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More Clues About What Google Looks For In A Quality Website

May 10, 2011

Yesterday, I wrote about how every now and then Google gives a bit of a clue about what it looks for in a website.

And today, I shall continue the theme.

Here’s the the ‘clues’ from Google’s small business blog, I’ll evaluate from an SEO perspective.

Pass the 8 second test.
A visitor should understand the purpose of your website within a few seconds.
Tell them what’s in it for them.
Create clear and tangible benefits: “Save more! Make extra money! Look better with our product!”
Use compelling images.
Help your visitors take the next step. Make that step clear and easy to reach.

So How Does This Affect Your SEO?

Pass The 8 Second Test.

I think this is telling you:

Make each page quick to load
Make each page have a single purpose
Don’t clutter the page with useless or irrelevant content
Put all the important content as high up the page as possible

Tell Them What’s In It For Them.

I think this is telling you:

Use language your users will understand, (if this conflicts with your brand guidelines, change your brand guidelines)
Use descriptive language in your links and headings
Don’t hide content behind complicated forms or logins

Use Compelling Images.

I think this is telling you:

Make your page visually appealing
Optimise your non-text content
Ensure your site looks good in Site Previews

Unravelling Your SEO Clues

Have you seen any other clues from Google you’d like me to unravel? Leave them in the comments and I’ll take a look.

2 Responses to “More Clues About What Google Looks For In A Quality Website”

Richard Says: May 25th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
Why are Google so secretive about what they consider to be a good website? Surely the web would be a better place if everyone stived to make their site a usable as possible.
gary Says: July 12th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
Richard. Unfortunately, not everyone would have such good intentions: If Google opened up their algorithm to the masses and told people how to get a site to rank, the spammers would be all over it. And this would make the internet a nasty place to be.

Plus, I think what makes a good site depends on the industry, the topic, and the users. For example, a decent movie review site is a lot different to a decent photosharing website, or a site offering driving directions. Google can only really provide general guidelines, which they do with their Webmaster Guidelines.

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Gary - search, find and analyse
In 2010, we achieved full Google accreditation and had more search-related ‘can you help us?’ conversations than you can shake a USB stick at.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is fundamental to the planning, building and growing of a website, simply because Google (and its competitors) wants to feature unique, useful and jaw-droppingly interesting websites in its search results.

With every development Google rolls out, the SEO landscape expands and this will continue in 2011. Instant Search and Search Suggestions now make the longtail just as important as that elusive vanity phrase. Site Previews will enable users to pick sites based on look and layout. There’s more to search than just picking the right keywords.

However, the point of greatest interest will be where search and social media meet. The websites that succeed in search will be the ones that make a positive contribution to the social graph of their online communities.

And what about analytics? Now you can track almost everything, the challenge is to ensure business decisions and strategies are based on data that really matters. So 2011’s key question won’t be “How are we monitoring our visitors’ behaviour?” It’s going to be “What are we going to do with this insight?”

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