How can your content rank higher on Google?

What should you keep in mind when trying to move your website or blog up on Google? There are so many articles and blog posts about this topic that it can be quite confusing. Why not go back to the roots and stick to what Google itself suggests when it comes to creating internet content? Starting with some necessary background knowledge, this blog post provides you with the Google criteria for quality web content. 

How Google ranks content

All search engines are updated regularly in a bid to improve their performance and following these updates or pre-empting their effect on ranking is a futile exercise. Google updated their search algorithm, called the Panda Update, in the beginning of 2011. It was designed to remove or relegate the low quality content from the search results. As a result of this update a lot of websites were seriously affected, which caused a general panic all around with people wondering what they could do to retain their rankings in the search results.

It sure would be foolhardy on Google’s part to give details about how they were ranking pages, but in May 2011, in one of their blogs, they did address the issue and advised people not to get fixated with what the search engines do and instead focus on delivering the best user experience. In the same post they listed a set of questions, which gave a little insight into how Google looks at content, in order to rank it. Some of these questions specifically mention websites, but they do apply to blogs as well.

Listed below are these Google questions. They are sourced verbatim from the official Google Website http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com. Put them to good use!

Google questions to examine the web content’s quality

• Would you trust the information presented in this article?

• Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?

• Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?

• Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?

• Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?

• Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?

• Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?

• Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?

• How much quality control is done on content?

• Does the article describe both sides of a story?

• Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?

• Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?

• Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?

• For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?

• Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?

• Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?

• Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?

• Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?

• Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?

• Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopaedia or book?

• Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?

• Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?

• Would users complain when they see pages from this site?

There is a lot you can learn about search engines, page ranks and blogging. If you are keen to learn more about this field, you should take a look at the free eBook “Business Blogs – The Best Social Media Tool For Businesses” written by Varinder Taprial and Priya Kanwar.