Website SEO: A beginner’s guide to ranking on Google

Google's algorithm is a complex system designed to rank websites based on their relevance and quality, primarily through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices. SEO, which can be applied to any search engine, aims to enhance a site's visibility and attract organic traffic by appearing at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). Google's dominance, with a 92% market share, makes understanding its algorithm particularly crucial. The algorithm uses PageRank to assess the importance of a webpage by analyzing the network of links between reliable pages. Effective SEO encompasses technical and on-page strategies; technical SEO ensures a site is easily navigable, secure, fast, and mobile-friendly, while on-page SEO involves creating high-quality content that aligns with search intent and uses relevant keywords. Google's search process involves crawling to discover new content, indexing to analyze and categorize content, and presenting the most relevant results based on various factors, including user location and search history. Understanding and implementing these SEO practices can significantly impact a website's traffic and sales by positioning it as a solution in response to search queries.