Optimizing a website for search engines is absolutely critical for brands hoping to be the answer to a searcher’s query. Understanding the key SEO ranking factors can make a significant difference in your site’s visibility.
While the importance is obvious, the strategy and tactics to get there are not. Being such a misunderstood practice, Search Engine Optimization has attracted both champs and chumps. Unsuspecting clients might have no clue they’ve hired an SEO chump until it’s too late.
While there’s a lot that’s murky about ranking your site within a search engine, here are three absolute truths.
Nobody Can Guarantee You a Rank
Shoddy SEO firms will promise you a #1 rank or a first-page rank. If they do start making promises, turn and run. Nobody can guarantee you a specific ranking. They can’t control what the competition is doing nor can anyone fully know what tweaks Google will roll out to its algorithm.
Understanding how backlinks improve search ranking is crucial here. Backlinks act as endorsements for your site, but even with high-quality links, ranking can never be guaranteed due to ever-changing algorithms.
Firms that make these promises prey on the uneducated. Don’t be their next victim.
Social Media Signals Matter
All sorts of sources across the SEO landscape have attested to this fact that Google is using signals from social media sites to determine the quality of content. Search and social are intimately united. Sharing quality content and building engagement on platforms like Twitter and Facebook contributes to your overall website link building efforts, creating valuable connections that Google recognizes.
Need more proof?
- 5 Ways Social Media Impacts SEO by Adam Sherk
- Facebook and Twitter Shares Closely Linked with High Google Search Rankings by Searchmetrics
Link Building is Key
Google unleashes bots that crawl the internet like hungry gremlins. When a Google bot sees a link pointing to your website, Google takes that link as a vote of confidence. The more links pointing at your site, the better. The higher quality of links, the better.
There are many ways to dive deeper here, but the point remains: website link building is one of the most critical SEO ranking factors. Links signal trust and authority to Google, making them an indispensable part of any strategy.
Nobody is sure about the exact numbers, but link building is thought to make up 65%-75% of a site’s search power. Mastering how backlinks improve search ranking will set you apart in a competitive market.