Top 10 Ways to Improve your Google Rankings
It is generally agreed that there are over 100 algorithms currently employed by Google to compare all the pages in its database to match a keyword query. Many of these elements are debated in terms of their importance or weight. There is general agreement however about what consists of the most important factors that affect page ranking.
1) Content, content, content! Make no mistake, if you want placement on the search engines for keywords, make sure that those keywords are visible on your page. No matter how you slice it, keyword-rich content is king! Where your keywords are placed and how they are emphasized can make or break rankings.
2) Keyword use in the title tag — most SEO consultants agree that if you decide to optimize only one element of your site, take the time to create good titles. Since the keywords of your title are bolded in the search engine result pages, they provide a good chance to convert a searcher to a visitor, as well.
3) Link share — next to content, having links pointing back to your website is an absolute must for rankings. These back links are viewed as "votes of confidence" by search engines and eventually account for a measure of trust. Not all links are created equally however. Knowing how to develop the right link building plan is essential for top rankings.
4) Google loves well written source code. It is an element that is often overlooked when a website is designed. It is one thing to make your content usable to your visitor but keep in mind that a search engine is also a visitor to the site. And search engines do not read a page the same as an end user; they read the source code. Knowing how search engines view your source code can help improve your site’s rankings.
5) Internal linking structure — the way your pages link to each other can affect the ranking of those pages. Proper site navigation is important, including the naming of those links.
6) The quality and relevance of a site’s external links can have an impact on rankings. This relates to how Google sees your site in relation to your internet community and to the idea of trust in that community. Knowing who to link to and who to avoid can have surprising results.
7) The amount of text content that can be indexed by search engines can be important. Google cannot "read" images or flash movies. If your website is predominantly composed of these elements then there is little or no content for the search engines to base their rankings upon. Remember, content is king!
8) Topical relevance of text on the page — ranking well for competitive keywords can have better success when terms semantically related to the core keywords are also present. It’s all about relevance — related words and synonyms all contribute to the overall ranking.
9) How frequently do you update your web pages? The number and time frame of changes made over time can drive the frequency that Google revisits your website. If you haven’t made a change to your site since 2005 but your competitor provides fresh content on a weekly basis, who do you think will have the competitive edge?
10) Traffic — click-through-rate, time spent on a page, use of bookmarks — these things are measured more and more by Google as more and more users make use of tools like the Google toolbar and Google analytics. Once again, this relates to a website’s perceived relevance to a topic or keyword search. It’s a bit of a catch 22, of course, since better traffic may bring higher rankings and higher rankings will bring more traffic.
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