Over 40,000 search queries transpire on Google every second. That’s over 3.5 billion searches per day! It’s become a shared theory that if you have a question, Google has the answer. This search engine seems to be an all-knowing entity, but where does it get its power from?
Does it have access to a secret pool of wisdom?
Is there an alien base unit hiding at the Google HQ feeding out info to the giant search engine?
Nope, not even close.
syour queries into answers. Each of these algorithms rely on over 200 different signals to best judge which web pages contain the most relevant data.
So, how can you make sure Google’s algorithms pick up on your web pages?
Remember those 200+ signals we discussed before? Those are the secret ingredients of algorithms. In their core essence, they are basically a range of unique ranking factors.
Below we will go through 10 of these important ranking influences:
1. Domain Existence Period – Google can predict the legitimacy of a domain judging by how long it has been used. Valuable domains are usually booked years in advance whilst the less beneficial ones fade away. The expiration date plays a huge role in determining a domain’s legitimacy.
2. Keywords in Domains – Keywords in a domain shows that the webpage is relevant. Google hasn’t been favouring this one as much as it used to but it is still effective. If you are going to do this, try to have your keyword appear as the first word in your domain because this gives your page an advantage.
3. Content Length – The longer your content is, the better. Google favours web design that uses more words because they offer a wider pool of information and are seen as being more relevant.
4. Keyword Density – This is a tricky one. You don’t want to go overboard with keywords but you still want just enough to grab attention. Google uses keyword density to evaluate a website’s topic.
5. Page Loading Speed – Google uses the time it takes for your page to load as a factor towards ranking. A page’s code and file size are just two components measured by Google’s algorithms to help determine the speed.
6. Duplicate Content – Avoid duplicated content like the plague. This can have a seriously negative impact on your website and it’s search engine ranking placements.
7. Optimised Images – Images play a role at determining how relevant a webpage is to the search query. Make sure that your images are optimised and include a file name, alt text, title, description and image caption.
8. Outbound and Internal Link Quality – The links connecting to and from your website are important. With regards to SEO, linking to high quality and influential sites will help to establish credibility and trust signals to Google. Internal links are also essential to Google’s algorithms. Internal links from sites with low PR or none at all won’t do your site any favours.
9. Usability – Your site must be user friendly. The main content should also be immediately visible. These are the sites that tend to rank higher on Google’s search results.
10. Mobile Optimised – Google ranks sites that are optimised for mobile higher than others. If your site is not mobile friendly, Google may penalise it in mobile search.
Follow these SEO guidelines and you will have a better chance of staying on the good side of Google’s strict algorithms. Algorithms change all the time though so it is important to change right alongside them to stay on the top of search results.
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