10 Ways to Make Google Happy

So you have your website designed and have launched it to the world but no matter what, you can’t seem to get found on Google. Getting found on Google can be a tough nut to crack but there are ways to make Google happy and start getting list in searches. Keep in mind that getting listed on Google is not an overnight victory. It can take a while to not only get listed but to get listed on the first page.
So, how can you make Google happy?

Content is king

The first thing is that you need to make sure you have good quality content. Just posting a lot of content is not enough. You need to make sure that your content is real and unique. Late last year, Google made a change to its search algorithm to reward unique content. So, the more original your content, the happier Google is.

Unique Keywords per page or post

When you create a post or page for your website, you need to ensure that you include a keyword or phrase that you people to find you for. For example, if your website is for a florist, then if you write a post about how to grow roses, then it should have a keyword tagged with growing roses. If you write another post involving roses, then the keyword for that post needs to be a little different. The more you repeat keywords, Google will not pay as much attention and can move you down in rankings.
If you are using WordPress and use a plugin like Yoast or Rankmath, then the checks in the plugin will let you know if you have used a keyword before.

If you enter a keyword and it informs you that you have used it before, change the keyword and go back through your post to make sure the keyword is in the right places.

Titles and descriptions

Each post or page needs to also include good titles and descriptions. This is the information you will see when you do a Google search.

You want to make sure your titles and descriptions describe your content. This is the main area that Google will use when they index your site so, in order to get ranked for your content, you will want to make sure these are accurate. Again, using an SEO plugin will help in this. The plugin will give you an area to set these.

A good title will be around 50-60 words while your description should be around 120-160 words. Again, the plugins will help by giving you a red to green meter on your lengths. You want these to display on Google correctly and these recommendations will do that.

Links everywhere

Ok, not everywhere but you do want your site to contain some internal links as well as external links. If you mention a service you offer in a blog post, then link to that service on your website. If you mention something on another website, then link that as well. Links will build trust in the view of Google, so when you link to something external, then Google thinks that you thought enough of that site to link it and this will build credibility. You want a good mix of internal, external, and inbound links. You don’t want to go link crazy but a good mix will be trusted with Google and cause your site to gain in the rankings.

Can I look at a menu?

Yes, Google wants a menu so a good menu structure is important. The menu structure should be in a way where the most important pages and or posts are at the top of the structure and then the second most important be next and so on. This gives Google a good idea of how important each one is and how it should be ranked. But on the other hand, the menu shouldn’t be overwhelming for your visitors.

Lock it down

Security is also important. Google made another change https://www.blog.google/products/search/original-reporting/ last year in how they determine rankings and not having an SSL certificate can cause you to lose ground in rankings. Basically an SSL certificate is what websites use to verify they are who they say they are. So if you go to google.com and don’t see the padlock in the address bar, then you may not really be on Google’s site.

This verifies that you are on the site that is listed in the address bar. You typically pay a yearly fee for this but some web hosting companies now will give you one for free. You can check with your hosting provider to see if they offer a Let’s Encrypt free SSL certificate.

Google, Google, and more Google

If you want to make Google happy, then it only makes sense to use Google products to increase your search engine rankings. Google has tools to help and the main three are Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Google My Business. Google likes people who use their tools so when you set these up for your site, Google takes notice.

I feel the need, the need for speed

If your site doesn’t load fast enough, then not only will your visitors leave but also Google. Speed will play a part in your ranking but don’t kill yourself in trying to achieve an A+ ranking. You can use still get good rankings as long as your site doesn’t take forever to load so make sure you have good-sized images and not a lot of code that will slow your site down. To get an idea of how fast your site is loading, go to gtmetrix.com, and run a report. Keep in mind that Google currently gets a score of a B.

It’s Alive!

Google also likes to see a site that is alive meaning that new content shows up on the site on a regular basis. I blogged about this a while back and nothing has changed. Blogging will help promote your site and get Google’s attention, so start that blog and get new content on your site today.

Not just traffic but good traffic.

Google likes to see a site that people want to go to. People that is, and not junk. When your site shows up in the rankings and people click it, that makes Google aware that your site is something that people are looking for. But stay away from Paid traffic. Google will notice this and once you stop paying, the traffic will stop and Google will then really take notice.

Are you listening?

Your site is not only a good place to inform your visitors for your information and services but also a good place for your customers to give you feedback. Comments on blog posts give them a place to ask questions and give feedback and Google likes a site that is engaging. Engagement also keeps people on your site longer and the longer they are there, the more Google notices.

So, how happy does your site make Google? If it doesn’t, these steps should help. Jordan Web Solutions can perform a free website audit to see how happy your site makes Google. We will review your site and send you a report containing information from how secure your site as to how many of these tips you are following and how many you could use some improvement in. Just let us know if we can help.