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Search Engines Ranking

 

Factors that influence search engine rankings

Different engines , different rankings

Every search engine uses its own unique formula, called an algorithm, to index and score web sites. Search engines' algorithms weigh various factors, such as a page's design and links, to rank pages in their search results. By constantly refining and improving their algorithms, search engines hope to give their visitors the most relevant results.

Many search engines form partnerships and buy technologies to improve their algorithms. They combine many factors and place different weight on each one.

Webmasters who want their sites to achieve a Top 20 position spend a lot of time studying different algorithms. Even when several search engines rely on similar factors in composing their rankings, they may still rank the same site differently. For example, imagine two search engines both use Meta tags and keyword frequency as there only ranking factors. If the first one weights Meta tags as 70% of a site's value and keyword frequency as 30%, and the second one does the opposite, their results will be completely different.

Understanding ranking factors

Before you can understand how each search engine scores web sites, you need to understand the various factors they consider. These factors can be divided into two categories: page-related (On-Page Factors) and outside (Off-Page Factor) .

Page-related factors (On-Page Factors) are concerned with keywords and their placement in the HTML. These factors include:

  • Format, placement and content of the title tag
  • Keyword frequency, weight, prominence and proximity
  • Use of the meta description tag
  • Use of ALT tags
  • Use of comment tags
  • Use of keywords in URL names
  • Alphabetical placement

Outside factors (Off-Page Factor) are not related to the content of your HTML. They include:

  • Link popularity
  • Click popularity
  • Themes
  • Overall site design

Achieve results

You can improve most of the above factors to achieve higher rankings. Pay attention to what your competition is doing. Analyze their high-scoring pages and use their techniques.

As you find out more about search engines, start creating doorway pages. Use tables with exact search engine information and techniques recommended by search engines themselves