When the Internet was still a young
invention, search engines were designed to index the pages of the internet in a
way that they provide the best results in response to an online search. What
determined the reputation of a website on the internet was the number of
backlinks it garnered, i. e., the number of times the site was linked to. This
in general meant that that a site with higher backlinks had a higher ranking on
the search engine. To automate this
process, algorithms were developed, triggering the birth of sites like Google.
But eventually, problem arose. People with websites got a wind of how the
process of addressing an online query worked, and to facilitate their own
interests they began manipulating the original algorithms that determined the
process.“Link network” sites were built by many companies with the sole purpose
to link other sites together, creating an artificial rise in the ranking of
their member sites. These companies soon came to be known as “black hat”
companies.
To fight against such underhand tricks to
build artificial online reputation, Google primarily came forward, establishing
the importance of quality content and public reputation by creating different
new algorithms to uproot the black hat tactics. These algorithms help the
search engine to display quality results for an online search and are a major
factor in constituting what is known as search engine optimization.
The question now is how does one rank well
in search engines; how does one “optimize” one’s website to garner favourable
results?
Well, the basic ingredients of search
engine optimization that help you win a
good ranking on search engine result pages are the quality of your content, the
distribution and publicity of your content, the interaction and shares your
content gathers, and the number of links to your content built on other sites.
This generally means that your ranking goes higher on a search engine with more
people talking about you on the internet.
Besides these methods of optimization, one
has to ensure that a lot of other guidelines are taken well care of. One has to make sure, for instance, that the
website they have put up is as user friendly as it can possibly be, and that it
meets the standards of the search engines. Before being too confident about a
website’s success in the online world, one needs to convincingly answer certain
questions like these: is the website fast and usable? Is it devoid of inconvenient
bugs and errors? Is it informative regarding what it stands for and what
purpose it serves? Putting down quality content is yet another practice that
helps in the process of search engine optimization. But development alone is
not enough to get you the ranking you require. What you need to do further is
to market and publicise your content so that it eventually becomes visible
before the eyes of those who are interested.
With these optimization methods implemented
carefully, your website will surely find a reputable ranking on the search
engine. What you need to take care of is not to give in to the urges of
companies who promise you immediate results on the growth of your online
ranking. The instant progress they give you will impress you, for sure, but the
very next algorithm update that comes up will prove to be a setback for your
website, with heavy penalties ranging from poor search rankings to being
completely banned from search engines. Remember, building an online reputation
by honest and spotless means is not a sprint, but a marathon.
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