Search Engine Optimisation Guide

Part 1: Benefits | Part 2: Drawbacks | Part 3: Myths | Part 4: Ranking Factors | Part 5: Costs

Of course, the likes of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft understandably don't simply hand over the secrets of their algorithms. However, for search engines to be successful, they need to provide the best results.

In order to be the best, results must be relevant. This takes cooperation, and so there are a number of guidelines in existence that reveal ranking factors. Through trial and error testing, other techniques have been found to influence rankings too.

In this section, we take a look at the main known search engine ranking factors you should be aware of.

Backlinks

Links from other websites to your own are called 'backlinks' or 'incoming links'. As search engine algorithms are essentially computer programs, they cannot make a decision on how trustworthy a website is. So, backlinks are interpreted as votes for your website's content. In the simplest of forms, the more you have, the better you will rank.

Backlink Relevance

The 'weight' of a backlink can be greatly increased if the anchor text (text associated with the link) is related to the content on your website. This is helped further if the page/website linking to yours is related in subject matter - known as contextual.

Backlink Ranking

The weight of the link is massively increased if the website linking to you has a high Page Rank itself. So, a link from an established website like the BBC will mean far more than a link from a website that is only a few months old. Ranking factors within this include the age of the link (the longer, the better) and the domain extension (e.g. a '.gov' domain has added weight as it should be more trustworthy).

Website Age

Inline with the trust factor, an older website has proved it isn't a flash in the pan by being around for a few years with the same content. Although fresh content is beneficial, old content is considered more trustworthy. New websites aren't trusted quickly, sometimes even suffering from dampening factors until they can be assessed over the course of months or even years.

Keyword Usage

We're back to relevance again. Within your own website, if you want to rank for a keyword phrase, you have to be talking about it! The keywords you integrate into website copy should be thoroughly researched beforehand.

It's very important to keep this continuity throughout your website.

Title Tag

Unlike Meta tags, the Title tag is one HTML element that does help rankings. The Title tags should reflect the content of the page, being a succinct sentence that it isn't too long.

A common mistake is using the same Title tags and Meta tags for multiple or even all pages. Instead, each page should have it's own, customised to the page content. If the keyword isn't on the page, don't use it in the tags.

Internal Linking

Internal linking is important for two reasons. By linking to new content from an established page, it can speed up the indexing of that page. Also, by linking contextually, you can improve the ranking of a page if many other pages on a similar subject are linking to it.

It's important to not go overboard with internal linking however, check out our Page Rank Sculpting article for more information.

Move on to 'Costs'

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