5 Factors That Can Influence Your Website Rankings
Google uses approximately 200 different factors to determine where a website should rank. A discussion of all 200 factors would be incredibly long and complex, so our website design company in central Missouri is taking a closer look at five specific factors that can influence search engine rankings. Keep reading to learn more about these five factors and how we can help you optimize your site to rank well organically according to these factors.
1. Content
In the past, Google relied heavily on keywords to determine where a site should rank. However, people began abusing this by "stuffing" random keywords into their website to get it to rank for practically any search term - including ones that weren't necessarily relevant to their industry. In response, Google changed their ranking strategy to be strongly influenced by the content on the pages of the website. This is why it is so important to have strong copy (interspersed with key search terms) on the pages of your website.
2. Backlinks
Backlinks are links back to your website from other sources. Backlinks can come from literally any other website. This is one reason that social media is so powerful - by writing blogs and posting on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest, you can build multiple backlinks that point back to your website. Social media also provides an avenue for people to share your content, which can generate additional backlinks. The more authority a website has, the more powerful its backlinks are. Chamber websites and the website for your local Convention & Visitor Bureau, for example, may be especially beneficial. The number of different domains pointing to your site is also important - rather than generating 10 different backlinks within the same website, finding 10 different sites to link to yours may be more advantageous.
3. Updates
Google wants to provide its users with updated, relevant results. For this reason, sites that have been recently updated tend to get preference in search results over comparable sites that have not been updated recently. This is why we offer free (and fast!) website updates at MSW Interactive Designs - we make it easy for you to perform simple updates on your site such as adding or removing text, graphics, and client testimonials. The changes do not have to be big to have a significant impact.
4. Mobile-Friendliness
In today's fast-paced and digital age, more online searches are performed on mobile devices than desktop computers. Consequently, Google is showing preference to its mobile users by ranking mobile-friendly sites higher than comparable sites that are not mobile-friendly. Google recently announced that it will be taking this preference another step further by splitting its search results into two indexes: mobile and desktop. Check out our earlier blog post to learn more about this algorithm update.
5. Load Time
According to KissMetrics, 47% of users expect websites to load within two seconds or less, and many of these users will only wait 6-10 seconds for a page to load before abandoning the website and looking elsewhere for information. While this factor isn't weighted as heavily in Google's ranking algorithm as some of the other one we have discussed, it greatly influences your website's credibility among internet users and is often directly linked to the number of leads and/or sales that a website generate.
MSW Interactive Designs Can Help Optimize Your Website
As we mentioned earlier, there are approximately 200 different factors that influence website rankings. Our website design specialists will leverage a number of different strategies to help your website rank well organically for the terms you want your potential customers to use to find you. For more information about our website design rates for small businesses, give us a call at (573) 552-8403. One of our team members would be happy to talk to you!
~ Post by Bailey Puppel, Internet Marketing Specialist
www.MSWInteractiveDesigns.com
Phone: (573) 552-8403
1. Content
In the past, Google relied heavily on keywords to determine where a site should rank. However, people began abusing this by "stuffing" random keywords into their website to get it to rank for practically any search term - including ones that weren't necessarily relevant to their industry. In response, Google changed their ranking strategy to be strongly influenced by the content on the pages of the website. This is why it is so important to have strong copy (interspersed with key search terms) on the pages of your website.
2. Backlinks
Backlinks are links back to your website from other sources. Backlinks can come from literally any other website. This is one reason that social media is so powerful - by writing blogs and posting on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest, you can build multiple backlinks that point back to your website. Social media also provides an avenue for people to share your content, which can generate additional backlinks. The more authority a website has, the more powerful its backlinks are. Chamber websites and the website for your local Convention & Visitor Bureau, for example, may be especially beneficial. The number of different domains pointing to your site is also important - rather than generating 10 different backlinks within the same website, finding 10 different sites to link to yours may be more advantageous.
3. Updates
Google wants to provide its users with updated, relevant results. For this reason, sites that have been recently updated tend to get preference in search results over comparable sites that have not been updated recently. This is why we offer free (and fast!) website updates at MSW Interactive Designs - we make it easy for you to perform simple updates on your site such as adding or removing text, graphics, and client testimonials. The changes do not have to be big to have a significant impact.4. Mobile-Friendliness
In today's fast-paced and digital age, more online searches are performed on mobile devices than desktop computers. Consequently, Google is showing preference to its mobile users by ranking mobile-friendly sites higher than comparable sites that are not mobile-friendly. Google recently announced that it will be taking this preference another step further by splitting its search results into two indexes: mobile and desktop. Check out our earlier blog post to learn more about this algorithm update.
5. Load Time
According to KissMetrics, 47% of users expect websites to load within two seconds or less, and many of these users will only wait 6-10 seconds for a page to load before abandoning the website and looking elsewhere for information. While this factor isn't weighted as heavily in Google's ranking algorithm as some of the other one we have discussed, it greatly influences your website's credibility among internet users and is often directly linked to the number of leads and/or sales that a website generate.
MSW Interactive Designs Can Help Optimize Your Website
As we mentioned earlier, there are approximately 200 different factors that influence website rankings. Our website design specialists will leverage a number of different strategies to help your website rank well organically for the terms you want your potential customers to use to find you. For more information about our website design rates for small businesses, give us a call at (573) 552-8403. One of our team members would be happy to talk to you!
~ Post by Bailey Puppel, Internet Marketing Specialist
Phone: (573) 552-8403
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