According to a recent figure, 81.57% of all searches conducted over the internet go through Google. Next in line is Yahoo!, holding a meager 10.07% of the remaining search traffic.
That staggering number means that in the SEO game, Google gets to make the rules. And if you want to get a high page ranking on the worlds most popular search engine, you better play by them.
What are these rules?
It's impossible to come up with an exhaustive list of what Google likes to see. Their preferences are deployed through search algorithms; mathematical formulas that give different weight to various characteristics of a web site, and then sort the results based on how well they match the terms entered by the searcher. The mathematical nature of these preferences makes them hard to fully describe with words.
But there are some things we know for sure.
1. Google has a heavy bias towards informational resources. Search for just about any broad topic (like "money" or "France") and you'll get a Wikipedia reference near the top of the page. That's because Wikipedia is absolutely loaded with well-researched, well-written information. Google can tell, and rewards Wikipedia handsomely.
2. Google likes to see high-quality incoming and outgoing links. This means that if something on your page links to, say, a related article on CNN.com, Google gives you a thumbs up. If you have a link that goes to a web page that has no relevant content and no sensible reason to be attached to your page, you get the Google thumbs down.
3. Google is smart. It's able to look at the content on a web page and determine if you're actually writing an informational piece of text, or if it's simply a long list of the same keywords over and over again. Tactics like this worked for a while, but Google caught on, and has a tendency of punishing pages that employ them.
So how do you make Google happy? It's relatively simple, but that doesn't mean it's easy.
To get a good ranking with Google, you should focus on two things: adding valuable content, and getting involved with good people.
On the Internet, you add valuable content by writing informational articles and putting them on your web site. Often. The more you update your site with good content, the better you look to Google. Over time, they begin to see your site as an information repository, not just an online sales floor.
The way you get involved with good people is through high quality links. If you're a realtor, you want to make sure you've got links on your page to resources that help homebuyers. If your company makes cookies, have links to things like the FDA's web page, or a well-respected nutrition web site.
With Google, the emphasis is on quality over quantity, so with every update you make to your site, make sure you're giving your visitors something valuable.
If you need a bit more guidance, don't be afraid to drop us a line.
-Dave Borland
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