When an internet user searches Google for a keyword, the search result pages list several websites in an order where the most relevant results rank at the top. With the increasing use of the internet to search for products and services, businesses are paying heed to employing multiple ways to make their website rank higher.

But the major block in their way is understanding how to do so. To overcome this roadblock, one should know how Google ranks web pages.

Google search is a stepwise process. 

1. Crawling
2. Indexing
3. Showing Results

Crawling: This process starts with ‘URL Discovery.’ Google constantly searches the web for new and updated pages to add them to its list of available pages. Google discovers new pages in one of the following ways:

• By following a link from a known page to an unknown or new page
• Sitemap submitted by a website owner for Google to crawl or index.

After discovery, Googlebot uses an algorithm to decide which sites should be crawled and the frequency of fetching web pages from the site. The program renders pages and runs a code to see all the content. However, some pages are not crawled for the following reasons:

• If the site owner has disallowed crawling
• If pages are not accessible without logging in to the site
• If the page is duplicate for a previously indexed or crawled page

Indexing: During this stage, Google analyzes the textual content, media content, and content tags (such as meta title, alt attributes, etc.) of the crawled webpage. This process helps Google understand the content of the page and the queries it may answer. The indexed pages are added to the Google index database. If the webpage is a duplicate of a previously crawled or indexed page, it is not indexed. However, canonical pages are indexed and shown in the search results.

Canonicals are selected by clustering web pages with similar content and then choosing the webpage that represents the group of pages in the best possible way.

Not every webpage that has been crawled by Google bots needs to be indexed. Some webpages are not indexed if,

• The content is of poor quality
• Meta directives disallow indexing
• Website design is complex and makes it difficult to index the webpage

Displaying Search Results: When a user inputs a query, the Google algorithm sifts through the Google index database to fetch results that serve the intent of the search. The webpages that offer content relevant to the search query are ranked higher in the search result pages. Multiple factors are used to decide the relevancy of search results. Some of these factors are:

• High-quality unique content with optimal length, structure, & organization
• Quality & relevant backlinks
• Search intent
• The loading speed of the website or webpage
• Mobile device friendliness
• Domain authority
• Keyword optimization
• Website structure & security
• User experience

Despite being indexed, some pages are not displayed in the search results. Some reasons for skipping these web pages in the SERPs are:

• The content of the webpage is irrelevant to the user
• Low quality of the content

This is the basic process followed by Google to rank websites. However, Google regularly updates its ranking algorithm to serve better results. The ranking factors are updated to improve the user experience by providing increasingly relevant results.

Centex Technologies helps business owners in Atlanta understand the dynamic search algorithm and optimize their business websites to rank higher on Google search result pages. To know more about improving your business website’s Google ranking, visit Centex Technologies at 1201 Peachtree ST, NE, Atlanta, GA – 30361 or call (404) 994 – 5074. You can also browse through www.organicseoatlanta.com