What Does Google Reward?

What Does Google Want?

A Guide for SMBs to Rank Higher in Search Results

As a small to medium-sized business (SMB) owner, you’ve likely asked yourself, “What does Google reward?”

Understanding what Google deems important for website ranking is crucial if you want to boost your online visibility, attract more customers, and ultimately grow your business.

This guide will go over some of the key factors Google considers when ranking websites and provide actionable tips to help your site climb the search results.

High-Quality, Relevant Content

What Google Wants: Google prioritizes websites that offer valuable, relevant, and well-written content. This includes blog posts, articles, product descriptions, and any other text on your site.

Actionable Tips:

• Know Your Audience: Create content that addresses your target audience’s needs, questions, and pain points.
• Be Comprehensive: Write in-depth articles that cover topics thoroughly. Aim for longer, detailed posts that provide more value than shorter, superficial content.
• Update Regularly: Keep your content fresh by regularly updating old posts and adding new ones.

READ: The Benefits of Blogging for Small Businesses ⇒

Mobile-Friendly Design

What Google Wants: With the majority of searches now coming from mobile devices, Google rewards sites that are optimized for mobile users.

Actionable Tips:

• Responsive Design: Ensure your website automatically adjusts to fit any screen size.
• Fast Loading Times: Optimize images and use efficient coding practices to keep load times quick.
• User Experience: Make sure buttons and links are easily clickable, and content is readable without zooming in.

Page Speed

What Google Wants: Fast-loading websites provide a better user experience, so Google favors them in search rankings.

Actionable Tips:

• Optimize Images: Compress images without sacrificing quality.
• Use Browser Caching: Enable caching to reduce load times for returning visitors.
• Minimize HTTP Requests: Reduce the number of elements on your page to decrease load times.

Secure Websites (HTTPS)

What Google Wants: Security is a priority for Google. Sites that use HTTPS encryption are seen as more trustworthy.

Actionable Tips:

• SSL Certificate: Ensure your website has an SSL certificate, which changes your URL from HTTP to HTTPS.
• Regular Updates: Keep your security protocols updated to protect against threats.

User Engagement

What Google Wants: Google tracks how users interact with your site. High engagement and dwell time signals that your content is valuable and relevant.

Actionable Tips:

• Clear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): Use compelling CTAs to guide users through your site.
• Interactive Elements: Add videos, infographics, and interactive tools to keep users engaged.
• User-Friendly Navigation: Ensure your site is easy to navigate with a clear menu structure and search functionality.

Backlinks from Authoritative Sites

What Google Wants: Backlinks (links from other websites to yours) from reputable sources signal that your content is valuable.

Actionable Tips:

• Quality Over Quantity: Focus on getting links from high-authority sites rather than low-quality ones.
• Guest Blogging: Write guest posts for well-regarded blogs in your industry.
• Create Shareable Content: Produce high-quality content that others will want to link to and share.

Local SEO

What Google Wants: For SMBs, especially those with a physical location, local SEO is crucial. Google rewards businesses that optimize for local search.

Actionable Tips:

• Google Business Profile: Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile.
• Local Keywords: Include local keywords in your content, meta descriptions, and titles.
• Customer Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on Google and other review platforms.

Technical SEO

What Google Wants: A technically sound website that Google can easily crawl and index.

Actionable Tips:

• Sitemap: Create and submit a sitemap to Google.
• Robots.txt: Ensure your robots.txt file is correctly configured to guide search engine crawlers.
• Fix Errors: Regularly check for and fix broken links, duplicate content, and other technical issues.

Conclusion

Understanding what Google rewards can significantly impact your website’s search engine ranking. By focusing on high-quality content, mobile-friendliness, page speed, security, user engagement, authoritative backlinks, local SEO, and technical SEO, you can improve your website’s visibility and attract more customers. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, so continually refining and updating your strategies is key to maintaining and improving your ranking.

For SMBs looking to navigate the complexities of SEO and digital marketing, investing in professional SEO services can provide a competitive edge. By leveraging expert insights and tools, you can ensure your business stands out in the crowded online marketplace.

For personalized assistance and a comprehensive digital marketing strategy tailored to your business needs, feel free to reach out to our team of experts. Let’s grow your online presence together!

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