There are a number of ways to improve your search engine results. Before we go any further, it is important to get a better understanding of search result ranking. Let’s talk for a moment about Google’s algorithm (that’s the code used for determining which order sites appear in search results), and which search results they appear in.
If you worked for Google how would you determine what sites come up under which search terms? What factors would you use to determine which site should come up at the top of the list?
Here are some questions you would want your algorithm to “ask”:
1. How long has the site been around? How long will it be around for?
2. Are the search terms in the text of the site?
3. How large is the site?
4. How much content is on the site?
5. How many inbound links are there? What sites are the links coming from?
6. How often is the site updated?
7. Is the text original?
8. How many people are visiting the site?
9. How relevant is this site to the search term?
10. How close is this business to the person searching? City? State?
Google is asking all of these question (and more) when they look at your website to determine your ranking. So, if you are wondering why your website isn’t on top, ask yourself these questions and take a look at the sites that are coming up at the top.
Stay tuned for our next article… Choosing the Right Search Terms
