Google has always been quiet in regards to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Sure, they wrote Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide which was just basic information geared toward beginners, but it really didn’t go in depth. Google recently released a video that further explains the importance of SEO for E-commerce stores and helpful tips using Webmaster tools. I think these videos are great and really show a small sample of what SEO is all about.
Can you make my site #1 on Google? Is probably the question I hear all the time. Today, Matt Cutts (who is a software engineer for Google) posted a video on YouTube for their Google Web Master Help channel and answers this question. Perhaps everyone who should watch this video.
Google has always been helpful in providing proper SEO techniques, Google’s mission is to provide the most relevant results to their users. This guide helps your site can rank properly according to Google’s algorithm. About 2 years ago Google published their first “SEO Starter Guide” which I have encouraged many people to read it. They have now updated this useful guide, some of the new updates are:
Google just announced search results that update while you type, “Google Instant”. Their ambitious effort to speed up searching will forever change the way we get results, but did they kill SEO?
I often hear people complaining about not getting enough traffic or loosing traffic to their website; after analyzing feedback from said people I’ve come up with the top 5 reasons this happens:
The online world has gone mobile, and everyone’s getting involved with the popular trend. Mobile Web browsers and smart phones have turned the mobile world into an entire universe of online sites and stops, advertising and extras. And now that everyone has embraced the mobile Internet, that means your website should, too. What is mobile SEO…and, do you know how to use it?
Google is always aiming to give users a better search experience. Their goal has always been to increase user satisfaction. This is an excellent video on how Google is now using site performance as a factor in Google rankings. Google has ran numerous tests and has concluded that a faster site is proven to increase conversions, pageviews and time on site, while lowering bouncerates and operating costs. These are things we have discussed in the past both with clients and in our blog.
These last couple of weeks I have been searching for a new car to buy, I am looking to get a 2010 BMW X5 Diesel. So of course, my search began with Google and typing “2010 BMW X5 35d”. I was pretty shocked to find out that my results rendered in articles from Motor Trend and other automotive E-magazine websites and not 1 local dealership showed up from an organic search result (with the exception of sponsored links).
I think this is a fantastic video of how the Google Search Engine works, it gives insight as to how Google uses over 200 different formulas to sort the search results in order bring up the most relevant documents to that search query. The video clearly exemplifies how important Search Engine Optimization is to a website.
I often get asked if I know any “tricks” or ways to improve search engine rankings. I ask the person to let me look at their website and see what has been done from an SEO point of view. It doesn’t surprise me but I see a lot of title tags as “Index” or “Home”. My response is usually “have you read Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide?” 9 out of 10 people will respond “what’s that?”
