Factors That Influence SEO

When it comes to marketing your small business online, the ranking of your website on major search engines like Google is a big deal. In fact, it’s fair to say that the top ranked businesses are the ones getting the majority of web traffic. After all, according to NetMarketShare, 75% of internet searchers never scroll past the first page of search results.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that many business owners are interested in how they can boost their website’s ranking. To help you get started, here are some of the top factors that influence SEO.

Website Performance

Starting with the basics, search engines are essentially programmed to prefer websites that run well. This makes sense, since not only do search engines have to quickly index millions of websites within a matter of seconds, but a business page that isn’t easily accessible to search engines is also unlikely to contain what searchers are interested in.

Basically, user experience has a big influence on the ranking of your website. If your business website takes forever to load, often gives 404 errors, or is full of broken links, chances are Google has dinged your ranking because of inadequate performance.

Search Terms

Unlike in the past, underhanded tactics like keyword stuffing, link exchanges, or spamming will now just get your website penalized. This is because modern search engines are using increasingly sophisticated algorithms and are programmed to catch websites using outdated, spammy methods.

As a result, to boost the ranking of your business’s website, it is critical that phrases, keywords, and search terms are being used in a natural and relevant manner.

After all, those natural phrases and keywords are both what real people use when searching and how search engines gauge how targeted your website is to its intended audience.

Content

Probably one of the most important factors, the quality of your website’s content is extremely valuable. Specifically, this is because internet searchers are predominately interested in the most relevant, informative, or unique information out there. After all, no one wants to run an internet search and get completely unrelated or useless results.

By that same token, search engines are likewise invested in ranking and presenting websites with top-notch content since that is how they provide searchers with what they want.

However, content is a much bigger deal than just catering to searchers and search engines. Namely, if your business website provides customized content via a blog or some other medium, it becomes a major avenue for building relationships with potential customers.

In fact, according to HubSpot and the Content Marketing Institute, more than advertisements or other marketing tactics, 73% of people prefer to learn about a business through custom content and 61% are more likely to buy from that business as a result.

Social Media

In connection to quality content, search engines also take social media signals like likes and shares into account. After all, if your business website is providing information that people link to or want to show their friends on social media, then it is likely to be both relevant and valuable to others as well.

Got questions? Please leave a comment below.

To your success!
Ken Partain