The more we understand how search engine algorithms work and apply to our websites, the more likely we are to improve our ranking results on Google, Bing & more
FORT LAUDERDALE – Imagine what the internet would look like without Google, Yahoo, Bing or other similar sites. Widely known as search engines, such tools help users search for information on the Internet.
Unlike directories controlled by human publishers, with DMOZ being the most important, the main search engines use their own algorithms to index information and make it available to users.
The more we understand how these algorithms work and apply to our sites, the more likely we are to improve our positioning in search results.
Savage Global Marketing has developed a 6 steps SEO process that helps improve your website ranking:
Step 1: Keyword Research
It does not make much sense to rank on first page for a keyword that no one searches for, or that does not reach your target audience.
When optimizing your site, thoroughly research which keywords your prospective customers would type in to hire your services or buy your products.
Neil Patel provides a good example of what we are talking about in his article about Google Algorithm. Research what your competitors are doing, use keyword research SEO tools, check your server’s logs for words that already draw people to your site. These are the words that should be worked out on your website for the SEO project.
Based on the keywords, we define the site architecture.
Step 2: Define the message to be displayed in Google results
The snippet is the text that appears on the search results screen when a site appears in Google results. In normal text results, it basically consists of a title, a description, and a URL.
Each of these 3 elements can usually be controlled. Consider them as a “free sponsored link”. Here’s how to change them:
• Title: This is the name or “identity tag” of the page. Generally displayed based on <Title>.
• URL: This is the path and name given to the site. Google may also display the shortened URL or a navigation path (or breadcrumbs). Try to use intuitive, understandable names with the keyword you want to work with SEO. A brown-wild-bear.asp name file is much better for SEO than something like “bwb-12364.asp”. Also note that the words in the URL should be hyphenated;
• Description: Generally, Google displays the content of the meta description, which is used to describe what kind of content the user is to expect by clicking on that link.
Here’s how Google wrote the <Title> and Meta Description of the Google Chrome page:
• <Title> Chrome Web Browser </ title>
<Meta content = ” A fast, secure, and free web browser built for the modern web. Chrome syncs bookmarks across all your devices, fills out forms automatically, and so much more.” Name = “description”>
Step 3: Truly Care for Each Page – When designing and developing each page of your site, you should:
• Make the page load time as low as possible. Try, for example, to compress the images;
• Properly use the heading Tags H1, H2, H3 …;
• Submit a sitemap.xml file to Google containing URLs for your site, images, and videos.
• Generate unique content by avoiding duplicate content;
• Repeat a few times the keyword worked on the SEO for the page, putting it in bold at least once;
• Review the meta tags on the page;
• Generate relevant content that draws the attention of your audience
• Create links to relevant sites
• Confirm that robots.txt does not block important pages of your site;
Step 4: Links between pages
Once the individual pages have been completed, try creating links with relevant anchor text between the pages of your site.
Avoid menu-only links. Search in the content of your site for texts that can serve as a link to relevant content, as described in the 3rd step of this page, in practically every item.
Step 5: Link Building
All of the above are relatively easy to manipulate because they are under the control of the company, the webmaster or whoever manages the website.
But how does Google determine, out of 500 extremely well optimized sites, the most relevant to a search? One of the key factors is the quantity and quality of external site links targeted to your site, as well as the PageRank and relevance of the source page of the link to the page theme of your site that receives the link.
The position of the link on the page, the text around it, and the number of links coming out of the page are also important factors considered by Google. This is called “Link Building”!.
After implementing all that strategies, you can use Alexa Rank Checker tool to know where your ranks websites in the order of their popularity.
Step 6: Social Signs and Site Experience
Google seeks to offer its users a positive experience with every search they have made. Likes, shares, social site reorders, or mechanisms like Google +1 and Facebook likes are efficient ways to interpret the user experience, and Google increasingly seeks to read those signals to determine the relevancy of your page. “Socialize” your site and watch out for the signs emitted by this socialization, always seeking to improve the user experience of your site.
