Ah, Google…our friend and foe all wrapped into one powerhouse of epic proportions. If you are reading this, I am sure you have felt the cringe in your stomach that many other business owners and marketers have felt when they try to find their site amongst Google’s seemingly endless search results page.
And after all that time and money that went into your website! Why is it still not showing up in Google search results?
The short answer is that you probably have not been investing regularly in Search Engine Optimization. The long answer is that it could be any number of the 200+ ranking factors that the Google crawlers use to determine page authority to place you at the top of search results.
Let’s take a look at some of the basics of SEO and how it affects your ability to show up on Google.
SEO In A Nutshell
Search Engine Optimization involves a series of complex tactics to increase the quantity and quality of your organic leads. Tactics include onsite and offsite optimizations on both a technical and content level. When areas of your website are optimized for SEO correctly, Googlebot, also known as web crawlers, are able to find your content and label you an authority on a given topic that a user is searching for. By being labeled an authoritative website, Google will put you at the top of a search engine results page (SERP).
“Google’s crawlers have a really tough job and our job in SEO is to make it as easy as possible for Google’s crawlers to find value in your site’s content.”
-Sam Rahimi, Unframed Digital’s SEO Specialist
Google’s Ranking Factors
With more than 200 signals that web crawlers can pick up on, there are usually many reasons why your website isn’t showing up on search engine result pages (SERPs). Google wants to ensure that when users leave the SERP, their website experience is still as excellent as it can be. By controlling ranking factors, Google is able to ensure that users are only directed to the best sites. What does this mean for you? Well, it means they are not going to “pick you” if your site isn’t up to their standards of excellence.
Here are some of the top ranking factors for 2022:
- Secured sites (HTTPS vs. HTTP)
- Websites that are mobile-friendly
- Schema markup
- Webpage content quality
- Webpage content length
- Page speed
- Social signals
- Quality backlinks
- Optimized images
- Domain age
- User experience (UX)
Offsite Vs. Onsite
Since we are on the theme of undeniable truths, let’s get into the fact that offsite SEO tactics are just as important as onsite SEO tactics. While performance and content quality onsite is a huge ranking factor, offsite tactics give Google’s crawlers a sense of social credibility, if you will. It tells them that your site is even more reputable, with many other authoritative sites linking back to your website and word-for-word consistency in all of your directory listings.
Do I Need Website Development or SEO?
This question comes up often and you may be thinking it right this very second. The answer to this is probably both. While the right SEO team can accomplish a lot towards increasing your website speed and optimizing images, a web developer on retainer is always the ideal supplement toward SEO efforts.
The Cold Hard Truth About SEO
To wrap it all up, here’s the cold hard truth about SEO: if you don’t actively invest in an SEO expert to make monthly optimizations, create content and adapt when Google releases yet another update to their algorithm, you will continue to fall down the search engine results page. Your SEO expense is simply operational and a cost of doing business. It is another facet of managing your overall web presence. It’s Google’s sandbox after all and they make the rules–many of them.
Ready for a free SEO Audit of your website? Contact us.
