There are over 200 ranking factors that Google uses to determine your rank, but there are two main factors. 

First is domain age. This means that Google inherently “trusts” older domains more than newer ones. Also, websites that a lot of other websites link back to are seen as more trustworthy.

Next are keywords that help Google evaluate the relevance of someone’s search term to your page. The relevance on a certain keyword is determined by the use of that search term in the page copy and meta information, word count, and user interactions with the page. 

 

This is just the tip of the iceberg – there are many more things that go into Google’s evaluation of your page for a search.

Google evaluates all websites and pages using robots that crawl through your content and analyze it with an advanced algorithm. No one really knows what the algorithm is specifically evaluating, but using research we’ve determined the most important factors to focus on.

 

To have Google robots crawl your page accurately, you need to have a sitemap, so the robots know where they’re going, and meta data that describes the content even further. Having the right framework for your page will make it much easier for robots to understand, evaluate, and rank your website content.

Social media does not directly contribute to SEO ranking. Though it increases your brand’s exposure to more people, it has nothing to do with SEO rankings. Social media advertising sends an individual directly to your website, bypassing Google altogether.

SEO is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher on search engines for specific search terms, also called keywords. Google uses many ranking factors that allow their search engine algorithm to rank websites based on relevancy and trustworthiness. SEO optimizes your content for the algorithm to encourage higher rankings.

Pages that rank the highest are currently averaging 1,600 words. However, this doesn’t mean you can get away with writing 1,600 words of nonsense with keywords sprinkled in. SEO-friendly content needs to make sense and be relevant throughout. The algorithm’s artificial intelligence is getting better at analyzing content for relevance and coherence all the time. Plus, Google also evaluates how real users interact with your site to determine relevance and they’ll be able to spot fake content a mile away.

Today Google evaluates websites based on the acronym E-A-T which stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. This means that Google is looking for high-quality, certifiable information because they want their users to have the best experience by feeding them the most accurate, trustworthy information.

When other websites link to yours, Google thinks you are more trustworthy. The strategy for this is called building backlinks. Google Search Console can help you see existing backlinks to your website, but creating new ones is a process. Creating quality backlinks involves reaching out to other websites and encouraging them to use your web page as a resource. Low-quality backlinks will not help your rank, and might even hurt you in the long run.

To get your page to appear at the top of a Google search featured with a snippet of your content, you need to create a block of content on your page that uses keywords that are currently being featured at the top of the Google search you want to show your snippet on. This block of content should range between 40-60 words.

 

To have a list on your page be featured in a snippet at the top of a Google search, you need to use H2 or H3 subheaders for every item on your list.

Using keyword-rich titles, descriptions, and tags so Google can figure out what your video and images are about can help increase your SEO. Including your transcript for the video is suggested to accurately transcribe the video, since the one YouTube provides may not be 100% accurate. YouTube is owned by Google, so it is predicted more videos will begin to rank highly.

Some important factors that Google uses to define what webpage is going to be at the top of a search are Domain Authority (trustworthiness) and relevance. Domain Authority goes along with Google’s new way of evaluating a web page: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Having credible information, written by an expert, can help your page be seen by Google as following the E-A-T guidelines. 

Relevance goes beyond just including keywords in your copy. It also involves matching the intent of the user when they are searching for that keyword. For example, the search term “how to bake a cake” is most likely someone looking for information on how to bake a cake. Content about buying your cake pan, while somewhat related, is not going to rank as highly as an informational page listing instructions for baking a cake.

Another example is “patio furniture Jacksonville FL”. This search term is probably someone who will be ready to buy patio furniture in the near future, so a page that offers patio furniture for sale in Jacksonville, FL is more likely to rank higher than content about the best patio furniture brands.

That depends. Improving your SEO will definitely help with increasing website traffic. Pages that rank on the first page of Google will receive more visitors than pages buried on page 2 or higher. However, more traffic doesn’t always guarantee better outcomes from visitors.

Focusing on SEO is first and foremost a traffic-generating exercise. But you may find that even with thousands more visitors, your business is not booming. That’s why your website needs to give visitors plenty of easy opportunities to reach out or take action.

Finding the right keywords is essential for SEO. This means putting yourself into the mind of your customers. Here are some questions that can help you think of search terms that are relevant to your business:

 

1. If I was looking for my product/service, what would I search for?
2. What words are associated with my product/service?
3. What problems could I solve for my customer?
4. Where are my customers located?
5. What information is my customer searching for?

 

There are also plenty of free tools you can use to generate keyword ideas like:

• Answer the Public
• FAQFox
• KWFinder
• Google Keyword Planner

 

If you need help with your website ranking, contact Fisher Agency in Jacksonville FL, serving the entire US, info@FisherAgency.com, 904-398-3699 x 1. Fisher Agency, ranked one of the top advertising agencies and web design companies in Jacksonville by the Jacksonville Business Journal, has 33+ years marketing experience.