Search engines like Google have changed the way we find important information and everyone should understand how to interpret search results pages. I don’t think that anyone can argue that the Google search engine has changed the world. Google has organized the information on the web and made it easy to find the information you need quickly. Before Google, it could take hours of searching to find relevant information and the internet was really only useful to technically inclined individuals. The Google search engine allows users to enter a search query and are shown results including links to websites, pages and other resources that are relevant to the search term queried.

The Google search engine sends out virtual robots to “read and index” all of the pages of the internet. When users query a term on Google it references its servers using a proprietary algorithm to display results relevant to your query. The Google “PageRank” algorithm reviews the different pages found and indexed by Googlebot (Google’s creative name for their virtual robots) and determines the relevant value of those pages based on a number of different criteria.

Google also sells advertising on search engine results know as Google Adwords. Adwords enables advertisers to bid on advertising positions based on specific keywords and phrases searched. Paid search advertisements are clearly identified within search results and are purchased by advertisers based on a number of different criteria including keyword, geographic location, time of day, and other relevant factors.

As Google as grown over the years to offer additional services like Google Maps, YouTube, Google Local, and Google+ they have begun to incorporate information from these other Google tools right in the search results. These new inclusions are useful tools for finding relevant information about your search query including local businesses that provide that product or service (when relevant).

The organic search results displayed are selected based based on each page or sites “relevance and authority” for the search term queried. This proprietary algorithm for evaluating the web is called PageRank and Google calculates the relevancy of each page, each time a term is queried using a proprietary algorithm to find and evaluate keywords and phrases within the content of your pages to determine your contents value. PageRank also helps to determine the authority of each web page it indexes by evaluating incoming and understanding the authority of the websites linking to it.

Getting to the Top of Search Results

Climbing your way to the top of search engine results can happen overnight or it could take years to achieve the results you are looking for. The best way to improve your results is by creating and tagging your website content and images in a way that Google can index your information giving it the opportunity to appear is search results.

Beyond simple on-page search engine optimization techniques the best way to improve your search result ranking is to create well written, relevant content for your target audience on a regular basis. Google likes new unique content and considers your posting frequency and keyword density as criteria in evaluating page and site authority. If you continue creating good content your rankings will continue to rise as will your website traffic.