Everything You Need to Know About Search Ranking

A high search ranking can help you improve web traffic, increasing your revenue. To help you with this, contact the best local SEO in Adelaide for the best SEO services.

The internet is an excellent source of information, and a platform businesses use to meet clients. People use the internet to look for products, services, and information through VeriPages people fast search.

The invention of mobile technology has increased the number of people using the internet to access information. However, the vast amount of data on the internet can make it difficult to find what you want.

For this reason, search engines like Google and Bing designed a search ranking system to sort the information and present you with the most valuable websites.

The search ranking system sorts through billions of web pages and other content to show you the most relevant and helpful in a fraction of a second. Let us dive deep and learn everything about search ranking and how SEO is utilised in Adelaide.

What is Search Ranking?

Search engine ranking is a website’s or webpage’s position in the search engine results page (SERP). Webpages that rank well will appear at the top of the SERP. Relevant web pages will appear at the bottom of the first search engine results page or one of the search result’s subsequent pages. Most SERPs highlight ten websites, excluding ads and other features listed on the page.

Most online marketers strive to appear on the first page of search engine results. The higher your website ranks, the more visitors and customers your get. Research shows that about 67% of clicks go to the top five results, while 97% of online users never go past the first page. For this reason, you must ensure your website ranks high to get more visitors.

Working with a reputable local SEO Adelaide expert will ensure you rank high on the SERPs. An SEO expert knows the elements that affect search ranking and how to use them to your advantage. Although hiring an SEO expert will cost you some money, the overall benefits outweigh the cost.

Different Search Engines Have Varying Rankings

A website’s ranking varies from one search engine to another. Your website may rank high for a particular keyword on Bing and not appear on Google’s first results page.

Each search engine uses its method for calculating ranking (algorithm). Search ranking may also vary when using different languages or country versions of the same search engine.

However, Google is the most popular search engine globally. Most internet users and online marketers use Google to search for information and advertise products and services. Ranking high on Google’s SERPs will help you attract more people, thus increasing sales.

How Does Search Ranking Work?

When people want to find information, products or services, they type words related to what they want. These words or phrases are called keywords. Creating quality content around these keywords will increase your ranking and web traffic. Google looks at the following elements when ranking pages.

• Purpose of your page
• Quality and amount of your content
• Website Reputation
• User interaction with the page
• Expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-A-T)

Google considers the above factors when ranking your website. The most relevant pages appear at the top of Google’s SERP, and the rest follow over successive pages. However, your web pages must show expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) to rank high on the SERPs.

What is E-A-T and Why is it Crucial? 

In 2018, Google rolled out the “medic update” that established expertise, authority, and trustworthiness as a significant ranking factor. This update aimed to ensure users get high-quality and relevant content.

Google realised that people depend on search results for information, and the wrong information could impact their lives. For instance, medical and financial sites can change someone’s wealth, status, and happiness. For this reason, Google tries to understand who is providing the information instead of what a site says. Here is what E-A-T means.

• Expertise
  Does the author have the skills and knowledge in the field?
• Authority
  Is this website the best source of information for the search query?
• Trustworthiness
  Does the web content provide an honest and unbiased presentation of the topic?

So, how do you leverage E-A-T to rank high on the SERPs? While no one understands Google’s complex ranking algorithms, here are some helpful tips.

• Create a detailed “About Us” page
• Optimise your website for search intent
• Display awards, certificates or credentials
• Build your authoritativeness with guest blogging and link building
• Respond to all reviews, whether positive or negative
• Publish unbiased information
• Provide an easily accessible “Contact Us” page

The above methods can help you increase your E-A-T for a higher ranking. However, use the best SEO practices to manage your online reputation.

Importance of Search Ranking

Search engines heavily factor in ranking when deciding what content to put first on their SERP. Ranking high means that search engines will show your content before other websites. Here is why search ranking is essential.

1. Increases Authenticity

Content is king and the backbone of every successful website. People trust a high-ranking website and consider it the ideal source of information, products or services. This trust increases your Page Authority (PA) which is vital to users.

Page Authority means your website is trustworthy, high quality, relevant, and has something to offer. PA score range from 1 to 100, and the higher the number, the more authority your site has. You can use Moz to find your website’s page rating.

2. Visibility

Ranking high on the SERPs means more people will see you, click on your website, and conduct business with you. Visibility makes it easier for prospects to find you when they search for your products or services.

The more effective your SEO efforts, the higher your rank and the better the visibility. Our Adelaide local SEO experts can help you rank high on the SERPs to increase your website’s visibility.

3. Increased Organic Traffic

Organic traffic is among the primary goals of investing in SEO. You will experience increased traffic when you improve your visibility and ranking. Research shows that moving to Google’s top spot can increase your click-through rate (CTR) by 30%. If you want more people to find your content and click on your webpage, you must use SEO practices that will help you rank high on the SERPs.

4. Creating a Better User Experience

Ranking high on the SERPs means you have put in time and effort to improve your content and on-page SEO. These improvements increase usability and create a seamless and positive user experience.

For instance, making your website responsive allows users to access it through mobiles and desktops. Improving your page load speed will reduce your bounce rate and encourage visitors to stay longer on your webpage.

Internet users expect your web pages to load within three seconds. Any time longer than that increases the bounce rate and lowers your conversion.

Monitoring Your Search Ranking

Now you know that search ranking is essential for your business. However, you won’t know where to focus your efforts to grow your traffic if you don’t check your Google rankings. Knowing your ranking lets you know your competitors and how to secure the top position. You will also know where to start when improving your SEO and optimising content.

You can check the search engine rank of each keyword individually by typing it into the search bar, but this is a tiring process. The best way to monitor your search ranking is by using a rank-tracking tool. Here are some rank-tracking tools you can use.

1. Google Search Console

Google provides an easy-to-use tool to help you monitor your search ranking. Click the “Search Results” tab under performance and then “Queries” to see the search terms your website ranks for.

The tool will show you your ranking position and the number of impressions and clicks you receive for each keyword. Google Search Console is free, and you can connect it through your domain host.

2. Ubbersuggest

Ubbersuggest is a comprehensive SEO tool created by Neil Patel. The tool helps you understand your keyword ranking and gives you insight into your technical SEO.

The Keyword Analyser will show you the terms your website ranks for, the search volume, the number of visitors, and the keyword’s SEO challenge. You can also use the tool to explore more keywords and get content ideas. However, this is a paid tool, and the packages start from $29 per month for one user.

3. Ahrefs

Ahrefs gives a deep understanding of your SEO performance. The rank checker will show you the keyword ranking for organic and local searches.

Type your website in the search bar, and the tool will show you the keywords you rank for, the position, keyword difficulty, and the search volume. Ahrefs goes an extra step to show whether you rank for Google’s additional features like site links, image packs, and featured snippets.

4. SEMRush

SEMRush has an Organic Research tool to help you see the keywords you rank for. The tool will display the ranking position, keyword difficulty, and search volume. You can use the Position Tracker to set up tracked keywords and monitor your performance. The tool is free for one user with one project, but the packages start at $119.50 monthly for five projects.

Factors that Influence Search Ranking

SEO (search engine optimisation) influences search ranking. Search engines calculate their search results using complex algorithms hidden from online marketers. The algorithm changes constantly, and significant ones alter the search rankings.

For this reason, no one can guarantee to place your website in the top spot on the SERPs. However, some common SEO elements can put you in a better place to rank high on the SERPs. Here are factors that influence search rankings.

1. Content

The quality of your website’s articles, blogs, videos, and images is crucial since content reigns as king. Ensure your content provides valuable information since creating irrelevant content will hurt your SEO.

High-quality content means publishing pages that will encourage visitors to stay longer on the page, lower your bounce rate, and provide helpful information to your audience. Please consider the following when creating your content.

• User intent
• Keyword usage
• Freshness

User intent will help you drive traffic to your website, which is where RankBrain applies. RankBrain is a machine learning system that helps Google understand the purpose of search queries.

This means you must understand what your users want to create content that satisfies their needs. Keywords serve as a content creation map.

Comprehensive keyword research will help you know terms with a high search volume and those without. Content freshness refers to updating your content to feature current information.

2. Mobile-First Website

Google has used mobile-first indexing since 2021. This means that Google will only consider mobile-friendly websites. If you have a separate URL for a mobile website, Google will index and use it for ranking instead of the desktop version.

Google stated that a responsive design helps algorithms assign indexing to pages instead of signalling the existence of corresponding desktop/mobile pages. As such, a responsive design is the best way to create your website. However, you must optimise your responsive design for a better user experience and ranking. For instance, you must speed up the pages and optimise your images.

3. User Experience

User experience (UX) impacts your SEO. Web visitors will not stay on your pages if the content and layout are unattractive. Improving your page experience can help you attract more traffic and increase the conversion rate.

Site architecture is another thing to consider if you want to succeed in the SERPs. An excellent site architecture helps users quickly navigate your website and find what they want.

Search engines also rely on site architecture to crawl and see more pages on your website. User experience also involves having a secure website. For this reason, you must switch to HTTPS. Google flags non-HTTPS sites as “not secure” in the URL.

This creates mistrust among users, who may fail to click on your website. Improving your user experience may sound overwhelming. However, engaging the best local SEO company for Google will help you succeed on the SERPs.

4. Optimise Your Page Load Speed

A slow website discourages visitors from staying on your page longer, lowering revenue. An ideal website should load within three seconds. A fast-loading website leads to a better website experience, making it a mobile ranking factor. You can use SEO tools to check your website’s load speed. Google Insights will help you get your page speed and give you suggestions to make your website faster.

5. Link Building

Link building helps Google know that you are an authority in your industry. Internal linking assists users and search engines in better finding your pages. The best way to optimise your internal links is to create a user-centred strategy that allows you to drive traffic to vital pages.

Let your internal links guide users towards completing a conversion or a request for a live demo. External links can help you rank high on the SERPs. However, you must earn links from relevant and authoritative sites.

6. Local SEO

Google states that Local SEO is broken down into three ranking factors; distance, relevance, and prominence. Relevance refers to how close the business is to the search query.

Your business listings, like Google My Business (GMB), are tied to your NAP (Name, Address, and Phone Number). Ensure you complete all your business’s information in GMB to help search engines understand your business and its relevance to users. Distance is the physical distance between your business and the searcher.

The closer the searcher is to your business, the more likely you will appear as a top search on the local map. This is why keywords with “near me” phrases rule in local searches. Prominence refers to your business’s offline popularity.

The information that Google has about your business also affects your prominence. Data from links, articles, directories, and reviews will help position you on top of the SERPs.

Ways to Improve Your Search Ranking

Now that you know the factors that influence search ranking let us look at how you can improve your position on the SERPs.

1. Understand Your Target Audience

Improving your search ranking starts by understanding your customers. For instance, how do people search for your products or services? The customer begins by understanding that they have a problem that needs fixing.

The client starts looking for potential solutions and may use broad search terms. However, they realise they need to use more specific terms, including a location or product type. The customer finds the solution and is ready to buy. Understanding customers’ search behaviour will help you select the best keywords for your content.

2. Use Competitive Keywords

Do comprehensive keyword research to determine the most searched keywords in your niche. Ensure the keywords you choose match the words customers use when searching for your products or services.

Use these terms in your page titles, content, and image files. Your keywords should be relevant to your business and location. Please do not overuse keywords since this could negatively impact your SEO efforts.

3. Refresh Your Page Content

Information gets outdated, especially in this fast-paced technological world. Refreshing your content encourages you to crawl and index your site regularly. The more search engine bots crawl your website, the more they find new content and rank your pages. Some of the new content you can add include;

• Customer success stories
• New product information
• News related to your business

Remember to review your existing content regularly to remove information that is no longer relevant or write new blogs and articles. You can always hire the best local SEO company if you don’t have the time to find this process overwhelming.

4. Earn High-Quality Links

Links serve as referrals to your website. Search engines look at these referrals when ranking sites since they are a vote of confidence in your content’s accuracy, relevance, and usefulness. Unfortunately, not all links will help your site. Links from authoritative websites have more weight than less reputable sites.

5. Use Meta Tags

Meta tags are essential components that don’t display on your web pages. These components help search engines understand what your website is about. Here are the meta tags to include in your website.

• Meta description
  This describes what your page is about and what the user should expect.
• Meta title
  This is the page title you see in the browser tab.
• Alternative text
  These are tagged on media, such as images, as a text alternative to the media.

Search engines also use your meta description in the search results they display.

6. Stay Up to Date

Technology, user behaviour, and search engine algorithm change constantly. What works today may not be beneficial tomorrow. Google may roll out another algorithm that changes how they rank websites.

For this reason, you must keep yourself updated on the latest SEO techniques. Ensure you know what search engines are placing importance when ranking web pages, look for new keywords that meet user intent, and stay updated on new technologies.

For instance, internet users are switching to voice search. For this reason, you must optimise your website for voice search to ensure you improve your web traffic.

Conclusion

Search ranking is proof that your SEO efforts have been successful or not. For this reason, monitoring your search ranking and auditing your SEO is essential. The best local SEO company in Australia can help you identify and fix SEO problem areas. We know that a website requires constant work and attention to be successful. Call us today to see how we can help you.

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