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How Google Determines Rank on SERPs

Optimize Digital Marketing
August 28, 2022

Consumers use Google every day to find businesses they’re interested in and want to know more about. The searches that consumers engage in yield results every time. It may not always be relevant, depending on your search, but Google uses Search Engine Results Pages, or SERPs, to house and store that information. 



Many wonder how so much information can be sifted through so quickly and results delivered in a timely manner. The answer is quite simple, and Google describes it like this: “To give you the most useful information, Search algorithms look at many factors and signals, including the words of your query, relevance and usability of pages, expertise of sources, and your location and settings.” 


All of this is done with convenience in mind. But one may also wonder why a results page looks the way it does. You notice a hierarchy of information, as if the results are in order. That is because it is by design. The placement on a Google SERP is called a rank. To rank highest on a SERP, certain criteria need to be met. This criterion is called ‘ranking factors.’ 


A ranking factor is, as seo.co defines it, “an aspect or element of a webpage or website that is correlated with higher rankings in SERPs.” Seo.co created a guide that discusses 200 of the top Google ranking factors. This guide emphasizes that it is not just a handful of criteria that factor into ranking on a results page. They argue that a webpage should be diversified and encompass as many of those 200 factors as possible with the goal of being ranked towards the top of an SERP. 


SEO ranking is a complex concept to understand because there are so many variables. Another reason as to why SEO is so complex is because Google updates its algorithm, which means that SEO ranking factors may change. 


Although Google updates its algorithm, there are five core factors that determine what content shows up in SERPs. Google uses meaning, relevance, quality, usability, and context to curate and distribute the most relevant content into SERPs and give the searcher a more personal experience. 


Without the means to filter the information, consumers would be left to fend for themselves in this vast digital world of information.


This process of determining rank not only helps Google organize its content, but it also allows for consumer behavior to assist in and even reflect what is ranked highest on a SERP. 


Consumers use these same five factors subconsciously, every day, whether it is online or not, to determine what information is best for them. With that in mind, let us look at how Google achieves those results. 


When discussing meaning, Google refers to it as the ‘intent behind your query.’ Google’s algorithm encompasses key words and synonyms of those key words to assist in finding the information that you are looking for. Google has the perfect example for the first factor. If you use the term “change,” the synonyms used as substitutes form the term are “exchange” or “replace.” 


This process was developed over a five-year period, and improved search results by 30% by deciphering language to filter results that were relevant to your search. 


The second factor is the relevance of content. When you search for something on Google, you may notice that certain words on a website match the terms that you search on the platform. Google’s system is objective, meaning that they have no political leaning or viewpoint. The goal of the system is simply to show consumers the most relevant information. 


Quality can be seen as something of a lost art. The internet is so saturated that it can become difficult to find content that meets your quality needs. Quality, Google’s third factor, is achieved through determining if prominent websites refer to the content that you are searching for. 


If content is referred to by prominent websites, this information is deemed to be trusted information. Google’s target as it pertains to quality is to constantly assess the relevance of the content on Google by also assessing the authority of the creator of the selected content. 


The fourth factor is Usability. Usability, from a consumer standpoint, is the most important characteristic of a website, and the usability of the content searched for. Google analyzes things like core website vitals, which involves the speed at which content loads for consumers on the web page, as well as the overall function of the website. Other user experience benchmarks include whether it is mobile friendly, the security of the website, or even if there is an interstitial webpage. An interstitial webpage is a “web page displayed before or after an expected content page, often to display advertising or confirm the user’s age.”


The fifth and final factor is context. Why is context important? Because location, search settings, and past search history are similar, yet different for each user. Words mean different things in different places. 


For example, chips in the U.S. are cut up slices of potato that are then fried and packaged in a bag that you can purchase at the store. People in the U.K. may disagree with our version of the word chip because, to them, it means something like what Americans call fries, so context is especially important. 


With these five factors fleshed out, it may be time to audit your website to determine how it will perform, and, in turn, will determine where you rank online. If you are interested in creating a new, high-performing website that ticks those boxes, then Optimize can facilitate that. We offer both branded and customized websites with SEO and performance in mind. Give us a call for more details regarding our site plans.

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