CommPRO Editorial Staff

Like everything in this world, the way Google works is constantly changing. Google and other major search engines make alterations and updates to their search engines to provide the best user experience possible. 

Their main aim is to help the user find exactly what they are looking for. Google has more than 3.5 billion searches daily, so if you want your site ranked high, you have no other choice but to follow Google’s rules. 

One of the most common and most effective ways to help boost your website’s ranking on Google is by improving your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts. 

The majority of marketers use SEO tools to help build their content to improve their Google rating. You might be very surprised how small alterations to your site can help improve the amount of organic website traffic you get.

Google will be making some major changes to their search engine this year, and they have published content to help webmasters prepare. 

Add Structured Data to your Website

Structured data is vital for your website as it is a list of labels that help describe the content on your site. This data lets major search engines understand what content is available on your site, and helps them refine search results. 

Structured data isn’t all about SEO, as it also helps determine how search results appear. Sometimes rich snippets tend to stand out a lot further than your normal Google search results, which can have a major effect on your site’s ranking. Structured data includes the following: 

• Styles
• Images
• Visual enhancements 
• Interactive Features

This data can have a major effect on your CTR. So, a site that uses rich snippets or enriched results has a higher chance of being clicked on than a result that doesn't use this marking. 

Because so many people now use their mobile devices to search on Google, don’t forget to include the marking of structured data for the mobile-version. 

Using structured data marking can help your site stand out amongst your competitors. For more information, the guys at 3WhiteHats have published some great content on structured data for SEO. 

Make sure your Site is Mobile-Friendly

The majority of organic Google searches are made on mobile devices. Google reported during 2019, 63 percent of Google users searched for something using these handheld smart devices. Web developers cannot underestimate how important a mobile-friendly website is for both the user and how the site is ranked on major search engines. 

Google and other search engines are fully aware of how vital it is to have a website work smoothly on a mobile device, so they are constantly making updates in their algorithm so that sites that are not mobile-friendly will drop in rankings. To help maintain or improve your website’s ranking, make sure it works smoothly on both a computer and any type of smart device. Optimizing your website for mobile users is essential nowadays. 

It seems like everybody owns a mobile device, and Google understands that its users prefer to use these devices as they are more convenient than opening up and starting a computer. 

Keep an eye on your Page Load Speeds

The page load speed is how long a website takes to fully load from the moment the user clicks on the link for your site to the moment the page's content appears on the browser. Although there is not much you can do about the user’s internet connection, there is plenty that you can do to help improve your website’s loading time. 

The user's experience on your website is critical for Google and other search engines, so if your site seems sluggish, expect a high bounce back rate. When your site has a high bounce back rate, Google will assume the content on your site is not relevant and you will notice your rankings drop. 

Everybody knows that first impressions in real life are important as lots of people are quick to judge others. Well, when these people visit your website for the first time, they tend to judge it in just 3 seconds. Reports show that 53% of the average internet user will leave a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds for the content to fully load. 

Make your site load fast both on desktop computers and smart devices to help retain visitors and to help influence them to navigate through the content of your pages. 

Why is my Website Loading Speed so Slow?

There are plenty of reasons why your site might take a long time to load on a person's browser such as the following:

• There might be coding errors on the site: Speak to your web designer to fix these issues.
• Make sure all the images on the site have been cropped and resized. Large images can take a long time to load.
• Interactive items and other animation displayed on your site can cause a delay when loading.
• The site is yet to be compressed.
• Too much advertising on the site. Pop-ups and advertising banners can often slow down the page’s loading time. 
• Issues with the web hosting company: Make sure you choose a reputable web hosting company for your website.

Optimizing your site to make sure the loading time is critical. Make sure to test your page’s loading time on different devices and on different browsers. 

One of the updates Google is making in 2021 is how voice searches work. Over the past few years, Google has noticed a huge increase in the number of users using the voice search feature, and they expect its popularity to grow over the next few years. When a person uses Google’s voice search feature, they are looking for a quick and direct answer. Waiting around for a period of time is not an option, and webmasters should take this into consideration. 

Summary

Keeping on top of the changes Google makes to their search engine will help you maintain or improve your Google rating. If you are unaware of how to optimize your website, speak with an SEO agency to help you. It is critical that all the images, videos, and graphics on your site have both the physical dimensions and that each file size is set correctly. Keep in mind that content that takes a long time to load will force customers to leave your site. 

In May 2020, Google publicly announced some major changes to the search engine that would be enforced in May 2021. The goal is to make the user experience one of the key factors on how your page will be ranked. For more information, click here.