Google is undoubtedly the internet’s most powerful tool and the world’s largest search engine with hundreds of thousands across the globe seeking diverse and factual information on a multitude of topics with vital statistics. It has assumed the form of the most dependable portal with millions of websites crammed with information that it serves up within seconds. However, with this new move Google is looking to change the way it ranks websites in search results.
Earlier quality backlinks, use of keywords, anchor text, domain authority, etc. were factors that determined the rankings of websites. Link building, blogging, content marketing, social media, etc. were some things that helped websites in a major way with website owners focusing on these factors. All this is all set to change with Google’s new move that has decided to place maximum importance on ‘TRUSTWORTHINESS’! Your website may have tons of backlinks and have great social media activity, but it will fail to rank higher up, if Google thinks your site is not worthy enough! GOOGLE NEEDS TO TRUST YOU, YOUR BUSINESS AND YOUR WEBSITE, for it to give you higher rankings. Basically business owners have to build their level of trust with the search engine.
NOW what do we mean here by TRUST? By TRUST Google means accurate and genuine information about your business that you share on your website because the search giant wants to serve up genuine information to users. Google hopes to count the number of facts on a website and compare it with information on a trusted source or knowledge vault, that they call a “Knowledge Based Trust (KBT) Index” and ascertain its trustworthiness. Higher trustworthiness numbers will rank higher than those with lesser ones.
Read on to know more!
Sharing your business information as in addresses that establish you as a physical entity needs to be genuine. Many businesses try to deceive Google by stuffing keywords into this kind of information simply to get higher rankings. Some people use virtual addresses and try to bamboozle Google into believing that is a real business with a legitimate existence. This also happens with people using multiple addresses for showrooms, retail outlets, workshop or factory, etc. Such deceit is all the more common when it comes to Google+ pages, where you HAVE to share genuine business location. Google simply dumps websites that have false or inaccurate locations or NAPs (Name, address and Phone number).
Another way that helps websites earn Google’s trust is by listing your business on as many genuine listing sites and directories as possible with accurate NAP or citations. Also businesses need to keep in mind is that the information shared across various listings is consistent, this will add to the authenticity and credibility. Google+, Yahoo Local, Bing Local, Yelp, etc. are some examples of such directories that Google relies on.
Business owners create websites with several web pages containing information regarding the business, products, services, with appropriate page titles, description tags, etc. that show up in Google’s search results. GOOGLE IS SMART! It takes all the time and effort to understand what a web page is all about and ranks it depending upon the relevancy of terms found in the web pages. However, some businesses indulging in deceitful activities, try to stuff the pages with keywords and phrases attempting to fool Google and attract traffic to their site. They try to trick Google into believing that their website has relevant information while in reality it is simply a mishmash of keywords and phrases with content of less or no value to the user. It is better for such businesses to invest their resources in creating genuine and useful content of some value for users. Trying to con Google is not going to work, as it is sure to find out sooner and later that could be detrimental for your website. Instead if you have TRUSTWORTHY content, higher rankings will follow and help establish a reputation in the long run.
In the world of SEO and rankings, we all know how much backlinks matter. For those who don’t, let me explain that backlinks are links on other websites that direct users to your website. More the backlinks, higher would be the rankings of a website – was the mantra all along but that is all set to change with Google stressing on TRUSTWORTHINESS! It is also important to know that not all backlinks are equal. Some are high quality ones that are obtained from well established and reputed websites, while some are mediocre or low quality backlinks that come from random sites and blogs. These are things that Google pays close attention to.
The importance of backlinks continues with more focus on good quality ones. If you are trying to create backlinks from websites that bear no or little relevance to your business, you are in most likelihood all set to lose Google’s trust! At all times it is paramount to remember that GOOGLE IS SMART and it can easily identify a logical connection between your website and from the ones where you get your backlinks from!
Websites, SEO companies, businesses are all in a stiff competition to make it to the top and in the pursuit to do so they try to manipulate but forget that Google can see through all of this! Every effort to achieve higher rankings need to be done in the most genuine and scrupulous manner for Google to find you TRUSTWORTHY! If you try to act smart, remember that Google is smarter!
REMEMBER THAT GOOGLE IS WATCHING!