SEO strategy breakdown for ‘ERP system’

How to rank on page one of Google for the highly competitive keyword ‘ERP system’.

When targeting a keyword in SEO, it’s essential to analyse the SEO strategy of the top ranking website. This way we can determined exactly what is needed to take their number one position.

An Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP), is software that helps businesses streamline operations like managing finances, inventory, supply chains and HR. It’s a tool for businesses looking to boost efficiency and scale.

Small businesses can pay anything up to £50k, and mid-size to enterprise level businesses can pay £50k to £5million, or more. This makes the keyword ‘ERP system’ highly valuable because it attracts decision makers actively researching their options.

Ranking on page one of Google for this keyword is a huge undertaking, because you’re competing with major established brands like Oracle, Microsoft, IBM and Sage.

If you are in the ERP solutions market however, you want to know what you’re up against, so let’s see exactly what’s involved in taking on this incredible SEO landscape.

The players

So, who is on page 1 for this keyword? As of December 2024, we have:

The first thing that stands out is this is an informational search term, so Google has determined that people searching for ‘ERP system’ want to know what an ERP system is and how it works.

Despite this, most of the businesses on page 1 offer ERP systems, and they’re some of the biggest names in the ERP market. Ranking on page one puts them in an excellent position to be among the first companies to explain how an ERP works to potential prospects. And in doing this, they can promote their own service.

There are some non commercial websites such as Wikipedia, Investopedia and interestingly, an article published on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn (Parasite SEO)

Creating content for other websites and platforms with the aim of ranking on Google is known as ‘parasite SEO‘. This has been around for years and it’s good to see that when done well, it’s still effective in 2024.

How long Google will rank this article on page one is the million dollar question, and one of the hazards of parasite SEO is it’s totally out of your hands.

At any moment, LinkedIn can pull or move this article and similarly, Google can decide it’s out of date. The article’s position is not foundational like it is for the other websites, but, whether by accident or design, while it’s on page one, it will be putting a lot of eyes on it’s author, Eric Kimberling.

The author

Eric Kimberling labels himself among other things, as a Technology-Agnostic Digital Transformation Expert. His About section on LinkedIn claims:

Eric Kimberling is the most recognised and respected independent ERP and HCM systems expert in the world, giving 100% unbiased advice to clients for over 20 years. Eric has dedicated himself to giving keynote speeches at industry conferences and universities worldwide, and has been quoted in thousands of articles in newspapers, magazines, and books, including the Wall Street Journal, CFO magazine, CIO Magazine, and Fortune.

If all this is correct, then that would explain why Google has placed an article authored by Eric on page 1 for such a competitive keyword.

E-E-A-T

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It’s a concept from Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines that helps assess the quality and credibility of content, particularly for topics where accuracy and reliability are crucial, such as health, finance, or business (“Your Money or Your Life” topics).

Experience: Google asks: Does the content creator have first-hand or real-world experience on the topic? For example, since 2018, Eric is CEO and Founder of Third Stage Consulting Group, a global, independent consulting firm focused on helping clients define and implement their digital strategies and digital transformations.

Expertise: Google asks: Does the author demonstrate in-depth knowledge or skill in the subject matter? For example, Eric Kimberling is the most recognised and respected independent ERP and HCM systems expert in the world and has been quoted in thousands of articles in newspapers, magazines, and books, including the Wall Street Journal, CFO magazine, CIO Magazine, and Fortune.

Authoritativeness: Google asks: Is the author or website recognised as a reliable source in their field? Backlinks from reputable sources, credentials, or being cited elsewhere can establish authority. A quick Google search of ‘Eric Kimberling’ displays extensive results across social media, Amazon books, tech websites and more.

Trustworthiness: Google asks: Does the site or content seem honest, accurate, and reliable? Indicators include secure websites (HTTPS), transparent policies (about page, contact details), and well-cited sources. In this case, the article is published on LinkedIn, so Google will be placing a lot of weight on LinkedIn as a trustworthy source. Even though the content is user generated (UGC), LinkedIn is a trusted platform and this combined with the author’s profile will be more than satisfying the trustworthiness factor.

Google uses E-E-A-T to ‘evaluate the quality of content and its alignment with user intent’, which can impact how well a page ranks in search results. Eric Kimberling is a perfect example of E-E-A-T in operation.

How does this help?

It highlights how a single person with enough E-E-A-T can outrank a major brand in Google’s search results. Eric’s LinkedIn article ranks above Microsoft, Sage and IBM. For a new ERP provider entering the market, ranking above these brands will take an almost unfathomable amount of resources.

For example, the websites competing on page 1 for ERP systems have tens of thousands of referring domains. Eric’s own website (thirdstage-consulting.com), is doing well with almost three thousand pages and close to three thousand links. To build a website of this size can take years of consistent dedication.

However, it isn’t even close to the closest competitor infor.com which has almost twenty thousand referring domains. And infor.com is just clinging on to the first page of results in 9th position.

Eric has managed to bypass all of this by the power of his own E-E-A-T status. His website and social channels are promoted throughout LinkedIn, so there’s no doubt that having an article on page 1 for a keyword with over twelve thousand monthly searches, will be driving traffic.

Advice for competitors

If you’re a UK tech company that has developed your own ERP system, or an affiliate, or a reseller, and you’re considering SEO, then congratulations, you’re taking on some of the biggest names on the Internet.

It seems the biggest keywords in this field are informational, so you are going to need to create a lot of informational content. The benefit of this, is you will have a good chance of capturing long tail traffic. A content strategy would need to focus on extremely helpful content aimed at your target audiences. Other keywords in this niche include:

With an audience-driven strategy you can focus on specific niches within the ERP sector.

Instead of competing at the top level, you can target specific verticals (e.g., ERP for construction, retail, or non-profits) where the major players might have less focus.

You can also put together a more local strategy. For example, location-specific keywords like “ERP system for UK SMEs” or “best ERP solutions for businesses in London”. This avoids going head-to-head with the global giants and could be appealing to businesses looking for local solutions.

Beyond this, you will need to focus on networking and E-E-A-T.

Position yourself, or the people in your organisation as experts in the ERP field. Jump on every opportunity to gain exposure and be dedicated to social media.

You can connect with other experts like Eric Kimberling and get your name out there. As long as you are honest in your approach and genuinely want to provide helpful content and contribute to the ERP community, you will be well received.

There are lots of websites that cover tech and are interested in unique content or contributions about ERP. Investopedia are one of the big names, but there are many more middling or lower level websites that cover these subjects. Analysing Eric Kimberling’s backlink profile shows where he has been featured, interviewed and gained links. If you have a good product and a solid social media presence, then you can reach out to these publications too.

While you are on the journey of building your profile, you can run paid media campaigns across Google and LinkedIn to drive immediate leads and new customers. You could also reach out to influencers like Eric, to see if you can make a deal on the promotion of your own ERP. Who knows, Eric may even add your ERP to his ‘Top 10 ERP Systems for 2025’ article.