How and why great sites rise to the top of search engine rankings
Our motivation to improve our skills and knowledge in online optimization are determined by the actions taken by search engines to develop their performance in order to present users with the most relevant results. It is our duty as SEO specialists to keep up with the changes made by Google because the folks over there know very well what satisfies the needs of searchers around the web. Search engine-friendly websites have several traits in common, which 411Locals strives to focus on:
- Easy to navigate, use, and understand
- Offer actionable information which is direct and relevant to the query
- Accessible and designed for modern browsers and operating systems
- Legitimate, credible, and high quality visual and written content
Meta information (which is not necessarily meta tags) is still the only way for search engines to decipher and rank content. Even though technological advances drive us forward, no search engine can comprehend images, video or text the same way as a human. The only way for Google to help rank your website is to analyze how people interact with the pages, giving valuable insight as to what is the quality of the content.
How do I build a properly optimized website?
This has been a brain teaser for many people in the SEO and online marketing fields. The practices used for such purposes are literally in the hundreds when it comes to placing keywords and features for on-page optimization. We noticed additions as search engines were evolving, which included social media outlets, referring links, blog posts, email and many others. However, the most optimal methods are still up to debate as this is a very subjective manner.
The main factors that have the maximum effect on your ranking will be:
Unique and valuable
- Quality of visual and written content must clearly stand out from other websites
- The page should be described by the majority of users as useful and distinctive
- The chance for a user to go ‘back’ in search of a different result should be minimal
Keyword-targeted
- Your main keyword or phrase should be among the first words of the title element
- Page URL should include a phrase including your primary keyword
- The written content must be logical and comprehensive, as well as coherent with the related terms and phrases.
- Bold/italic/sizing and other formatting options are appropriate for keyword phrases.
Mobile-device friendly
- The pages are easily rendered in every popular browser without issues
- Every screen size should be able to accommodate the page legibly and elegantly
- No changes in the URL when being loaded for different devices
The current ‘balance’ can easily change over time which is due to new services, platforms, advancements in operating systems and browsers as well as many other variables that are difficult to predict. 411Locals will definitely stay on top of our game so that we can make sure that our clients receive services and websites that are up-to-code with the recent advancements!