How Search Engines Operate
Every time a Google search is requested, Google doesn't actually go out to the entire web and see how many pages contain the phrase you've searched on. It checks the index, which is already catalogued in order of relevance to your search, and presents those results. The index is created by crawling the web.
Crawling the Web
Search Engines run programs known as spiders or googlebots, which go to websites and crawl through all the structure code and text. This gives them an idea of what the site is about, and how relevant it might be to someone searching on any given topic. So if you don't mention your products or services in the right way, or in much quantity, you're either not going to get indexed properly or you're going to get a low rank for your keywords.
How do I improve my website's search engine position?
Have a good look at your site. Does the text make it clear what the site is about? Do you provide information, or just a way to make a sale? Have you got a lot of pictures and not much text? If a human, reading only your text, could not figure out what you do, then it's unlikely that the search engines will be able to either. Put simply, if you sell Blue Widgets, do you include the phrase Blue Widgets on your site? What would a person wishing to buy Blue Widgets type into Google? Do you have those words on your site?
Search Engine Ranking
Rankings are relative. If you are the only site on the internet selling Blue Widgets, then your rank should be #1. If you're one of a million, then your rank will be somewhere between 1 and 1,000,000, depending on whether your site seems to be more or less relevant to the search than the other 999,999 sites. The algorithms used by search engines are necessarily secret, so it is not possible to have a "perfectly optimised" website. It is not necessary either: you just have to be better then the others. You have to keep at it too, because your competition will keep improving.
Search Engines run programs known as spiders or googlebots, which go to websites and crawl through all the structure code and text. This gives them an idea of what the site is about, and how relevant it might be to someone searching on any given topic. So if you don't mention your products or services in the right way, or in much quantity, you're either not going to get indexed properly or you're going to get a low rank for your keywords.
How do I improve my website's search engine position?
Have a good look at your site. Does the text make it clear what the site is about? Do you provide information, or just a way to make a sale? Have you got a lot of pictures and not much text? If a human, reading only your text, could not figure out what you do, then it's unlikely that the search engines will be able to either. Put simply, if you sell Blue Widgets, do you include the phrase Blue Widgets on your site? What would a person wishing to buy Blue Widgets type into Google? Do you have those words on your site?
Search Engine Ranking
Rankings are relative. If you are the only site on the internet selling Blue Widgets, then your rank should be #1. If you're one of a million, then your rank will be somewhere between 1 and 1,000,000, depending on whether your site seems to be more or less relevant to the search than the other 999,999 sites. The algorithms used by search engines are necessarily secret, so it is not possible to have a "perfectly optimised" website. It is not necessary either: you just have to be better then the others. You have to keep at it too, because your competition will keep improving.
For more information or advice about how Lab Lateral can improve, manage and develop your website optimisation through Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), contact our Surrey based Online Marketing team on 01483 60 80 60.
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