Let’s take a second and try and look at the internet from the search engines point of view. Why do the search engines provide us with this invaluable service of allowing us to search the internet? The answer, not surprisingly, is money. The more users that a search engine has, the more potential they have to make money. But how, and what does this have to do with search engine optimization?
The answer to the first question is simple enough, ads? Search engines make money by showing ads along side their search results. For instance, imagine that you did a search on Google for free cell phones. You would arrive at a page that looks like this:
On the left hand side of the screen there are what is known as the organic search results. These are the websites which Google thinks are the most relevant site for the term free cell phone (note: everything which we are about to say about Google also applies to the other major search engines: Yahoo, MSN, and Ask.com). Furthermore, Google does not take money for showing these results. They are displayed based on Google’s algorithm (a mathematical formula which Google uses to determine how to rank sites for any given search term). On the right hand side of the page are different results which also show up for the term free cell phone. These are ads, or more exactly Google AdWords ads, and the owner of that ad pays Google every time someone clicks on their ad (the amount varies according to various factors).
What is worth noting is that Google’s entire business plan revolves around people clicking on these ads. As such, the more people who use Google’s search engine, the more money Google will make (as more people will see Google’s ads with a certain percentage of those people clicking on them). Thus Google has a vested interested in providing the highest quality search engine that they possibly can (as do the other major search engines), for that is what drives people to their site. And the key ingredient to a quality search engine is relevance! After all, people are only interested in a search engine insomuch as it helps them find the results that they are looking for. And since that is what Google’s customers want, that is what Google wants. And since that is what Google wants, that is also what we want.
Here comes the answer to our second question. When we say that Google ranks the search results according to relevancy what we really mean is that Google has developed various criteria and methods for determining what is the most relevant site for any given search. What this means for us is that if we can discern what those criteria and/or methods are (Google doesn’t reveal them) then we can build our site accordingly for the terms that we want to rank well for. Put simply, Google sets the ranking rules. If we want to rank well then we best learn what those rules are and follow them. This, in a nutshell, is all that search engine optimization is about.
As simple as that may sound it’s actually a bit harder to do in real life. Particularly since the search engines are constantly trying to improve the results that they return. What that means is that the criteria and methods that the search engines use to rank sites are constantly changing. So not only is it important to know how it is that the search engines rank sites today, but it is equally important to get as clear a sense as possible as to how they plan to rank sites tomorrow. That way you can always be prepared (or at least try to be prepared) for whatever changes come tomorrow. Thus ensuring that your high rankings are as stable as can be.
Our first order, therefore, when it comes to optimizing our sites for the search engines is to understand as best as possible the criteria and methods that the search engines use to determine their search results. As such, that is the topic of the next tutorial.
Previous tutorial: What is search engine optimization?
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