Search engines are all about showing the most relevant results to the user queries. Relevance is one of the most important factors when it comes to search engines.
What do you think about how Google indexes and ranks so many web pages to meet the user query?
To do this and to display the most relevant results, Google has many important algorithms which it uses to rank pages concerning user queries.
Further, Google keeps updating its algorithms to keep enhancing the results of the search queries.
What is Google Algorithms?
Google has very complex Algorithms for serving search queries and it keeps on changing very frequently. These algorithms allow Google to find, rank and return the most relevant pages for a certain search query. Though Google doesn’t make these algorithms public, here are few elements that we know have an impact on a page ability to appear in the results for certain keywords:
- page’s title, header tags, and meta description should contain the relevant searched keyword
- naturally-occurring, organic links to the page.
These are just some of the factors that Google algorithm explores while determining rank pages.The whole ranking system consists of multiple algorithms that consider various factors such as the quality and relevance of the page.
What is a Google algorithm for SEO?
Google algorithms use keywords to determine page rankings and the best way to rank for particular keywords is by doing SEO. Doing SEO is a way to tell Google that a website or web page is about a particular topic or search query.
Let’s take a look at some of the most important Google Search Algorithms which are very important for SEO.
1. Panda
This google algorithm was launched in February 2011. This is a very important Google algorithm that evaluates web pages based on the quality of content.
What to avoid?
- Duplicacy of content– While writing content always check for any duplicity of content as it may affect your ranking.
- Thin Content– The content in your webpage should be informative and not just written for the sake of it. It should satisfy the search query of the user.
- Stuffing keywords– While it is very important to include keywords in your page, stuffing your page with keywords won’t take your rankings higher. Place your keywords where they seem to be natural and not fit for the sake of it.
- Spam – Avoid spam comments on your page as it will show your page in a bad light for search engines.
- Article Spinning– Article Spinning is not helpful if you want to rank higher on the search engine results page. It will lower the quality of your page and will not be as helpful as the original content.
Regularly audit your website to check your content quality to avoid being hit by Panda which may affect your site rankings.
2. Penguin
It was launched in April 2012. Penguin Algorithm checks the quality of links.
What to avoid?
- Low-quality backlinks– While generating backlinks, aim to get links from websites that have high domain authority and good page rank. Getting organic backlinks from high domain authority pages will help you to rank better. Always keep checking that your backlinks are of good quality.
- Paid links – Acquiring paid links is a violation of Google Webmaster guidelines and you can be penalized for that.
- Over optimized anchor text– While it is important to put the keyword in your anchor text but it should make sense to put the link on that word otherwise you can be hit by Penguin.
It is best to gain links organically and avoid spam links to avoid being hit by the Google Penguin algorithm.
3. Hummingbird
Hummingbird algorithm was launched in August 2013. This algorithm focuses on the search intent behind a query. It aims to enhance the search experience of the user by showing the best results for their search query.
To maintain your ranking due to Hummingbird, try to understand the intent of the search query by looking up keyword planning tools or use the google autocomplete feature to understand what the users are looking for rather than just stuffing keywords.
4. Pigeon
It was launched in the year 2014. The main idea behind this algorithm was to help people in local search. It brought together the core algorithm used for ranking and the algorithm used for local search.
For this algorithm, list your business in local directories to help the search engine rank you better and understand your business.
5. Mobilegeddon
This Google Algorithm was launched in 2015. As the name suggests, this update of Google checks that the mobile-friendly pages rank higher on the search engine results page.
After this algorithm, it has become very important to make the design mobile responsive and users should have good mobile usability.
Your website should take care of the following things while making your website mobile responsive.
- The size of the font should be larger than the font used in the personal laptop/computer so the user can read properly.
- Include elements that are supported by all the device types and can be viewed and played easily like videos, images etc.
- Make sure that the loading speed is good as no one likes to stay on a slow loading website. To do this, optimize your images and do not use a large amount of code as this can make your website slow.
- Make sure that if you are adding checkboxes or buttons there is ample space between the elements so the user does not get confused while clicking these buttons.
You can check here to see if your website is mobile-friendly or not.
6. RankBrain
This Google Algorithm was launched in 2015. This is one of the most important algorithms of Google for SEO.
It aims to bring the most relevant result to the user. It is based on Machine Learning and the intent behind the user query.
It is best to make your content relevant and make relevancy your number 1 priority while writing content.
Use keyword tools to understand what people are searching for and try to include the relevant information on the website for that search query.
7. Google Fred Algorithm
This Algorithm is launched in March 2017. This Google Algorithm works to bring quality content to the user.
You can be hit by Fred if your page has thin content and filled with affiliate links only for generating revenue.
To avoid being hit by this, do not write content only to fill affiliate links and ads. Write ample and relevant information on your page so you are not affected by Fred.
Conclusion
Google always keeps updating and releasing new algorithms to make the search experience better for the user.
Keep yourself updated with the latest Google algorithms changes and updates so your ranking does not get affected by the change in the algorithms or updates.
The main aim of any search engine is to provide the most relevant page to the user for their search query. While creating content and managing On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO, always keep in mind to adhere to the various algorithms so you do not miss any guidelines.
You can read more about the factors that affect the ranking of a page in the Search Engine Results Page.