Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a critical role in determining your ranking on Google. SEO is the process of enhancing your website’s visibility, leading to more traffic from the free, organic, editorial or natural search results on search engines.
Google’s search algorithms scan through thousands of websites to find a response to a user’s query. They take into account various factors like relevancy, usability, reliability, and many more. SEO techniques help to improve these factors on your webpage, leading to a better ranking on Google.
The first way SEO impacts your ranking is through keywords. Keywords are the terms that people type into Google’s search bar when they’re looking for something. Google algorithms scan your webpage for these keywords to see if your page is relevant to what the user is searching for. Therefore, optimizing your webpage with appropriate keywords gives you a higher chance of appearing for those searches. For example, if I were a shoe store owner, I might want to optimize my webpage with keywords like “comfortable shoes,” “running shoes,” etc.
External and internal links are also crucial for SEO. External links are hyperlinks that point at any domain other than the domain the link exists on. Google sees these as endorsements from other webpages, implying your page has useful information, which can boost your ranking. On the other hand, having internal links increases the navigation ease and understanding of your website structure for Google, which can positively affect your SEO ranking.
Page load speed is another essential factor. Google aims to give its users the best experience, so if your page takes too long to load, your ranking could drop. According to research conducted by Backlinko, the average time it takes for a webpage to load fully is 10.3 seconds on desktop and 27.3 seconds on mobile. Therefore, ensuring your webpage loads quickly could increase your ranking.
Proper formatting and user-friendly layout of your webpage can also affect SEO. Pages that are difficult to navigate or present information unclearly can frustrate users and cause them to leave your webpage quickly. On the other hand, a well-structured, easy to read, and visually appealing webpage can attract and retain users, which Google takes as a positive signal.
Lastly, having high-quality content increases the time spent by the visitors on your webpage. Google takes this as a sign that your site provides valuable information and thus, boosts your ranking. Besides, high-quality content can earn you organic backlinks, further enhancing your SEO.
In conclusion, SEO plays a significant role in affecting your ranking on Google through various factors like keywords, links, page load speed, layout, and high-quality content.
Sources used:-
1. Moz’s Beginner Guide to SEO,
2. Google SEO Starter Guide,
3. Backlinko’s SEO ranking factors report.
