While this may seem like an easy question, there is no one correct answer. When it comes to ranking on Google’s front page, there are quite a few big items that can affect this. It also depends on what you are trying to rank on Google’s front page for. Are you trying to rank for just your name or are you trying to rank for a term your potential visitors may search?
What Does Google’s Algorithms Use When Ranking Your Site?
Crawling Your Site With Google Search Console- If you are looking to solely have your name on page one on Google, one of the only steps you should have to take is crawling your site on Google Search Console. This will make a request for Google Robots to crawl your site. Crawling your site with Google is largely important if you have a brand new name and website.
You will also have to use this tool if you have created a new website. This will tell Google, “Hey! My content has changed. I have added more services and offerings. I have removed services.” This allows Google to take off old outdated URLs from the search results and add your new ones!
When you add new pages to your site it is important to utilize Google Search Console to crawl those individual pages. Just because you publish a new page on your site, that does not mean that Google automatically sees it and adds it to Google Searches. Making that crawl request helps make sure Google ranks your page sooner than later, even though it make not be on the first page instantly.
On-Site SEO- If you are looking to have your site rank based on a term, you will want to make sure your site has had On-Site Search Engine Optimization completed. Say you are Nextfly and you know if someone is looking for a local web company they may find you by searching Indianapolis Web Design Company on Google. Since this is the most likely and most searched term, we would want to make sure our site has had a professional optimization for “Indianapolis Web Design.” After optimizing your site, you’ll want to remember to crawl it with Google Search Console. This will help Google recognize that Nextfly has Indianapolis Web Design Company as their base SEO term and needs to be ranked as close to page 1 rank 1 as possible while looking at how it compares to the competition.
On-Going SEO- Just like On-Site SEO, On-Going SEO can be very helpful. On-Going SEO can help add to your optimized locations and keywords to help more people find you. For example, Nextfly’s On-Site SEO term is Indianapolis Web Design company; however, this is not the only service we offer or location we target! If we write pages for Bloomington Web Design Company or Indianapolis Digital Marketing Company, we are able to bring in a wider audience. Not only that but there is no limit to how many locations or services you add!
Competitiveness with your Keyword(s)-When looking at what keywords would get you the most traffic, you need to determine if you need to be searched locally or nationally. This is important because it will determine your competition. Are you having to work against 10,000 other companies in your field or 10? The next thing you need to look at is what term is likely to give you the most visibility.
Mobile-First Optimization-Quite a few years ago, Google recognized that most of its users were using phones and tablets to access websites. This created the need to rank pages that were considered mobile-friendly higher than websites that only work on a desktop computer. This change occurred in July of 2019 and it affected both new and existing websites.
Number of Pages- Google’s Algorithms love websites that have a lot of content; however, this is only PART of what they look for to rank you on the first few pages. The reason Google likes a lot of content is that it shows that your company is worth showing! Would you rather go to a store that has one section or ten? Ten, of course! The more there is, the more likely you are able to find what you need!
Adding New Content- Google likes to see that you are constantly adding new content to your site. One of the best ways to look at it is as if your site is a physical store. If you go to a clothing store in the winter but in the storefront windows all you see are swimsuits, why would you even want to walk in?! Google thinks the same thing. If you made a website 5 years ago but you haven’t added or changed anything, why would they rank you above someone that adds new pages or blogs once a week?
Age of Domain- While this seems like such a crazy thing for Google to care about, it also tells Google that you have been in business for x years and there is a reason you have been around so long!
Word Counts- Just like the number of pages, the number of words you have on each of your pages can greatly help how they rank on a Google search. Again why would they show a site with 300 words when it can rank a site with 750 words on the page. Google likes to help send users to content where they will find the most accurate and most detailed information.
And much much more!
Contact Your Favorite Indianapolis Web Design Company
Are you looking to get your website ranking on a Google Search? Reach out to a representative at Nextfly Web Design to see how we can help!