It is no secret that Google changes its search engine algorithms regularly to provide better service and value to users. This means that companies that want to maintain their ranking or move up in the rankings need to adjust their operations. Understanding the key points of Google’s changes and what the search engine looks for is crucial to staying high in the rankings. In this article, we discuss the 7 factors that affect Google rankings in 2021.
Speed is a Primary Factor
One of the most overlooked by most relevant factors in how your rank in Google search results is the speed of your website and each individual page. The idea behind this is that the user experience begins when the page tries to load. A website or page that loads slowly directly impacts the user experience and Google takes it into account. The reason that page speed is such an important factor is that it is the first part of the user experience that users interact with. It becomes an issue even before the page loads. Make sure that your website and each individual page loads quickly to prevent a negative impact on your ranking.
Mobile Design
Another important factor is how well your website works on mobile platforms. Mobile commerce (mCommerce) is the leading method of shopping, even more than in-person shopping. Because of this, Google puts a lot of weight on if you took the time and the energy to ensure that your website works on mobile platforms. If your website is relatively new, then it was likely built using a responsive design system that adjusts for mobile platforms. While this can help, you still need to make sure that content and your website’s structure is optimized for mobile devices.
Links
Links are an important part of your ranking as well because it makes it easier to navigate to the right content. When Google searches your website to rank it, it follows the link paths through it. This means that the more well-structured and organized links you have, the better it can navigate through your site and index it. Google takes this into account since it will affect how users are able to navigate to relevant information about their searches. If you want to improve your ranking through links, focus on linking relevant content within your website, as well as getting links in other parts of the internet to connect to your content.
Keywords
Keywords are used to understand what your content is about. Without them, Google and other search engines are unable to understand what they are reading. How you use your keywords matters as much as what those keywords are. The days of spamming keywords (using keywords constantly with no regard for how they are used) are long over, and Google will punish anyone that it thinks is trying to cheat the system by spamming keywords.
Meta Information
Your website has several types of meta information that you can use to improve your google rankings. Meta information, like the meta description, are used to provide background services with relevant information about different parts of your website. Meta tags are especially important to search engines since they allow the search engine to understand different parts of the website that it cannot read. For example, meta titles and descriptions tell search engines what the website is about and how it is used. The search engine can try to determine how important the website would be to a search and rank accordingly.
Alt Tags
Similar to meta information, alt tags are a useful way of improving the user experience (UX) and providing information to search engines. Alt (pronounced Ult) tags are used to tell search engines and screen readers what is in an image. Search engines are, generally, not able to read images, although that is changing with advancements in video decoding technology. Instead, they rely on the information stored in the alt tag to understand what is in a picture. Every image on your site should have alt tags, giving you plenty of chances to improve your overall SEO.
Content Quality
Changing the quality of your content is one of the most underrated ways of increasing your ranking. Google takes into account the quality of your content because it has the biggest impact on readers. If you create high-quality content that is focused on the reader, not the search engine, your work will see a ratings increase.
Before you create more content, spend some time figuring out what makes your content good or how you can make it better. It is worth the extra effort since websites that put out less, but higher quality content often ranks higher than sites that put out frequent, but lower quality.
Get Help from an Expert
Finding ways of improving your Google rankings can be a difficult task, which is why many companies turn to business partners like KitelyTech for help. At KitelyTech, we stay up-to-date on the latest trends and changes in the Google search algorithm so that we can help companies maximize their search engine rankings. Call us at (800) 274 2908 to get help reaching the top of your search engine results.
