Search Engine Optimisation & Search Generative Experience
Only after years of experience in SEO can you then embed search engine optimisation into the build of every website. If you don’t build a site with SEO in mind it can be a very expensive waste of time. As Web Design Leeds we offer top SEO ranking in West Yorkshire.
By ranking high on the first page of google this saves money on advertising, and keywords help, but there are lots of technical hoops that you need to jump through to get a high ranking on google.
How Google Search Works
Google Search is a highly complex process that helps users find information from the vast content available on the web. It works in a systematic and intelligent way to provide the most relevant and useful search results within seconds. To explain how it works, we can break it down into several key stages: crawling, indexing, ranking, and serving results.
1. Crawling: How Google Discovers Web Pages
Crawling is the first stage in the Google search process. Google uses automated software called “web crawlers” or “Googlebots” to scan and discover new content on the web. These crawlers follow links from page to page, much like how a person would browse the web. Googlebots constantly search for new and updated pages to ensure that Google’s index stays as fresh as possible.
The crawler starts with a list of known web addresses from past crawls and sitemaps provided by website owners. As it visits these sites, it looks for links to other pages and adds them to its list of pages to crawl. It continues doing this across billions of pages.
Some factors that affect how Google crawls websites include:
- Content Updates: Googlebots prioritize pages that have been recently updated or changed.
- Links: If many sites link to a specific page, Google considers that page important and will crawl it more frequently.
- Sitemaps: Website owners can submit sitemaps, which provide Google with a roadmap to all the important pages on their site.
- Robots.txt Files: Websites can use files called “robots.txt” to tell Google which pages it should not crawl.
Crawling is continuous, and Google aims to keep discovering new content or changes to existing content. This stage ensures Google knows what’s out there on the web.
2. Indexing: Organizing the Information
Once Google’s crawlers find a webpage, the next step is to analyze and organize its content. This process is called indexing. During indexing, Google tries to understand what the page is about by analyzing its text, images, videos, and other content elements.
Key steps during indexing:
- Content Understanding: Google analyzes the words on the page, looking at things like the title, headings, meta tags, and body content. It tries to figure out the topic of the page. For example, if a page talks about “the best pizza recipes,” Google will classify it as a food-related page with content about pizza.
- Media and Files: Google also processes images, videos, PDFs, and other types of files. For media files like images, it uses alternative text (alt text) and nearby content to understand what the image represents.
- Structured Data: Some websites use special code (called structured data or schema markup) to give Google detailed information about their content. For example, a recipe website may use structured data to tell Google exactly what the ingredients and cooking times are. This allows Google to present richer results, such as featured snippets or recipe cards, directly in the search results.
- Mobile-First Indexing: Since a large portion of web traffic comes from mobile devices, Google uses mobile-first indexing. This means that Google primarily uses the mobile version of a website’s content for indexing and ranking.
After Google has analyzed the page, it stores it in its massive database, known as the index. Think of the index as a giant digital library, containing trillions of pages. Google references this index whenever someone searches for information.
3. Ranking: Deciding Which Pages Are Most Relevant
When you enter a query into Google’s search bar, the system has to decide which pages from its index are the most relevant to your question. Ranking is the process by which Google determines the order in which to show search results.
Google uses a complex algorithm, with over 200 ranking factors, to evaluate and rank pages. Some of the key ranking factors include:
- Relevance to Query: Google analyzes the words you used in your search and tries to match them with the content on web pages. It looks at how closely the content of a page aligns with your query.
- Content Quality: Pages with high-quality, well-written content are favored in the rankings. Google evaluates content based on expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (known as the E-A-T principle).
- Backlinks: If a webpage has many high-quality websites linking to it, Google sees it as a vote of confidence. Backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors because they signal that other sites consider the content valuable.
- Page Speed and User Experience: Google prefers fast-loading websites that offer a good user experience. If a page loads slowly or has a cluttered layout, it might not rank as highly.
- Freshness of Content: For certain types of searches (like news or technology updates), Google favors newer content. Pages with recently updated information are likely to rank higher for these types of queries.
- Mobile-Friendliness: Google’s algorithm gives priority to websites that are optimized for mobile devices, reflecting the growing number of users who access the web on their phones or tablets.
Google also uses machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) in its ranking process. One example of this is the RankBrain algorithm, which helps Google understand the intent behind complex or ambiguous queries, even if they don’t contain specific keywords.
4. Serving Results: Delivering the Information
After determining which pages are the most relevant, Google presents the results to the user. These search results are typically displayed in the form of:
- Organic Results: These are the non-paid listings that appear based on Google’s ranking algorithm.
- Featured Snippets: For some queries, Google pulls a short summary from a page and displays it directly at the top of the search results. This can include text, lists, or even tables.
- Rich Results: These enhanced results may include extra visual elements like star ratings, images, or event details.
- Knowledge Panels: For certain topics, such as famous people or historical events, Google displays a box on the right side of the page with key facts and information from trusted sources.
- Local Results: For location-based queries (e.g., “pizza near me”), Google displays a map with nearby businesses.
5. Constant Improvement: Updates and Enhancements
Google constantly updates and improves its search algorithm to provide better results. Major algorithm updates like Panda, Penguin, and BERT have been designed to improve how Google handles things like low-quality content, spammy links, and natural language processing.
6. User Feedback and Interaction
Finally, user interaction plays an essential role in how Google refines its search process. Google monitors how users interact with the results, paying attention to factors like:
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): Do users click on the first result, or do they scroll down?
- Dwell Time: How long do users stay on the page after clicking a result?
- Bounce Rate: Do users quickly return to the search results without engaging with the page?
This data helps Google understand whether it’s serving the right results and informs future updates to its algorithm.
Building Trust with google
Trust is essential for great Search Engine Optomisation results. Google assesses trust through various factors that determine your website’s authority, relevance, and overall quality. Here are key ways to build trust with google:
1. High-Quality, Relevant Content
Producing informative, unique, and relevant content is one of the most important factors for Google. Content that answers users’ queries comprehensively helps Google understand that your site is a valuable resource. Regular updates and useful information are crucial.
2. Backlinks from Trusted Websites
Backlinks are external links from other reputable websites to your content. When high-authority sites link to yours, Google views this as a signal of trust. To build backlinks, focus on producing valuable, shareable content, and fostering relationships with other content creators in your niche.
3. Secure and Accessible Website
Google values websites that are secure, specifically those using HTTPS instead of HTTP. An SSL certificate (Secure Sockets Layer) indicates that your site is safe for users, boosting trust. Additionally, a clear site structure that allows Google to crawl and index your pages easily helps improve your website’s accessibility.
4. Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T)
E-A-T is a major component of Google’s evaluation of websites, especially for content that impacts health, finance, or safety (also called “Your Money or Your Life” content). Google looks for content created by subject matter experts with verifiable credentials, which enhances credibility.
5. Positive User Experience (UX)
A well-designed, easy-to-navigate website with fast loading times signals to Google that users have a good experience on your site. Factors like mobile-friendliness, proper use of headings, and intuitive layouts all contribute to a positive UX. High bounce rates or slow sites can negatively affect trust.
6. Positive Online Reputation
Google pays attention to your website’s reputation across the web, including reviews, testimonials, and mentions on social media or other platforms. A positive reputation helps Google trust your site, while negative feedback or association with spammy practices can undermine it.
7. Avoid Black Hat SEO Tactics
Using deceptive tactics like keyword stuffing, hidden text, or buying backlinks may initially seem like a shortcut to ranking higher, but they damage trust in the long run. Google penalizes websites that engage in these practices, and regaining trust after such penalties can be difficult.
8. Regular Updates and Maintenance
Websites that are frequently updated and maintained signal to Google that they are active and current. Broken links, outdated content, or security vulnerabilities can harm your trustworthiness.
By focusing on these elements, you can build trust with Google, leading to higher rankings, more visibility, and better SEO results.
Search Generative Experience
Search Generative Experience (SGE) is an experimental feature introduced by Google as part of its Google Search Labs initiative. It aims to enhance traditional search results by integrating generative AI into the search process, providing more contextually rich and personalized answers. Here’s how it works and what makes it different:
Key Features of SGE:
AI-Generated Overviews: Instead of providing a list of links or basic snippets, SGE generates a detailed, synthesized response that includes a concise overview of the topic you’re searching for. This response is typically drawn from multiple web sources, similar to how ChatGPT provides answers.
Follow-up Questions: Users can interact with the AI’s response, asking follow-up questions or requesting clarification without needing to reformulate their search queries entirely. This allows for more conversational and natural interactions with the search engine.
Integrated with Regular Search: Unlike traditional Google Search, where users get a list of links, SGE can generate summaries while still displaying the typical search result links beneath the AI-generated content. This blend allows users to access both quick answers and in-depth resources.
Contextual Enhancements: It can adjust to your search habits, location, and previous searches to provide more relevant information. For example, if you’re searching for “best hiking trails,” it might generate a list that factors in local trails or those most suited to your preferences.
Product and Shopping Recommendations: In certain cases, like shopping or product-related queries, SGE provides an AI-generated summary of options or key product features, sometimes including ratings, comparisons, or best deals.
Visual Integration: Along with text summaries, SGE can also generate visual elements like charts or images to enhance the information provided, depending on the query.
How is SGE Different from Traditional Search?
- Conversational Experience: SGE is more interactive, enabling users to ask for clarification, explore related topics, or dive deeper into the content.
- Information Summarization: It can sift through multiple web sources, summarize key points, and present a cohesive overview, reducing the need for users to visit several sites to get a complete answer.
- Personalization: The integration of AI allows the search to be more dynamic and personalized compared to static search results that are purely based on keywords.
Why is Google Testing SGE?
Google is experimenting with SGE as part of its broader strategy to incorporate AI-driven improvements into its services. With the rise of AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT and other conversational agents, Google wants to enhance the way users engage with its search engine, making the experience more intuitive and efficient.
SGE is currently available to users who opt in through Google Search Labs, and its ultimate goal is to refine how we interact with information online, providing a more user-centric, AI-assisted search experience.
Conclusion
In summary, Google Search works through an efficient and intelligent process that starts with crawling and indexing web pages, then ranking them based on their relevance and quality. It uses sophisticated algorithms, machine learning, and user feedback to ensure that the best possible results appear for every search query. Whether you’re looking for the latest news, a nearby restaurant, or detailed research, Google’s search technology strives to provide the most relevant, accurate, and timely information from the web. All of this is important but having experience is a real bonus to tweaking your site to that number 1 position.