Why Isn’t My Website First? The Art of Google Rankings
It's one of the most common questions the Business Builders team hears, "Why isn't my website in first place on Google and how do I get it there?"
As with most things Google, the answer is not as straight-forward as we would like. Google has a list of qualifications for every website that helps them decide if it is a quality website. They do not publish this list. So, it's up to professionals like Business Builders Marketing to track changes that Google does release and ensure that each site we build and maintain is following best search engine optimization (SEO) practices. Think of it as a weighted point system. The more items you check off the list, the more points you get. However, some items are worth more points than others. Some of these include:
- Quality and quality content. Google wants quality, well-written content. Pictures are
great, but significant, original content is required for ideal optimization. - Keywording. The words and phrases used for search need to be researched and applied appropriately within content, titles, tags, and descriptions or your great content will not be found.
- Site structure. How your site is built, not just how it looks, matters. How fast does it load? Can it be easily crawled? How is it indexed?
- ADA compliance. Can your site be found, seen, and understood by those with disabilities? There are many elements of compliance that need to be taken into account thanks to new laws that are becoming imperative.
- Mobile responsiveness. Google sees that the majority of search is happening on phones and devices, so sites that don't perform well in these environments don't rank well.
- External links to your site. Connections are key; the more, the better.
- Google business listing and reviews. Connect with Google by listing your business and then working to gain positive reviews. P
ositive google reviews strongly correlate with your online ranking. - Site Security. Today, you must have an SSL certificate, which is a registration that validates your site and is essential for legitimacy and ranking
A well-built site that is functioning correctly will automatically propel you up the rankings in Google, and there are many factors that can be controlled and altered to increase search engine ranking. That being said, do remember some things are outside of anyone's control. For example, if you're a new, small local grocery store, you may never get ahead of Walmart for certain search terms. Traffic counts and .url/domain age matter, so it's inevitable that others will have a greater advantage. And, remember that it's unreasonable to think that you can own a generic search term that is being used globally (i.e. "wine"). Competition for words and phrases is not just local, it's often worldwide
Call Business Builders today for a free website consultation to determine if your site is SEO ready and if you're ranking is as good as it can be. 309-827-7977