Google’s SEO Myth Busters episode #1 recently debuted.
Google Webmaster Trends Analyst, Martin Splitt, answered what the top 3 SEO factors are to focus on. Near the end of show, Martin answered an unexpected and shocking question that was asked by the guest.
How Google Selects Relevant Pages
The first question was about relevance.
“How do you know which… results are more relevant to a given user?”
Here is the answer:
“We have over 200 signals to do so. So we look at things like the title, the meta description, the actual content that you’ve got on your page, images, links… All sorts of things.
It’s a very complicated question to answer what ranks you best, but yeah… we look at a bunch of signals.”
SEO Factor #1 – Content
Now here comes the big question, where the guest asks what are the top 3 SEO factors are to consider.
“If you could give me like… top three things that I should consider, what would that be?”
The number one SEO factor makes sense:
“So… us being developers, originally, you probably want me to say, oh use this framework or use that framework… that’s not how it works.
You have to have really good content. And that means you have to have content… that serves a purpose for the user.
It’s something that users need and/or want. Optimally they need it and want it, like ice cream.
So, if your content says where you are, what you do, how you help me with what I’m trying to accomplish, that’s fantastic.”
This is good advice. There’s more nuance in that answer than is readily apparent. “Content that serves a purpose” is a fantastic way of describing what the highest ranked content tends to be. – Read more
