Receiving more than 5 billion searches per day, Google has maintained its position as the most popular search engine on the globe. Google is the answer for any query you may have, be it related to the latest news or a historical fact. Hence, securing a high position on Google's search engine result pages (SERPs) is understandably something your business should be striving toward. A late study has in fact shown how the first five organic results account for over 65% of all clicks.

So how does Google determine rank? How does it decide on which SERP each unique content piece appears? It is only once you have this precious knowledge in hand, that you can develop an effective SEO strategy for your business.

How does Google Search work?

To understand how Google ranks content, it is crucial to apprehend how Google Search works. Millions of pages with relevant content are present on the search engine, so how does Google sort through all the possible results? How does it understand each query and provide the most relevant information in such a short time-frame?

1. Collects data in the Search Index

The Search Index is where Google keeps all the information on the web organised. Web crawlers are continually gathering information, exploring new pages and updated pieces of content, and adapting the crawling process according to what they find. Bouncing from one page to another through on-site links, the web crawlers collect all data related to the web-page (such as keywords, authoritativeness and bounce rate) and store key information in this Search Index, which keeps track of each and every factor related to a webpage.

Over time, Google has in fact created the Knowledge Graph, which boasts billions of worldwide facts, rich lists, and maps with directions and traffic, making it a one-of-a-kind search engine.

2. Finds results through the Search Algorithm

Google's search algorithms go through the Search Index in a fraction of a second whenever a search is executed. By taking into consideration several elements, including the way the query is formulated, location and the trustworthiness of a page, it can offer the most relevant results for any query. Google's search algorithm uses more than 200 factors to rank websites and since they are constantly evolving, the need to stay up-to-date is quintessential.

What does the search algorithm take into consideration?

• Query intent

The new BERT algorithm (a natural language processing algorithm) can understand the intent behind your search through its various language models including synonyms and other language categories. Whether you're looking for information on sunglasses or looking to buy a pair, Google will understand the meaning of your search and provide relevant results. The focus is not on matching exact keywords anymore, but on intent.

• Web Page relevance

There are several relevance signals which Google takes note of, such as keywords, meta descriptions, schema markup etc…

• Quality content

Google constantly strives to provide the most reliable content to the end user. Hence, it makes use of  E.A.T: the level of Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness of the company and the authors publishing the content.

Preference is given to pages which give holistic answers to long-tail searches, and whose focus is on a specific topic, rather than on keywords. Content cannibalisation is penalised so make sure you create unique content.

• Web Page usability

How user-friendly is your site? Google will consider page speed, device and browser compatibility when ranking pages.

• Context

The search algorithm takes into account the location, search history, language and data saved in your google account to provide you with localised information.

3. Delivers results in the correct format

After the Search Algorithm taps into the Search Index, what follows is the delivery of the most relevant results found. Depending on how the search is formulated, Google presents responses in the most suitable format, be it via text, image, video or map in the fastest way possible.

How can you help Google find, index and rank your site?

The web won't stop expanding anytime soon and it's constantly being re-crawled over and over again, finding and indexing new content. How can you make sure your site is not being skipped in this process? Here are some guidelines you can follow:

How will Google find your page?

For crawlers to find your site, certain technical requirements must be on-point:

• Crawlable links must be tags with an href attribute
• A sitemap file including all the URLs in your site would help crawlers find relevant data faster
• A web server supporting the If-Modified-Since HTTP header tells Google when updated content is put online.
• A robots.txt file on your server will help you manage crawling
• Ask google for a re-crawl
• Having a country code top level domain will associate your site to a specific country, increasing your site's chances of being found in the case of local searches.

How will Google understand and index your pages?

• Make sure your site is well-formatted with clearly-defined pages, sections and headings
• Use popular keyword phrases which users are actually searching
• Write accurate and descriptive page titles, meta descriptions and alt attributes
• Create a clear site hierarchy
• Embed images, videos and structured data correctly
• Ensure the content management system is creating crawlable pages
• Check whether any site assets are not being crawled
• Most important content must be visible in the default page, as HTML content is less accessible by Google.
• Since Google isn't in a position where it can grasp the full context of a query, create structured data to help it understand all the elements' dynamics on the page.

Stay away from deceptive methods which are used to trick Google in ranking you for queries which are not truly relevant. You'll risk having your pages removed from the Search Index completely.

How can you make your site accessible to a larger audience?

All the above factors will affect your site's rank on the search results pages, but what will determine your rank's stability is user engagement. You need to understand who your audience is, what they are searching on your site and what they engage with, to satisfy your users' expectations.

• Use text to convey important information. If you really need to use images, make use of the alt attribute to include descriptive text with the image
• Check that all links are being directed to live web pages
• Optimise loading times: the faster the site, the higher the likelihood that users would continue browsing the site and re-visit in the future
• Enhance usability on all devices, especially mobile phones: Having a mobile-friendly site is crucial in this time and age.
• Boost browser compatibility
• Secure your URL with HTTPS
• Make your site compatible for readers with visual impairments
• Adopt organised navigational systems with clear-cut sections and headings

Transform your website into a distinct and engaging platform which provides a memorable user experience. When your web pages start standing out, the chances of being indexed and ranked by Google are much higher, leading to an increase in organic traffic, more clicks and a potential increase in customers.

Boasting a high rank on page 1 will also increase the odds of your content piece being featured in position zero i.e. in a featured snippet at the top of the results page. In turn, more than 85% of paragraph snippets result in responses to voice searches, which are expected to increase drastically this year. Start optimising your site and embrace 2020 with a stronger presence on Google. It's time to dominate the SERPs and rank higher!

Improving your Google rankings isn't an impossible task. Check out our beginners' guide to SEO to get your site optimisation on track.

Check out the range of marketing consultants in Malta and Gozo who'll be able to guide you in your SEO strategy and keep on discovering local with Yellow.