Let’s start off by looking at what Google wants.
Google is all about the user, and says regularly and very openly that its purpose is to deliver the best result that satisfies the searcher.
If there is any doubt about the fundamentals of your site's content or backlink practices, do what is best for the user, and you won't go far wrong.
Google wants to match the page on your website with the user's intent. Let’s say if the searcher is looking for and wants to buy a pair of headphones, Google will likely display e-commerce pages in which the user can do exactly as they want - buy a pair of headphones. It would be very difficult for you to rank a page about the details of those specific headphones in that situation, since the user has the intent to buy, not browse.
Core concepts
User Experience
Google likes to give the user what they want. Searchers want to find what they are looking for in a timely manner; slow-loading pages make for a terrible experience, and Google can penalise you if your site is not performant. Google wants the user to find what they are looking for on your site quickly and efficiently.
If Google determines that the user is browsing your site and leaves quickly without finding what they want, they will score you lower for that term. How on earth can Google detect that, you may ask? This is known as pogo sticking. Google can tell what's going on on their site, and if the searchers are going back to Google and searching again for the topic, then Google will come to the conclusion that the user wasn’t happy with their visit to your site, and if this repeats, your page will tumble down the rankings. This is why user experience is important on your site. As Google has matured, this has become an increasingly important part of its algorithm.
Content
Content is a vastly misunderstood concept in SEO. Again, you must deliver focused pages and good supporting content. Let’s say you want to rank a page about ‘dog toys for Christmas’. A big mistake many make is trying to cover too many topics. If a user is looking for dog toys, then it's unlikely they will want to buy something for a cat or turtle. Your pages should have a narrow focus, cover that topic well, and include content the user expects to see and will find useful.
E-E-A-T
Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust are openly used metrics Google uses in its calculations of quality content. Search engines want to know that you are qualified to write the content and have some level of trustworthiness. Don't worry, although Google would like to check your academic background with universities or qualified bodies, they don’t have the computational resources to do so. Having a strong about page linking to your online social profiles can help a little. If you're using Craft CMS, it’s incredibly easy to add images and links to your social pages. It’s advised that you create a single page with your background or your team's background. This is known to increase trust. If you are in a financial, safety, or medical niche, I highly recommend you read up on E-E-A-T, as it’s a fundamental part of the algorithm and carries more weight in those niches.
External links
Backlinks or external links are a fundamental part of SEO. Each link back from another site (apart from your own) can be beneficial. I say ‘can’ because there is a degree of quality when it comes to backlinks. In its simplest terms, you want links from popular websites. A link from the BBC could be worth 10,000 links from low-quality websites. Of course, it's very difficult to get links from a vastly popular website like that, but there are many other quality websites you can get links from, which will catapult you up the search engines. Please see my page on backlinks.
Internal links
Internal links are hugely powerful for SEO, but they’re among the main misunderstandings and missed opportunities I see. The anchor text, the actual text you click, has been a major factor in search engines for quite some time. The anchor text tells the user and the search engine what the link leads to. How you structure your internal links is not some hit-and-miss strategy. You want to follow clear guidelines when linking internally. Fortunately, with Craft CMS, where we have full control over every element on your site, we can easily manage links and anchor text. I have written more about internal links on this page.
Deliver what Google wants - content and references that are credible and help the user at every stage. That’s what Google states repeatedly in its guidelines and public announcements. Give Google what it wants.
Written by John Macpherson