Google first page for a highly competitve phrase - your opinions please

smingle · 22-08-07

Ok hear me out

How long do you think (or it would take you personally) that could get on the first page of google for a phrase such as "home insurance" or "travel insurance"

Bearing in mind if you started 1st january 2008 and went off building back links, page ranks and all the usual stuff

Do you think it is feasable to get on the front page for such a phrase within 6 months ?

Opinions please

Thanks

UKOffer · 22-08-07

85.3 days.

max99 · 22-08-07

lol , 86.3 i say

Nah i think depends on the seo skills, the domain , competition etc

Not sure about minamum it could take

kier · 22-08-07

<--------------------------------------------------------->
that long

smingle · 22-08-07

lol cheers for the sarcasm ! I meant basically what max has said - with the right mix of seo, link building and content.

Maybe I should rephrase the question

Q2. How long has it taken you personally to get to the first page of google for a highly competitve phrase with lots of searches a month ? I am not talking a niche site, I mean something like home insurance, travel insurance, unsecured loan etc

Is that better :-)

dmorison · 22-08-07

Perhaps don't try and target "Home Insurance" straight away, but to go for the common phrases that include "Home Insurance". Google is making this task easier of late by including common related searches at the bottom of search results for popular terms, for example "home insurance comparison", "cheap home insurance" or "home insurance quote" etc. etc. Once you "own" once of those terms then have a go at the money shot!

Good luck!

gunneradt · 22-08-07

I know at least one site on the first page of travel insurance does no or very little link building - they seem to be stuck there forever. Travel insurance wold be a hard one to crack in my view.

Rynert · 22-08-07

Quote:

Originally Posted by smingle

Do you think it is feasable to get on the front page for such a phrase within 6 months ?

With money and resources, yes.

HarveyC · 22-08-07

4 years absolute minimum.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the youngest site on the first page of Google is Virgin home insurance, and that's been round since 2003. There's no chance of getting to the front page in less than three IMO.

Most of the sites on page 1 have been around since 2000, some of them from 1998. Age is a huge factor in Google, especially for such competitive terms.

trevHCS · 23-08-07

I happen to know that one of the top sites for one of those terms has a very large marketing budget. It's worked however as they get mentioned all over the place and are often included in natural links in the same way Coca Cola might if you were linking to a soft drinks company.

If you've got a spare million as a nice round number then spend away wisely online and offline and you might well get there. Otherwise, as mentioned you'll need to wait...

Trev

ashseo · 24-08-07

Its like everything in life, money! but its possible with the right pr links along with good seo.

Rynert · 24-08-07

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarveyC

4 years absolute minimum.

With unlimited funds you think the 'age factor' is going to be so significant?

With money, it could be done.

HarveyC · 24-08-07

Well Virgin managed to do it in 4, and they've got a fair bit of cash lying around.

Sure, with unlimited funds it could be done more quickly, but realistically I'd speculate it'd take that long or more.

JamesEvansSEO · 24-08-07

Hi,

I agree 87.2 days in average...

My advice... put your energy and time on a Long Tail term ...