In today’s digital age, coming up in Google searches—ideally on the first page—is essential to the success of your business. Why? Because Google accounts for nearly 92% of the global search engine market. (Semrush, 2024) While alternatives are gaining traction, 86% of today’s consumers still consider traditional searches the most effective way to find answers to their questions. (HubSpot, 2024)
How Search Engines Work
Knowing how search engines function will help you devise a strategic approach to SEO success. Major search engines like Google rely on three key processes to deliver relevant results:
Crawling: Search engines use automated bots (a.k.a. spiders or crawlers) to browse the web and discover new content. These crawlers follow links from page to page, collecting information about what each page contains.
Indexing: After crawling a page, search engines store the information in an index database. Think of it as a giant library where search engines keep a catalog of every page they find and any relevant content details.
Ranking: When you type a query into a search engine, it doesn’t just show you random pages. Instead, the search engine uses algorithms to rank pages based on relevance, authority, and user experience. The better optimized a page is, the higher it ranks in the search results.
Getting Found by Google
Google’s ultimate goal has always been to provide the best online search results. Over the years, algorithm updates have become more sophisticated, designed to sift through content and deliver relevant pages that offer a good user experience. While this is great for search, it requires a business to put in some work to keep its website relevant.
How do you ensure your website is ranking in Google search results? By having content that best answers common online queries about your business and industry, products, and services and keeping these Google search ranking considerations in mind:
Search Ranking Considerations
Quality: Is your content written clearly to address search queries thoroughly?
Relevance: Ensure your content contains the keywords and phrases relevant to the search intent of your target audiences.
Location: Create localized content (e.g., Tree Removal Services in Concord, NH) for those areas where your product or service is available.
User Experience: Visitors should be able to navigate and interact with your page easily.
Back Links: High-quality backlinks from reputable sites tell Google your site is valuable and trustworthy, helping your content get found more easily in searches.
Page Speed: How quickly does the page load? Slow-loading pages often result in high bounce rates.
Bounce Rates: Do your visitors stick around to interact with your page or leave before they even know who you are and what you offer?
Implementing a Successful SEO Strategy
Successful SEO includes a well-rounded, strategic approach tailored to your business goals, industry, products and services, and other factors. At Sprout, we offer customized SEO strategies to ensure your long-term success. And it’s not a once-and-done process. Remaining competitive and keeping pace with changing Google algorithms requires careful monitoring, reporting, and adjusting.
Put SEO to Work for Your Business
A thoughtful SEO strategy is a cost-effective way to bring organic traffic to your website, providing a higher ROI (return on investment) than paid search ads. Contact the Sprout team to learn how we can put the power of SEO to work for your business.
Reference List:
Semrush, “34 Eye-opening Google Search Statistics for 2024”, January 11, 2024. https://www.semrush.com/blog/google-search-statistics/
HubSpot, “The Way People Search the Web is Changing: 4 Stats Marketers & SEOs Should Know”, October 7, 2024. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-search-behaviors-are-changing