Imagine heading up the search team of Google, the world’s most successful search engine.
How does it get up there, and how does it stay up there?
To get up there, Google’s algorithm needs to deliver genuinely good search results for every user. It needs to bring up the most relevant, reliable websites in response to the user’s query.
To stay up there, the algorithm needs to be constantly refined and updated, because wannabe VIPs are always trying to game the system.
So the algorithm is like a swarm of helpful termites, tunnelling through the world wide web day and night, sniffing out high quality websites, ranking the wheat above the chaff.
What can the algorithm see?
The algorithm can only see code. Code reveals words, links and interactions.
How does the algorithm rank websites?
The Google algorithm’s criteria are called Ranking Factors.
Here are the top 12 Google Ranking Factors
- Efficiency (loading speed, so try not to carry baggage)
- Good on different devices, eg mobile phone, iPad.
- Internal links (shows how interested you are in your work)
- Keyword relevance (Words someone types in to Google to look for your business)
- Title and header tags (It can see how much priority is given to your key words)
- Meta description (the subheading that appears under your site’s name on Google)
- Image tags (descriptions)
- Url structure (it likes simple, to-the-point urls)
- Information quality (Fresh accurate information in coherent form)
- Respect in your field (the number of back-links from other sites)
- Popularity (number of clicks)
- Stimulating interest (how long before the visitor leaves)
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Search Engine Optimisation aims to get your site ranked well by Google’s algorithm. With effort and patience it can be done, because the algorithm responds to reason. It’s not a crazy killer sci-fi bot. It’s there to help you and everyone else get the best results from Google.
Photo by Saksham Gangwar on Unsplash
