How to rank on the first page of Google for high competition keywords?

The SEO "strategy" is becoming more expensive as it becomes more difficult to rank in the SERPs. Keyword competition is rapidly increasing in nearly all industries; there’s always going to be someone else doing it better and spending a higher budget than you. Although a technical knowledge of SEO strategies may be useful, the practical learning curve and ongoing algorithm changes are a formidable challenge especially when going head to head against deep-pocketed professional SEO strategists.

Over the last few years we’ve seen many changes when it comes to SEO "strategies", but one thing is certain: despite the changes, businesses continue to experience value in terms of building their reputation, increasing brand visibility, driving traffic, raising conversion ratios, etc. In my experience from marketing in some of the most hotly competitive niches, the fastest way to achieve all of this is through article syndication, which includes getting intelligible, relevant, and engaging articles (not for backlinks) placed on sites that already are ranking in the SERPs.

One technique I had been using quite successfully is to establish a presence on top ranking sites for my keywords with a link back to my niche sites. If you're on websites that are ranking 1-3 in the SERPs, it's as good as having your websites there yourself. Long before "SEO", article syndication was a proven stand-alone marketing strategy effective in any niche no matter how heavy the competition may be. Back in the day (long before the Google animals came out), we called it "hitchin' a ride"; getting traffic directly from publications and sites that already were targeting the audiences we wanted to reach. This strategy still beats waiting weeks or months for your site to rank (if ever), and even now continues to consistently beat the competition all-to-hell.