Search engine optimization (SEO) is a complex undertaking. It starts with understand what factors influence search results. While Google and other search engines don’t outline how their search engines behave and what factors drive the results, marketers and SEO experts have spent a significant amount of time deconstructing the factors that drive the algorithm.
Here are some stats and insights that will help you get a foundational understanding of Google’s algorithm. While not an exhaustive list, it’s a start to get you acclimated with the SEO space.
Over 3.5 Billion Searches Daily On Google
Google accounts for 75.5% of the total percentage of global searches conducted on a search engine. The volume of searches that happen each day opens up a ton of opportunities for businesses to show up in these searches. This is why businesses big and small spend so much time trying to win in the SEO space. As consumer search behaviors change, SEO changes with it and new SEO trends are emerging. It is important to keep up with such trends, especially when you are trying to successfully run a local business.
Over 200 Factors Influence Google Search Results
Google’s mission to organize the Internet is no small undertaking. Google’s algorithm seeks to understand the intent of the searcher and deliver the most relevant results possible. Google, which is the most widely used search engine, has a huge responsibility to make sure that their users get the best results for their specific searches. Thus, Google algorithms take many factors into account, and essentially personalize the search results to fit what you are looking for and want to see. The words of each query drive much of the results that end up showing, but so does the location of the searcher and many other factors.
Almost 50% Of Searches Have Local Intent
The reason why people surf the internet, and especially Google, is to educate themselves on something they are interested in. As stated above, about 50% of the time consumers use Google to learn more about a local business or service. Furthermore, Google uses a different set of signals when highlighting local results for searches. Moz conducts a regular study that surveys SEO experts to see what factors are driving local search results both in the organic results and the local pack results.
Blogs With Video Are 53x More Likely to Rank Higher
Many are well aware that the vast majority of all Google results clicked on come from the first page of the search engine results page (SERP). That said, as more and more people engage with online videos, Google is prioritizing that content more. In other words, web pages with video content tend to have a better ranking than pages and posts without videos. It would be useful for your company to add a brief video on your website’s homepage; customers are eager to learn more about your business in a clear and concise manner. As a steady stream of videos and blog posts have proven to improve Google rankings, making this content a priority is critical.
Blogging Generates 97% More Backlinks
For those who do not know what backlinks are, they are when one webpage links to another webpage. While not an easy tactic, link building is extremely important for your SEO efforts. The a website is linked to on other websites, the more Google sees that sight as a reputable source and therefore a better search result for related searches.
3 Tactics for Optimizing Your Google SEO Efforts
- Feed Google: When 5 billion Google searches occur each day, it is important that you distribute your business information on the key Google channels in order to make it easy for Google to find your business. This includes setting up your Google My Business profile, distributing your sitemap to Google Search Console, earning and responding to online reviews, sharing video content on YouTube and much more. Google offers a variety platforms and tools to help you optimize your Google presence. Get familiar with all these tools and take advantage of them as best you can.
- Report Issues: While you distribute accurate and consistent business information on all of Google’s channels, there are some bad actors who try and game the system with spam, fake reviews and inaccurate information. Because much of the information being delivered to Google is user generated, the company isn’t able to catch all of this harmful content. If you spot any of this information that might work against your business in the search results, it’s important to report these issues to Google.
- Become the Source: As you listen and learn from your work with customers, take these experiences to offer more content, information and resources so you get customer to come back to you directly. While the majority of web traffic still originates from Google, there is still an opportunity to build your brand and your presence in a way that generates more direct traffic to your business. The better you build relationships with your customers and offer them the information and resources they need to make decisions, the less they will need to rely on Google to find the answers they are looking for. By providing customers with enjoyable experiences and great customer service, you are doing something that Google can’t: creating a personal connection.
Key Takeaways
There are a ton of stats and studies outlining the importance of improving your ranking on search engines, and this by no means is an exhaustive list. Take the time to get familiar with how search engines work, what you can do to improve your SEO and then start to build a strategy and process around how you can achieve your search engine ranking goals. Additionally, find a short list of ideal keywords that your business should rank for and start there. The reality with SEO is that many understand the importance and the tactics for improving, but few are able to successfully build a strategy and execute.