Understanding the Impact of Usability and Content on Search Engine Rankings
By: Heinrich Muller
The main aim of a search engine is to provide searchers with the best available data listed in order of relevance to the search phrase that have been entered. Search spiders crawl the Web looking for new data and then index the data according to the specific search engine algorithms that they have been programmed with. Search engines do not read text, images or watch videos the same way that a user would, they rely on meta information and the popularity of a website to guide them.
Websites with a lot of user interaction and external links pointing to them are rated higher than websites with very little interaction or external links. User interaction and a lot of external links are seen as confirmation of the quality and relevance of a website's content. All of the big names on the Web started small and gained popularity through users linking to their information and passing the information to their friends and contacts (Twitter and Facebook are two prime examples of this).
Traits of Popular Sites:
Easy to use, navigate and understand
Provides direct and actionable information
Professionally-designed and accessible to modern browsers
Delivers high quality, legitimate and credible content
Fast upload speed
Excellent use of social media
Easy for visitors to bookmark content on the site and to share it with their friends and contacts
Content is and will remain king! People search the Web to find, solve, treat, buy, learn or understand something. Search engines places web pages in their results in order to satisfy the intent of the searcher in the best possible way. Web pages with unique, original and thorough content that meets or exceeds a searcher's expectations will have an excellent chance of earning top rankings.
Search intent can be divided into four main categories - navigational, informational, commercial and transactional. It is very important that you design your website with one of these categories in mind. The use of video, images, high quality articles and multimedia can enhance the users experience and can also help you to meet and exceed searchers expectations.
Search Intent Categories:
1. Navigational Searches - The user is looking for a specific web page and does not know the exact URL of the web page. The search engine is used to find the web page (for example the search phrase "Virgin Mobile" is entered in order to find the official website).
2. Informational Searches - The user is looking for information on a specific subject and this type of search is non-commercial in nature. Map searches, news updates and sport results are types of informational searches that can be conducted.
3. Commercial Searches - Searches conducted with the eye on purchasing in the long run qualify as commercial searches. They are not directly transactional but may result in the exchange of money or goods at a later stage.
4. Transactional Searches - These types of searches result in the exchange of money or goods. Signing-up for a newsletter or free trial also qualify as transactional searches.
High search engine rankings are achievable if you focus on providing valuable and useful content to your visitors on a user friendly and professionally designed website. Keyword optimization and link building are easy if you have great content to work with. The Web is viral in nature and great content will always be shared by people.
About the Author:
H.E.Muller is a small business owner providing SEO solutions to website owners. Feel free to visit his website for more information on SEO link building, seo article writing, video marketing and social media marketing.
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