Search engines have various algorithms, rules, and regulations when it comes to what you can and cannot do. Web designers and SEO’s are constantly battling an ever-changing world of algorithms and Google more than any other search engine has a wide range of algorithms that they use to dictate website rankings. However, the current focus for determining where websites rank seems to be based on the quality of content used and the overall user experience offered by a website. Badly functioning sites with little or no content are now going to find themselves being penalized for this in terms of rankings.
Good quality content
Google is determined that its ethos has to be to provide searchers with the most high-quality and relevant searches possible. In order to provide that to users, they have determined that the content contained within a website must be of a good standard. Content now needs to be;
Well written – The odd mistake can be excused but content littered with spelling and grammatical errors is not going to help your ranking.
Unique – Google rewards unique content and penalizes those who simply copy and paste from other websites. You may think that a little change of a word here and there will be enough to fool Google but this isn’t going to work. Content needs to be completely unique to your website.
Relevant – If you think that writing any old content will do then you’d be sadly mistaken. In order to rank you need to ensure that your content is relevant to your products and services. Google will pick up on irrelevant content being used to simply increase rankings and you could be heavily penalized.
Key Words – Keywords are still used by SEO and do play a part in ranking. However, keywords should be used sparingly and not littered through content making it over the top.
Logical – Above all else, content needs to make sense. Many think they can use cheap copywriters whose first language is not English. But this normally results in content that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
User Experience
User experience has to be one of the most important factors for a consumer. Let’s face it, if you click on a website that is difficult to navigate or understand and is generally not user-friendly then you are simply going to hit the back button and re-select from the SER’s. A high-quality Brisbane SEO consultant user experience may include;
Speed – Google does take speed into account. For a good user experience, websites and pages should load at fast speeds. Those websites that take an age to load and offer a user nothing but an hourglass for minutes at a time offer anything but a good user experience.
Advertising – Many sites now have advertisements built into their sites that can be irrelevant and often distracting and irritating to consumers. These sites are thinking less about their consumers and more about lucrative advertising which damages the overall user experience.
Design & functionality – The design and functionality of a website are crucial. Consumers should be able to easily navigate around the site and be able to select what they need with little to no issues. It website needs to be simple and uncomplicated yet effective and attractive.
Layout – Ensure that your layout is consistent and does not change from page to page. For example, a good user-friendly website should offer the ability to navigate to every page from every page. A user should not have to navigate a website by using the back button.
Overall, if you want your website to rank high and drive traffic then just keep the consumer at the forefront of your ideas. Google will reward those who use unique and natural content and have made their sites as user-friendly as possible. However, for those of you who think there are shortcuts and cheats, you could be in for a nasty shock. Never underestimate Google’s ability to pick you out of millions of other sites and penalize you. You could find yourself losing your ranking and becoming almost invisible to your audience.