We all know that search engines, especially Google, are the most popular ways to find information on the web. Nowadays, more than three-quarters of internet users use search engines.
But what exactly makes one website stand out from another in the search engine rankings? How can you influence your online visibility? In this post, we’ll give you an overview of how Google ranks websites and provide some tips for improving your own ranking.
What Are Search Engine Rankings?
Search engine rankings are the positions that your website appears in the search results. How high or low you rank is based on factors such as the quality of your content strategy and on-page SEO (search engine optimization).
Why do we want high search engine rankings? Establishing robust search engine exposure in organic search results is critical for an online business’s long-term success. The higher the exposure of the website, the more likely it is to rank in natural search, bringing in more visitors and increasing leads, customers, and sales.
How Do I Check My Position in the SERP?
To check your position in search results, you’ll need to use a free tool. There are several options:
- Use Google Analytics to see how many people are clicking on your website from search engines like Google and Bing—and which keywords they’re using to find you.
- Check Search Console for information about how many clicks you’re getting from Google and other search engines, plus any errors that might be preventing people from finding your site.
- Use Moz Open Site Explorer to see which pages of your site rank well in SERPs and which don’t, as well as related metrics like Domain Authority (DA). This will help you focus SEO efforts on the most important pages in order to rank higher overall.
- Consider using SEMrush if you want more sophisticated data or have a large budget for paid advertising campaigns with major companies like Facebook or Amazon.
What Influences the Search Engine Ranking?
There are many factors that determine your position in organic search results.
As you can imagine, the ranking algorithms of Google, Bing, and Yahoo change quite often to keep spammers at bay. And while the exact details are kept secret, we have plenty of information on how they work by looking at their patents, interviews with former employees, and studies done on their ranking signals.
- Google’s Algorithm Updates
Google has two main ranking factors: relevance and authority. Relevance is based on the content of your website, and authority is based on the reputation of your site.
Google uses different algorithms to determine search engine rankings. The most notable algorithm update was when they switched from their “PageRank” system to their current one in 2004. They use dozens of other algorithms too, but this one holds the most weight in determining whether a website appears at the top or bottom of search results pages.
On a frequent basis, popular search engine changes their ranking updates, therefore, it is essential to optimize your website and materials from time to time if you want to stick to the first page.
2. Quality Keyword Research
Keyword research is an essential part of your content strategy. If you do not utilize the same keywords that visitors type when searching for a product, your content will never appear on their search results page, hence will not be viewed by the intended audience. Of course, you may believe that your website is already successful and visitors come to read its content, but the fact is that if you don’t take advantage of search engine users, you’ll miss out on a lot of chances.
It is recommended to compare several keywords using Google Trends for Search and to track searches for such phrases using Google Ads Keyword Tool.
3. Technical Search Engine Optimization
Technical SEO is the process of making sure that your website and its content are optimized for search engines. Everything from graphic compression to internet caching to redirection erasure may have an effect on your search results.
Technical SEO includes:
- Site architecture (how your site is structured)
- Page load speed (the speed at which your pages load)
- Mobile friendliness (how well the page renders on a mobile device)
4. Link Building
Link building is a promising indicator, as search engines appreciate when a credible site links back to your website.
Simply said, the more reputable the web pages and domains that link back to your site, the better your site will rank in search results. While link building is more difficult, backlinks serve as key pillars for search engine algorithms. Proper link building takes time, but it also aids in the development of a valued internet reputation.
Are You Ready To Influence Your Search Results?
Knowing how to achieve high search engine rankings is useful, but only trial, error, and constant optimization will be your allies in conquering the popular search engines.
Thankfully, if you need help with optimizing your web pages and ranking better on search engines, Trustway Marketing is here to help you develop and implement your digital marketing strategy. Get in touch with us!
