When it comes to getting your website ranked in then it is important to keep abreast of how Google updates it’s ranking. Google are constantly improving their algorithm and this year is all about mobile and speed. So here are the things you should keep an eye open for.
- Mobile First
Google has recent changed the way it does it’s index. Now when it is going through your site, it will look for the mobile version first. This doesn’t mean that it will only index the mobile site, but it will base it’s ranking on how the mobile site comes across. So it is important that you have your responsive mobile version of your site up to date as well as your desktop site.
- Speed is Important
Google’s other big improvement is in monitoring how fast your pages load. This is based on real word speed measurements, and data is taken from users experiences of your site. Google is committed to making sure that users are getting the best experience from the web, and so speed matters. This is true on both mobile and desktop versions. It uses the Speed score and the Optimisation score from the Chrome-User Experience report. The speed test is not something that you can easily simulate from home, but the optimisation score can be tested, so make sure your code flies.
- Your Brand is Your Life
Google recognises that these days everything is a brand, you are brand, a product is a brand, and so it uses brand based ranking. This doesn’t just mean getting lots of back links to your brand, but also non-linked mentions are equally, if not more important. So it is important to not just get links to your site, but to get your brand mentioned online whenever it could naturally appear. The more mentions the better, particularly if they are in a positive light, so engage with your customers.
- Privacy and GDPR
The new GDPR regulations were brought into force by an EU regulation this year, and this has a knock on effect not only on EU sites, but also on other sites as it affects anyone who could visit your site from the EU. Google now eliminates personal user data after 26 months by default, so this will have a bearing on your ranking. So you should make sure that if you do collect any personal data that you comply with the new regulations and that you have an appropriate updated privacy policy.
- Amazon Search
You cannot ignore the influence that Amazon has on the web. More and more people are heading directly to Amazon to do their shopping or to access the web as many as 56% of web users do this when they have shopping on their mind. Amazon itself uses a mechanism similar to Google on it’s site to rank all objects within the site. So it is important if you are offering products for sale, then you take note of your Amazon ranking as well.