How Google Secretly Determines Rankings
I broke down how you need the right CONTENT on your site to show Google you’re an authority. You need to build out pages on your site to show Google what you’re selling, but also build out blog content to show Google you’re the authority on your niche.
But building out the content isn’t enough… There are probably lots of other companies that do the same thing you do! So how does Google know which site to rank at the top?
The second important ranking signal is: Element #2: Getting The Right Links
Links are still a major ranking signal and they aren’t going anywhere soon. In fact, check out this recent study from Brian Dean of Backlinko:
You can see that LINKS are still a major ranking factor. You can think of links like “votes.” When Google sees other sites linking to you, it’s like seeing other sites vote for you.
But WARNING:
Not all links are created equal. Google has worked REALLY hard to weed out shady tactics. You can’t just go buy a thousand links and blast them to your site. They showed us this in Penguin updates, carrying forward through multiple iterations and through the more recent Core Updates.
Now it’s all about getting QUALITY links back to your site. Some “votes” (links) are worth WAY more than others because Google values trust. But this is where people can get into trouble.
Links aren’t easy to acquire and there are a lot of nuances to them like:
- Getting the right link types
- Getting the right link velocity
- Using the right anchor text
- Keeping anchor text ratios correct
It can get complicated if you don’t know what you’re doing! I still see people just trying to wing it, just buying a link package and then waiting to rank.
This won’t work, because you need the third and final element that brings it all together… Look for an email from me tomorrow and I’ll break down the 3rd piece you NEED in order to rank!
