Do you know how Google ranks pages? The algorithm that determines what to show for a particular query has long been a mystery, but recent developments have given us more insight into how it works. This article will explore two major factors that have been revealed about how Google ranks pages-links and keywords-and examine them in-depth to determine whether or not they should be considered as such.
What is Google’s ranking algorithm?
The original algorithm for Google’s ranking was called PageRank; it assigns a numerical weighting to each page on the internet based on the number and quality of links that point to it.
Should SEO tricks be considered illegal?
No. Google has made it clear that they use links and keywords just as one of the many signals in their algorithm, and so there is no reason to consider them “illegal.” Plenty of SEOs have abused this system for years, but Google has still maintained a stranglehold on search results primarily because they never reveal how their algorithm works: pretending that they can’t identify it makes people believe they don’t know about the black hat techniques.
What are some examples of legal optimization techniques?
Forming relationships is one of the most important things you can do to influence your website’s visibility. The more good content you create, the more likely people are to link back to it as long as it’s good quality content that truly adds value to the internet. That means creating something original and posting it on your site, giving away information for free in exchange for a link back to your site (in fact, this is one of the key strategies behind Moz’s own Link Building methods), writing articles for other sites/blogs with links back to your site.
What are some examples of black-hat optimization techniques?
Creating pages of thin content that will rank higher due to the number of links pointing towards them; spamming links; buying links; “keyword stuffing” (putting keywords into text more times than makes sense); etc. With SEO becoming an increasingly difficult game, more and more people are resorting to these sorts of tactics in order to earn a higher ranking.
How can black hat techniques harm my website?
Google recently released a document detailing the link-based penalties they were rolling out as part of their recent update, which included demotions in search results for sites with too many spammy links pointing toward them as well as those who purchased links as a way to gain an unfair advantage over other companies.
The damage done is that it decreases your site’s overall authority and causes people to lose trust in you/stop linking back because they’re worried about being penalized by Google.
Even if it doesn’t cause a penalty, buying links is completely unsustainable and won’t work long-term (but will likely get you caught somewhere down the line). Many SEOs are currently afraid of Google’s new updates and how they might affect their rankings in the future.
Do links or keywords have more weight in the algorithm which determines what to show for a given query?
The answer: it depends. Even though Google has long been secretive about how its algorithm works, there have been many changes in the past year that give us an idea of how it comes up with results. Some features we know more about than others, we will examine two major factors-links and keywords-in detail to determine whether or not they should be considered as playing a part in ranking websites.
One important issue is the concept of “link schemes,” which are backlinks acquired through illegitimate means such as buying links or participating in link farms. There are countless articles on whether these are helpful for SEO, but the general consensus is that they do help rankings except in some cases where the links are considered “negative.”
For instance, one language school mentions that he used to post comments on blogs related to the education industry with a link back to his site. He then found out that Google was penalizing him for doing this because sites that accept comments without checking the user’s IP address usually have many unrelated links peppered throughout the text, which is seen as spammy by search engines.
By contrast, guest posts are accepted more often because they come from an individual who has established credibility online, and therefore legitimate links back to their website can be expected.
Yet another example of this is spammers using automated software or bots to build thousands of irrelevant links at once.
As Matt Cutts explains here, puts less weight on these types of links than it does on links from real people with established reputations. Yet another problem with automated link building is that over time these links will “dilute” (clog) the link juice or flow of authority between pages, which affects the site overall since anything that is not directly linked to will no longer be counted as authoritative by Google.
This is why some sites still rank highly for certain topics even though their overall number of backlinks may be below; they have enough legitimate backlinks pointing to them so that each individual page receives enough “link juice.” All in all, this proves rather difficult to achieve without creating an artificial environment where sites are created just so they can link back to your own site.
There are also many SEO specialists who say that link building is dead, but this is likely, not true.
Just because Google has come down hard on people who use spammy backlinks does not mean that these practices will no longer work in the future; they only work if done correctly and always in moderation.
When should you use backlinks to your advantage, and when should you avoid them?
Although using other websites to boost your search engine ranking has been happening for years, Google is trying its hardest to stop webmasters from manipulating their rankings. The common mantra is written about in every SEO book and blog post out there “Build Links” sounds like heresy now that Google’s Panda update (and others) have made it nearly impossible to get a high rank without natural links.
The answer is simple: never use backlinks for the sake of getting a higher ranking. Instead, build them naturally; if you can get an external link, do it only because the website itself deserves the promotion. Avoid buying links and disavow any money you’ve previously spent on such schemes. Google doesn’t want you doing this at all in fact they go so far as to penalize websites that have engaged in such behavior.
Final Thoughts
Although numerous factors affect how Google ranks websites, the two major ones that I examined were keywords and backlinks. Backlinks are crucial for good SEO but only when coming from reputable sites with the intent of improving your website’s standing in search results. Keywords are less important than they once were, so don’t spend too much time trying to rank higher for particular phrases; instead, focus on writing better content in general which will lead to more natural links over time. Obviously, there is a lot more that goes into it than just these things, but you can’t go wrong by using this advice!
That wraps up the article, thank you for reading!
Google has put countless hours into formulating algorithms that essentially mimic real-life events.