The Information Age, otherwise known as the Digital Age, has ushered in a new approach to marketing. Today, digital marketing has a strong foothold in the minds and budgets of businesses all over the world, and for good reason.
According to the Pew Research Center, 88 percent of U.S. adults used the internet in 2016, which is a 69.23 percent increase from 2000. American consumers are spending more and more time online, marking a noticeable shift in how businesses market themselves.
As the online population increases as does the competition for top spaces on search engine results pages. This is where SEO campaigns come in to play, to improve the Google search rank of websites and thus increase consumer traffic. Quality content, keyword density, and backlinking are all important though common search rank factors. However, this blog will go over three of the lesser-known factors that affect a websites Google search rank.
Google My Business
Google My Business is Google’s very own tool for businesses and organizations to increase their presence on Google search and maps. Google determines the rank for local results primarily based on relevance, distance, and prominence. The more robust a Google My Business profile is the higher it will rank for local search results. A few things you can do to improve the rank of your GMB listing are claim and verify the listing, accurately fill in all information fields, add photos, and manage and respond to reviews. Improve your local search rank by filling out and maintaining your Google My Business profile.
SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate is a digital certificate that validates the identity of a website and encrypts information sent to the server using SSL technology. The certificate enables a secure connection between web server and browser. Once the certificate is successfully installed on a website server, the application protocol will change from ‘HTTP’ to ‘HTTPs,’ where the ‘S’ means secure. Google has claimed security as one of its top priorities, calling for “HTTPS everywhere” on the web. In their effort to accomplish “HTTPS everywhere” Google takes into account whether a site uses secure connections as a factor is in its search rank algorithm. An SSL certificate is important in an of itself, but also as a contributing signal to Google’s search rank algorithmic determination.
Mobile-First Index
According to statements made by Google in 2016, more than 50 percent of search queries globally come from mobile devices. Mobile devices now contribute a significant amount of traffic to businesses online, and Google has taken note. For a long time, Google’s ranking system only looked at the desktop version of sites content to determine relevance and rank. Now, Google is experimenting with a mobile-first index approach where various mobile-specific criteria will be considered in rank determination. This shift from desktop to mobile indexing has not yet been implemented across the board, but it’s likely to be rolled out in the near future, and when it does your search rank will depend more on the mobile user experience.
Search engine optimization campaigns combine a number of techniques to improve the rank of a website. To get started with your site’s SEO campaign, contact EM Search Consulting, your digital marketing company in Chicago.
