The Secret to Search Engines
Last year Google made over 256 billion dollars and E-commerce reached 5.6 trillion dollars in total revenue.
Search engines’ success is driven by providing users with what they are looking for in as little time as possible. The secret is in their algorithm that ranks website quality and relevance to any given search accurately.
Relevance:
Relevance is assessed by constantly scanning and indexing the web. Search engines will first identify the primary keyword in a search.
If I were to search “what is digital marketing?” then digital marketing would be the primary keyword.
Search engines would then look for secondary keywords (aka LSI keywords) such as social media, email, and display ads to ensure listed webpages are comprehensive and on topic.
Ranking
Search engines rank websites by their gauge of quality, dubbed a quality score.
If you make a website it will be indexed to relevant searches the same day. The site will not rank until it starts driving engagement and proving its quality on its own. That requires leveraging customers from social media, email lists, phone calls, or even a storefront. Traffic snowballs over time.
Engagement
Quality is gauged by engagement. This is determined by the following data sets;
- Backlinks: These are sites where your page is shared. Anything from blogs where your article is cited to social media platforms where it is shared qualify as backlinks. The engagement of those websites and social shares also influence your ranking.
- Average time on page: The amount of time users spend on your site is one of the most important measurements Google uses to gauge the quality of your site.
- Bounce Rate: This shows how many users leave a webpage if it is the first page on your site they visited.
- Exit Rate: This indicates what percentage of users left a specific webpage after navigating other portions of your site.
How do you create a site with good engagement?
Good pictures and writing, i.e. content, are the first factor. The second is your interface and how well it works.
53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if pages take longer than 3 seconds to load
74% of professionals say quality content is the most important aspect of marketing. Content is what drives engagement, which drives ranking, which drives views. The effect is cyclic leading to a post, website, or profile becoming viral or falling off.
How do I test my site’s Web Performance?
There are a few tools to measure each side of web performance. Google has some for free;
- Pagespeed insights: This site automatically finds issues and solutions to your website’s loading time. This is the best load testing service.
- Google trends: This site identifies high-traffic keywords and provides relevant keywords to assist in casting a larger net.
- Analytics: The most powerful tool offered by Google is analytics. It tracks how your site acquires users and how they act.
Conclusion
“Content is king” -Bill Gates
If content is king, then engagement is the crown.
The effect of content can be enhanced by integrating your digital efforts. Sharing your website on social, social to email, etc. At the end of the day, your content will be the substance that makes or breaks you or your company's online presence.
Why the follow-for-follow method doesn’t work
Follow me and I’ll follow you back
I’m sure you have seen this around the internet. This is the most direct form of boosting your engagement by engaging with others. Yes, I will follow you back. I’ll also engage with your content so you engage with mine.
The problem with the follow-for-follow method is that the follow comes from artificial interest. Users are only following you to get a follow back. As a result, they are less likely to engage with your future content. That can lead to a shadow ban as your view to engagement rate drops.
So I won’t actually follow you back. Unless you read this article very carefully and leave a thoughtful comment. That way the interest is authentic and we can both grow our following together.
TL;DR
With more engagement comes a higher ranking which brings more traffic, and more engagement.
It is why I’m writing this article. It is why Apple, BMW, and even furniture companies are writing blogs.
It can also be enhanced by engaging with your customers and followers frequently. People are more likely to engage with people that engage with them.
Lastly, ranking anything on the internet is a colossal effort. Often the cheapest option is choosing an advertisement strategy that sells your product directly.
