How I Got to #1 on Google Over 3,700 Times: My SEO Secrets

Want to get your website to the top of Google's search results? I've done it over 3,700 times for my clients, bringing in over $40 million in sales. It wasn't luck. It was a simple yet powerful plan. Here's how you can do it too.

Why SEO Matters

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the most effective way to attract people who are interested in buying your products to find you online. You don't have to pay for every click. If you're not ranking high on Google, your rivals are taking your customers.

My Results

Here's a peek at what SEO has done for some of my clients:

• One brand increased its organic search revenue from $151,000 in December to $313,000 in February.

• Another saw a rise from $90,000 in December to $110,000 in February.

• A third brand reached $32,000 in organic revenue for the first time in February.

Backlinks are crucial to generating income with SEO. They help you rank in the top spots on Google for keywords that show people want to buy. But not all backlinks are the same. A link from a well-known site like Forbes isn't always better than a link from a smaller blog that's related to your industry. Top e-commerce brands utilize a specialized backlink strategy to dominate search rankings and drive sales.

Stop Doing These Things

Before we talk about backlinks, stop these bad SEO habits:

• Don't focus on AI search engines: Google is still the king of search. As of March 2025, it has nearly 90% of the market share. People shop on Google, not on AI platforms. If you optimize for Google, you're already doing what you need to for AI search engines.

• Stop writing top-of-funnel blogs: These types of blogs are no longer as effective as they once were. With AI overviews, they don't get as many clicks. Focus on things that will make you money.

Step 1: Use Link Insertions Instead of Guest Posts

Guest posts are common backlinks. They're easy to get, but they don't work that well. They require time to write and incur costs. Plus, you have to send traffic to them.

Instead, use link insertions. They're faster, cheaper, and more effective. Combine them with reactive PR links. This yields excellent results and can help increase the number of links you build each month.

Step 2: Expand Your Keyword Range

E-commerce brands can now rank number one for almost all purchase intent keywords. Affiliate sites used to be at the top for keywords like "best compression socks." Now, you can take their place.

By using these keywords, you can add hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales each year. One brand I worked with focused on "best" type keywords. They built about 40 pages, and almost all of them rank number one. This generated an additional $75,000. Their purchase intent traffic is now three times higher than before.

Most SEOs target keywords in a simple way. They find a keyword for each page. But this often means they target keywords that are too hard to rank for.

Instead, stack up smaller keywords to equal one big keyword. For example, instead of targeting "herbal teas," create pages for "herbal teas for sleep," "herbal teas for digestion," and so on.

Think of the movie Moneyball. Instead of trying to replace a star player, find a bunch of lesser-known players who, together, are just as good.

Let's say "Herbal Teas" gets 22,000 searches a month. It would be great to rank number one for this keyword. But it would take too long. Instead, find 22 keywords with 1,000 searches a month each—rank number one for all of them. Now you've replaced the star player with smaller players.

These smaller keywords are easier to rank for because they are not as competitive. By stacking them up, you can generate a substantial amount of money.

Step 3: Use Internal Links

Internal links are one of the easiest ways to improve rankings and revenue. They're free, and you have complete control over them. However, most websites fail to utilize them effectively.

Here are some common mistakes:

• Putting essential links at the bottom of the page.

• Using weak anchor text.

• Having orphaned pages (pages with no internal links).

The problem is that people think internal links are just a way to help Google crawl your site. Instead, think of them as rules that tell Google how to crawl your site.

Use the same internal link plan for every e-commerce brand you work with. This will help you rank number one.

Remember to:

• Build five to ten internal links between similar categories and subcategories.

• Add new collections to your main navigation. A link from the main navigation is compelling.

Suppose you don't want to add links to your main navigation, at least link to new collections from your homepage, footer, and supporting collections. Links from the footer are as good as links from the main navigation. This puts the new collection just one click from the top of the site.

Would you rather have more traffic that thinks your site has too many links, or very little traffic at all? The first is just a possibility. The second is your current situation.

Step 4: Optimize and Build Middle-of-Funnel Content

Most SEO strategies focus on traffic volume. However, middle-of-funnel searches attract dedicated buyers.

Instead of driving thousands of unqualified visitors to your site with irrelevant blogs, write middle-of-funnel content. You'll attract fewer visitors, but they'll be closer to making a purchase. This can lead to conversion rates as high as 4% to 5%.

Think about how people shop online. They don't just buy the first product they see. They compare brands and look for alternatives. Middle-of-funnel content positions your product in front of buyers who are actively seeking a reason to choose you.

Consumers are seeking the best deal at the optimal time. You need to be there when they're doing that. If you don't do middle-of-funnel content, they'll become someone else's customer.

Create pages that target high-intent, low-volume searches. For example, "Nike Air Max versus Adidas Ultra Boost" or "Best alternatives to Hydro Flask." These searches convert at a much higher rate than something like "who has the best water bottle."

Add calls to action and product embeds to turn these pages into sales machines. You can even run ads on them.

Ready to Rank?

Now you have the same plan I used to rank number one on Google over 3,700 times. Start implementing these steps today!