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Google is the most powerful search engine in the world because it always looks for new ways to provide better and more accurate service. When we talk about SEO, we talk about Google. And here we will talk How to use Google algorithms to promote your website.
Reports show that 93% of the entire web traffic comes from a search engine, with Google keeping the vast majority of the market share with almost 90%. What makes this search engine so dominant for so long?
The answer lies in Google algorithms since the platform is constantly changing and improving the way it filters search results. Back in 2018, they reported an incredible 3,234 algorithm updates — an average of almost nine per day.
Now, the most important question for you as a webmaster is this: How to use Google algorithms to promote your website in 2019- 2024? Our job is to help you with that, so keep reading to see nine ways to get over Google’s algorithm changes.
If you want to stay on top of the trends, you need to understand the concept of algorithms and how Google changed them over the years.
By definition, an algorithm is a set of rules designed to solve a problem in a finite number of steps. The definition applies to every algorithm, including Google’s, which basically means that the platform uses a highly specific formula to identify the most appropriate search results for each query.
Given the fact that Google typically changes its algorithm 500 t0 600 times a year, it is essential to track progress and react promptly. It’s impossible to explain the entire history of Google algorithms in one post, but we can point out the most important updates:
Now that you understand the basic rules of use Google algorithms, it is time to focus on the most important aspect of the post. Of course, we are talking about the ways to stay on track and build a high-ranking website. Although there are many different solutions to the problem, we selected the nine fundamental tips here.
After everything we’ve mentioned so far, it is clear that only top-notch content can end up on the first page of search engine results. You must provide real value in your posts and give users the reason to enjoy the content.
First of all, make sure to create long-form articles that cover themes from all angles. A study shows that the average Google first page result contains 1,890 words. It’s a general rule of thumb you need to respect because only longer posts can impress readers.
Secondly, your opinions should be backed by relevant data, statistical findings, and researches. It will make the content look more credible and authoritative in the eyes of your audience and Google, respectively.
Suggeted:
How long a blog post should be?
The second advice is also content-related. Although most creators focus on textual posts, you should make use of other formats to improve the quality of your content. What makes this tip so important?
Well, it turns out that Google loves multimedia content because it boosts engagement. For example, the average user spends almost 90% more time on a website containing video content. Another report mentions that blogs with images earn 94% more views.
The bottom line is that you should make the website versatile and add many different types of content to it, including podcasts, videos, infographics, animations, and similar.
This one goes without saying, but we can never overestimate the influence of SEO on website ranking. As a webmaster, you probably know lots of optimization tricks already, so we will mention the essentials only:
Do you know that 53% of the web surfers leave pages that take longer than three seconds to load? Content consumers demand efficiency and you need to indulge them if you don’t want to lose visitors.
Needless to say, Google pays special attention to page load speed and penalizes slow sites. This is why we recommend you to use Google’s Page Speed Insights to analyze website performance.
It takes this platform only a few seconds to analyze the URL and you’ll get a comprehensive overview of the most relevant metrics. Besides that, Page Speed Insights will give you practical suggestions on how to improve load times.
Another major algorithm update focused exclusively on mobile-powered web browsing. Bearing in mind that over 50% of Internet traffic is mobile, it is natural to see Google penalizing websites that don’t take care of smartphone users.
For this reason, it is essential to optimize your site for mobile usage and ensure effortless experiences. As usual, Google offers you help with that. Namely, you can conduct a mobile-friendliness test to learn how your site performs on smartphone devices.
Such insights will help you to improve the design of your site and boost ranking in Google searches long-term.
Google (and all other search engines) hate broken links. It is one of the worst features in the SEO universe that can ruin years of hard work and optimization efforts. In such circumstances, identifying and fixing broken links becomes mandatory.
Fortunately, there are tools such as Broken Link Checker to help you speed up the process. A platform like this one automates website monitoring, so you can react quickly and replace it with a functional alternative. It will improve the quality of your website and save you from possible ranking downfalls.
You don’t have to be a website optimization guru to notice the difference between good-looking and poorly-designed URLs. Let’s say that you are writing a post about entitled help with my assignment and now need to choose between one of these two options:
Which one is better?
The answer is obvious because the second link is clear and understandable. Google’s algorithms take URL-friendliness into account when indexing and ranking pages, so don’t forget to design beautiful and straightforward links for your posts.
We already discussed the importance of optimizing content for local searches, but the feature becomes even more significant if you are running a physical store. In this case, it is fundamental to create an account on Google My Business, a directory containing information about physical branches of various organizations.
What’s in it for you?
The idea is clear – creating your Google My Business account, you make the site easily discoverable in location-driven searches. This is a big thing because over 80% of smartphone shoppers conduct ‘near me’ searches.
Your job is to keep the company info fresh and up to date, adding all the relevant details such as the address, opening/closing hours, website address, phone numbers, business categories, and so on.
As a webmaster, you don’t have to do everything manually. There are tons of incredibly useful tools to help you with content optimization, so we strongly recommend you to test the most valuable platforms and plugins. We showed you a lot of interesting solutions in earlier paragraphs, but you can also check out some other tools:
Google is the most dominant player in the search engine market because it always finds a way to provide better service to its users. The platform has changed its ranking algorithms thousands of times over the last few years, so webmasters have to stay alert and learn how to get over this problem.
In this post, we discussed the fundamental algorithm changes and showed you nine tactics to make your site competitive. Do you keep an eye on the evolution of Google’s algorithms? Are you ready to react? Let us know in comments if you have any questions or valuable experiences to share with us!
John Trogdon has been working as an editor for 8 years. He is a professional content writing expert in such topics as modern world, new technologies and innovations.
Hey John,
Indeed, Google is the most dominant player in search engine market. I would say ‘the smartest one’. It keeps on changing and updating in order to give the best experience for its users.
What would you do without Google to this day? Probably nothing much.
You’ve simplified the importance of SEO and how we need to be aware. Good work.
Thanks,
Jeangam Kahmei
Content makes it all go on the Google front John. Go top shelf to impress the Google gods. Super tips bro.
Ryan