Offline and online business owners usually ask, “How does a website get on the top of search engine results”? The answer to this question is that Google has a search algorithm which determines which websites should appear on top, and which ones should be listed last. Based on the criteria of this complex algorithm, Google ranks all websites (search engine optimized websites). If many websites are competing for the top spot, the one which meets the search algorithm criteria the most will appear on top.

The problem for business owners who want to start a search engine marketing campaign is that Google keeps the exact details of its search algorithm confidential. This is a preventive measure to keep so- called “black hat” marketers from manipulating the Google ranking system. Fortunately, there are known guidelines for increasing the chances of a website to appear on the first page of Google search results, and possibly be listed on the top spot. Here are some factors that affect the way Google places SEO websites on their ranking and indexing system:

Relevance

Google was originally built to connect users to appropriate websites which contain relevant information.

• Because of this, the Google team takes website content relevance very seriously because they want to enable their users to find the information that they are looking for in as few clicks as possible.

• However, because the Google crawler cannot really comprehend sentences and paragraphs like humans do, the only way it measures relevance is by looking for certain keywords within the title, tags, and content of a website.

• If the keywords in a website match the exact search phrases that internet users typed on Google, the website will have higher chances of getting higher rankings.

There are many ways through which a website can increase its relevance to popular search keywords in a given industry, and this is the subject of a more detailed search engine optimization study.

Website Structure

When it comes to website structure, Google gives more preference to websites which have higher functionality and easier navigability:

• Functionality refers to the ability of a website to give its visitors a convenient way to find the information they are looking for.

• Navigability refers to ease of browsing through availability of navigation bars, hyperlinks, and appropriate page titles.

These two factors of website structure affect the way Google places SEO websites in its indexing and ranking system. This is the main reason why business owners should hire an SEO expert when it comes to building and structuring a website.