Whereas if you search for “happy dog” in Sydney, Australia, you will likely get images of, well, happy dogs.Īdditionally, Google will attempt to personalize search results based on recent search activity. Searching for “happy dog” while in White Bear Lake, Minnesota may yield results to a well-known web development agency based there.
Because Google wants to tailor every user’s results to what is most useful and relevant, it uses your location to deliver results in the area. The user’s location, past Search history, and Search settings add another layer to how search results are displayed and how Google ranking works.
Is the website designed for different device types and sizes (desktops, tablets, and smartphones)?.Does the website appear correctly in different browsers?.This algorithm analyzes several signals that include: The usability of web pages is measured by yet another algorithm that promotes easy-to-use web pages over less usable pages.
If a web page is relevant and of high quality, it may not be listed in the rankings if it is not usable. All algorithms work to find the right balance of information so users can trust the results that are provided. Websites that use deception or manipulative behavior violate Google’s webmaster guidelines and are designated as low-quality spam sites. It is worth noting that many spam algorithms work to make sure low-quality sites do not rise in the search results. If more trusted websites link to a given web page, the quality of that page is deemed to be higher and more credible. The most popular sign to determine the quality of a web page is if other prominent websites link to the page (known as PageRank). They identify many signals that determine if a web page possesses expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness on a given topic. Quality Web PagesĪlthough matching keywords is important, Google also aims to prioritize the most reliable sources first.
#Google search engine ranking how to
You are also likely looking for additional content such as pictures of puppies, videos, or other information like how to train a puppy. For example, if you search for “puppy”, you likely don’t want a page with just the word “puppy” on it. These signals help Search algorithms assess whether a web page contains an answer to the search query, or if it is just repeating the same question. There are many other signals that are used through machine-learning to determine a web page's relevance. For example, does the web page contain the same keyword(s) as your search query? This would be the most basic signal for determining if a web page is relevant or not. The Google algorithm analyzes the content of web pages to see if any page contains information that is relevant to what the user is looking for. If you search “ do a barrel roll”, the results page will rotate 360 degrees before coming to a rest. And sometimes, it takes our queries literally. From interpreting spelling mistakes (“finance” vs “fiance”), recognizing synonyms (“pet adoption” vs “animal rescue”), to understanding the query based on natural language processing (“bass” vs “bass” ), the algorithm, as we all know, is very advanced and normally comes through the way we want it to. Understanding intent is much more complicated than understanding language and this is a very critical part of Search. Thus, it must understand the user’s intent. Not only does it need to filter through billions of web pages, but it also has to be smart to return results that are relevant to the search query. The Googlebots continuously scan the web and collect information to determine which web pages are most relevant and useful according to their complex algorithms.
The website ranked first is the one that is given the best score when taking into account all ranking factors.
#Google search engine ranking series
Most SEO’s would agree that the following are near the top of the reported 200+ algorithm ranking factors:Īlthough each algorithm is set-up by humans, the website rankings are determined by a series of algorithms. Google doesn’t let people know exactly what factors are most critical to their search algorithms, but through research, testing, and experience, a good SEO will know what the most important factors are.