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Ever wonder what Google was looking for when it comes to SEO? Well, you’ll know after reading this quick post. In Google’s first SEO MythBusters episode, Martin Splitt, a Google Webmaster Trends Analyst revealed the top 3 SEO factors to focus on.
Let’s keep it sweet and simple so you can take your SEO game to the top.
Content that serves a purpose tends to be the highest ranked. For instance, if someone is searching for Birkenstock sandals, Google tends to rank product pages that are exact matches for Birkenstock sandals.
Google does this because they are aware that users are more satisfied with seeing pages that are direct matches for what they are searching for. This also means the purpose of the product page to discreetly put information about a certain item for sale. Ultimately a product page with direct matches to the product(s) gives shoppers the option to compare the products, without bouncing and you losing a possible customer in the process.
But what about for specific search queries, not about a specific product, but about a topic? Well, Google tends to rank pages a little differently in this case, and where many online businesses struggle with SEO.
It can be a trying task to untangle your thoughts to come to the realization of the page’s purpose. And the answer may lie in making your content relevant. Relevant in the sense that you may to dive and see what phrases many users are searching with, and integrating those into your content.
You also may want to consider this if you are a B2B business. Your website should use jargon that matches up closely with how many would search for a type of product.
Read: “Optimize Your Content” in Google’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide
As it turns out, you may need to step back or think about how you can use meta data so it can be beneficial for you. Some things you may want to consider as you work in constructing high ranking content is your search engine “snippet”-- a nice little listing in the search results that allows people to see which of the various results may help them best.
You will also want to have your page titles be specific. And using the same title for everything is a big NO. Consider having your titles change with the content you are showing (high five to you if you are already doing this).
Constructing an effective title and meta description is not as easy as pie, but rather finding what ingredients you need to use in the process.
The ingredients for making a delicious meta data pie:
Remember that meta description is not a ranking factor, but beefs up your meta data when it comes to SEO.
Read: “How to Write Meta Descriptions for SEO (with good and bad examples)”
Performance has been in the long run for a top SEO factor on Google. While performance is an important factor to have when it comes to your SEO, it is not the end all be all.
According to John Mueller, Google’s Webmaster Trends Analyst, when it comes to performance, speed as a ranking factor. It can help your site in the rankings, but there are many factors taken into consideration. Simply put, Google overlooks poor performance and ranks a site on the basis whether user experience would be harmed by not showing the site.
But Google will show a poor performing site if that is what the user is searching for. You may also want to consider that performance is good for foot traffic to your site.
Overall, performance is important for your website and the user experience.
To learn more about Google’s Top 3 SEO factors, watch SEO Mythbusting 101.
If anything, these are the top 3 takeaways you will want to take with you as you work on taking your SEO game to the top.
While there are many SEO factors you need to take into consideration, taking from these top 3 SEO factors in how Google ranks can help you when it comes to creating content, driving traffic to your site and what ultimately your user(s) are searching for.
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