When you do a Google search for a service or product, how do you choose? Do you pick someone near the top or do you scroll to the bottom of the page? If you’re like most people, you’ll pick someone near the top.

So how do you get there? What does it take to achieve a top Google rank? How is Google deciding which website is the right one to put at the top of the results?

The simple answer is that Google is using a very sophisticated algorithm. That algorithm is looking at mountains of information and deciding what the best results are.

My team and I at Leadbumps have been doing SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, for over 15 years. We’ve watched the Google algorithm grow from its simple beginnings to the masterpiece it is today. The better we understand what Google wants to see, the more likely we are to get our clients’ websites to show up at the top of the results.

I’m going to break down the key factors for you in this article. Don’t worry if you’re not techy. Anyone can understand this.

STEP 1 - META TAGS

Meta tags sound complicated, but they’re not. When you do a Google search, the results you see on the page are “Meta Titles” and “Meta Descriptions”.

Those titles and descriptions are a key part of the SEO of your website. If your website company has the wrong words there, you probably won’t rank.

This is where SEO starts, but 95% of websites today still have errors in their meta tags.

STEP 2 – PAGE CONTENT AND HEADERS

After Google looks at your meta tags they look at your page content. They look to make sure what you showed them in your meta tags is also in your page content.

If you’re saying you’re a “Landscaper in Green Bay” in your meta tags then your homepage should also say that you are a “Landscaper in Green Bay”. 95% of websites today make this error.

STEP 3 – NUMBER OF PAGES

Google assumes that if you know what you’re doing, you probably have quite a bit to say about it. A website that has 3 pages will lose to a website with 20 pages in most cases. The more pages you have the more power you have as long as they are connected together correctly.

STEP 4 – BACKLINKS

A backlink is a link coming to your website from another website. Let’s say I have a health blog and you own a fitness center. I love what you do as a nutrition coach, so I write an article about your business on my website. I also put a clickable link in that article so that people that want to find you can click and go to your website. That’s a backlink, and they can be very powerful for SEO.

STEP 5 – TRAFFIC

Of all the things we’ve talked about so far, traffic is the most powerful. If Google sees a large number of local people visiting your website, they will move you up in rank.

The Google algorithm values traffic above all else. They want to show the best results, so they assume that the website getting the most traffic is the best result.

So, What Should You Do?

You won’t find people that know more about SEO than our team here at Leadbumps. Our founders are SEO masters, and their knowledge is a core part of everything we do.

We are always happy to help fellow business owners understand how well their current website is put together. If it’s amazing, we’ll tell you that. If there are areas that need work, we’ll tell you that also.

There is never any pressure to work with us. We’ve built an amazing business by giving away tons of free advice. Use us as your trusted advisor. We’ll help you understand how you can become one of those top Google listings.

If you have questions about SEO, give us a call at (920) 347-5356.