Understand how Google works, how Google thinks

Transcription

1 Understand hw Ggle wrks, hw Ggle thinks

2 Understanding hw Ggle wrks, hw Ggle thinks Search Engine Optimizatin can seem hrribly cmplicated. It s nt. It des, hwever, incrprate lts f apparently unrelated tasks. All very cnfusing. Unless, that is, yu understand hw Ggle wrks. Hw it thinks We learned that Ggle uses a sftware spider t crawl the net, checking ut websites. The spider uses very sphisticated algrithms t arrive at rankings but, fr bvius reasns, Ggle des nt publish a detailed descriptin f its algrithms t stp peple bending the system. We have, therefre, t think like Ggle t cme up with strategies. Always keep in mind, Ggle s bjective: T make the searching experience with Ggle better than with ther search engines. Tp pririty fr Ggle is t present websites that match the search criteria users emply. Why Ggle? Why the bsessin with Ggle? Wrldwide, mre internet searches are made using Ggle than all ther search engines put tgether (83%). Even in the USA, where Bing and Yah are strnger, Ggle still utperfrms all ther search engines put tgether three times ver. And anyway, many search engines use Ggle data and similar methdlgies.

3 Mre than 150,000 new websites are launched every day The scale f Ggle s prblem. Mre than 150,000 new websites are launched n the web every day. Each ne t be analysed and evaluated. Then there are the 350 millin existing websites, many f which are changing every day. They t have t be checked regularly. Clearly sme srt f autmatin is needed. Ggle s spider Ggle uses a sftware spider that crawls arund the wnet picking at and evaluating websites. The spider s diet is WORDS. It s nt very gd at interpreting images, animatins, vides etc, but it is gd at wrds. S, ur first rule f thumb: Try fr at least 200 wrds per page wherever pssible. This is particularly imprtant fr yur Hme Page the mst imprtant page fr bth Ggle and fr humns Hw des the spider think? Of curse, it desn t really think, but it can make rugh value judgements. We imagined tw websites, A and B., bth apparently abut the same subject.

4 Suddenly, Search Engine Optimizatin seems fairly lgical, given the limitatins f a sftware spider having t evaluate/reevaluate millins f sites each day. Website A This site has 7 pages Very few wrds per page There are n dwnlad links r links t ther related pages N ther websites r scial media sites have links t it This site hasn t changed in mnths Website B This site has 95 pages 200 r mre wrds per page This des hhave dwnlad links r links t ther related pages Other websites and scial media sites have links t it This site has new cntent every week Althugh site A may be the better f the tw fr peple searching the web, fr a piece f sftware (ur spider) making an evaluatin, site B seems t win hands dwn. And that s the cnclusin Ggle s spider will make. When we get dwn t the nitty gritty f SEO, yu will see that everything fllws this srt f lgic. Suddenly, Search Engine Optimizatin seems fairly lgical, given the limitatins f a sftware spider having t evaluate/re-evaluate millins f sites each day. Nt s daunting nw?

5 Hw t bst yur page cunt Ah, but, yu say, That s all very well, but if Ggle like lts f pages, hw can I hpe t cmpete when my prduct/service is s simple. An Abut Us page, a Meet The Team page, a Services page and Cntact Us. Hw culd I ever get t ne hundred pages r mre? Easy. Have a News sectin. Each week add a page a recent annuncement, a new client, meet us at XXX exhibitin, we ve raised mney fr charity, and s n. Have a BLOG, adding a cmment, a view, an bservatin each week. It des mean wrk, but adding just ne r tw pages a week is perfectly pssible.

6 Hw t check when Ggle last visited yur site T check when Ggle last visited yur site, simply d a Ggle search: Cache: Using my wn site, I keyed in: The system respnded with a snapsht f hw my site lked last time Ggle visited, plus the date last visited:

7 Ggle reads text, nt pictures f text Website designers ften use images f text, rather than using true text that Ggle can read. This is an example: The wrds abve simply d nt exist as far as Ggle is cncerned. S, hw can yu check if yur website designer has used images f text? Simply select a batch f text n yur website, like this: Having selected it, cpy and paste t a Wrd dcument. If, in the Wrd dcument, yu can amend the text, such as deleting a wrd, then yur website designer has used true text.

8 Recap Ggle is king, fr the next few years at least Try t think like Ggle there is a lgic t it Ggle is gd with wrds (nt pictures f wrds) It lves lts f page It lks fr internal links (t ther pages, t dwnlads) It really values inbund links (links frm Facebk, frm ther websites) Ggle relishes active sites sites that are updated Remember this is just an verview. We dig deeper int each f these pints as we prgress thrugh the curse