type: articles, service pages, stores, guides? If every result is an article and yours is a service page, you may need a different type of page for this keyword.
- Content angle: are they comprehensive guides, lists, comparisons or price pages?
- What’s missing: outdated information, no examples, nothing on the specifics of the Saudi market, poor mobile readability, no direct answer to the question.
- Results page features: is there a map? “People also ask”? Video? Images? These are extra visibility opportunities.
The goal isn’t to copy competitors, but to understand what Google considers a good answer — then deliver a clearer, more complete, more experienced one.
Step three: build the genuinely better page
“Better” doesn’t mean “longer”. It means the searcher finds their answer quickly, then finds what they need for the next step. Pages that move up usually have:
- A main headline that clearly matches the search intent.
- A direct answer in the first paragraph or two.
- Details organised with subheadings, tables and lists where useful.
- Visible experience: real examples, common mistakes, details only practitioners know.
- Market-specific information: Saudi regulations, cities, payment methods and seasons where relevant.
- Real images and visual examples, not just generic stock photos.
- A clear call to the next step: a service, a contact, or a complementary article.
How to write the page itself, from headline to paragraphs, is covered in our article on SEO-friendly content writing.
Step four: the fastest wins — pages close to the top
The fastest SEO results usually come from pages that already exist and appear in roughly positions 8 to 20. Google sees them as relevant; they just need a push. How to find them:
- Open the Performance report in Google Search Console.
- Select the last three months and enable the average position column.
- Sort queries by impressions and look for terms with good impressions and an average position between 8 and 20.
- Open the page that appears for each query and compare it with the pages that rank above it.
Typical improvements: add a section covering a missing aspect of the question, update outdated information, refine the title to match the keyword, add internal links to the page from strong pages on your site, and improve its mobile speed.
Step five: internal links
Internal links are one of the most underused SEO tools on Arabic websites, even though they’re entirely under your control. When you link several articles on one topic to a main page for that topic, you tell Google that page is the most important on the subject. The rules:
- The link text describes the target page (“local SEO guide”, not “click here”).
- Links within the flow of a paragraph are stronger than lists of links at the bottom.
- Every important page should receive links from several pages, and no page should be left orphaned without links.
Step six: click-through rate — ranking alone isn’t enough
Your site might appear in position three and get no clicks, because its title and description are weaker than the results around it. Your title in the results is free advertising:
- Make it match what the person is searching for, and promise what they’ll find.
- Add what sets you apart: “with examples”, “step by step”, “for the Saudi market”, “updated”.
- Write a description that complements the title and answers “why this result?”
- Avoid exaggerations like “the best ever” that nobody believes.
Google sometimes rewrites titles or descriptions, but in most cases it uses what you write if it suits the search.
Step seven: trust and reputation
For competitive keywords, good content alone may not be enough. Google needs signals that your site is trustworthy: links from well-known sites in your field, mentions of your brand on other websites, a genuine About page, author information and expertise, real reviews of the business, and clear contact details. Building these signals takes time, and there’s no safe shortcut.
If your business is local
For local searches, such as “graphic designer in Riyadh” or “restaurant near me”, a map usually appears before the regular results. Ranking there depends on your Google Business Profile, your proximity to the searcher and your reviews. Details are in our local SEO guide for Riyadh.
What not to do
- Keyword stuffing: repeating a keyword unnaturally hurts readability and doesn’t help rankings.
- Duplicate pages for every city with identical text: Google treats them as low-value content.
- Buying links and link farms: a clear violation of Google’s guidelines.
- Mass-producing content without review or value: whether written by a person or a tool, Google targets weak content produced only to rank.
- Changing URLs without redirects: loses the old pages’ rankings.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my site’s ranking change from day to day?
Rankings are affected by Google updates, competitors’ changes, and the searcher’s location and device. Small fluctuations are normal; what matters is the overall trend over weeks and months.
I see my site in first place, but the stats say otherwise. Why?
Search results are personalised by search history and location. Rely on average position in Search Console rather than manual searches from your own device.
Does updating an article’s date improve its ranking?
Changing the date alone without genuinely updating the content doesn’t help and can undermine trust. Actually update the information, then update the date.
How many articles do I need to rank first?
There’s no set number. One excellent page for each important search intent, supported by related articles, is better than dozens of similar articles.
Conclusion
Reaching the top of Google isn’t luck, and it isn’t a service you can buy with a guarantee. It’s the result of choosing specific searches worth competing for, understanding what Google rewards for them, building a clearer and more complete page than the current leaders, and supporting it with internal links, a compelling title and a solid reputation. Start with the pages close to the top — they’re the fastest path to tangible results.
If you’d like your keywords and competitors analysed and a plan to improve your pages’ rankings, explore the search engine optimisation service, or get in touch.
