The online space is getting more and more competitive with almost all kinds of businesses investing in online platforms and strategies. In this digital era, a powerful online presence is something you cannot ignore to have successful online and offline growth. Your online presence is determined by the Google ranking of your website for relevant searches.
It is said that almost 80 percent of users never get to the second page of Google’s search results. Thus, you will have a fair chance of visibility only if your website is listed on the first search results page for related searches. The Google algorithm ranks websites according to a range of factors. We will have a look at some of them.
User Experience
User experience refers to the impression of a user on a website and how user-friendly the website is. Even though it is a broad term, there are a few factors that determine user experience in a website like dwelling time, click-through rate, bounce rate, etc. Google considers user experience as a major ranking factor and ensures this by analyzing how much time a user spends on a website, how often they bounce back, and how often users click through to a result, etc. A website can influence Google if and only if it provides the users with an engaging and satisfying website experience.
Page Speed
According to Google, about 50 percent of users bounce back from a website if it takes more than 4-5 seconds to load. Slow-loading websites often have high bounce rates and Google uses this metric to rank such sites lower. A positive user experience is what google focuses and fast websites can only ensure that. Image, videos, and all other graphical elements in a page should be optimized to load fast in order to increase the overall page speed. Mobile page speed is also an important factor of Google ranking after it introduced mobile-first indexing.
Mobile Friendliness
Almost 60 percent of Google searches are done from mobile phones and other small-screen devices. Due to the same reason, Google considers mobile-friendliness as an important aspect of any website. It also came up with a mobile-first index which gave more importance to mobile-optimized sites rather than traditional desktop websites. The content, CTA, graphics, and every other element on the website should be easily readable and clickable when viewed from mobile phones. This way, you can deliver an engaging website experience to mobile users and thereby improve your Google ranking. Many SEO companies in Dubai have started focusing on coming up with responsive website designs that go perfectly with all kinds of devices and screen sizes.
Content Quality
When people browse on the internet, they are mostly looking for information about something or the other. Google, being a reputed search engine, has to provide the users with accurate and engaging information that solves their queries and doubts easily. The quality of the content on a website has great significance according to Google’s EAT( Expertise, authority, and trustworthiness) principle. The content optimized with relevant keywords for the target audience should address their concerns and provide them with the best solutions for their queries. If the users are satisfied with the information and do not browse more about the same topic, Google will consider the website reliable and rank it better for related searches.
Security and Privacy
With technology getting more and more advanced, cyber security is one of the greatest concerns for Google and other search engines. The users are to be provided with highly secure services that do not affect their privacy or anything related to their personal data.
HTTPS provides enhanced security by encrypting the information between the browser and the server. Google encourages HTTPS websites more and considers it as an important ranking factor. Websites with SSL certificates are also considered super-secure by Google.
Easy Navigation
Navigation and crawlability of a website are two major factors that determine search rankings as Google wants to provide users with a positive website experience. Easy navigation is an important aspect of user experience as nobody wants to spend a lot of time on a website which is totally confusing. A confusing navigation bar will force the visitor to bounce back and look for another website. Increased bounce rates always lead to worse Google rankings. Thus, visitors should be easily able to find what they need on a website. Further, Google bots should be able to crawl and index the website easily in order to have better search rankings. The content on your website should be divided into relevant headings and subheadings so that Google knows the depth and accuracy of the website content. The website should have a well-defined sitemap that makes it easier for bots for crawling and indexing each and every webpage.
Backlinks and References
As mentioned before, Google is greatly concerned about the authority and trustability of a website when displaying it for searches relevant to the niche. A very efficient way to increase the authority of your website is by including reliable links and references to your website content. These references should be from trustable sources that are highly relevant to the content topic. Generating backlinks from trustable websites can also improve the value of your website. Even though backlink generation is a tactical process, it can do a lot to your credibility if the website you choose is highly trustable and relevant to the product or service you offer.
To sum up, the overall website experience is what influences Google to rank a website higher or lower. Thus, if you are yet to ensure all these aspects on your website, make it your first priority and experience the change!
