How To Understand Google's Ranking Algorithm In 90 Seconds

by Paul Hancox

Posted: 15 years ago 9 replies

OK, remember the following 3 words, because they sum up how Google works:

RELEVANCE, AUTHORITY and POPULARITY.

Google want to serve up results that are RELEVANT, so if you type in dog training, sites like...

dogtraining.com

Pages like...

howtotrainyourdog.com/dog-training.html

... and articles like...

"Dog Training - How To Train Your Dog In 3 Easy Steps"

... are probably relevant, especially if the page itself also contains the keywords.

But now, who can they trust? Google invented PageRank (PR), which basically tells Google how much they trust a site, on a scale from 0 to 10.

So in a purely two horse race between...

dogtraining1.com (PageRank 4)
dogtraining2.com (PageRank 6)

The higher PR site would win with Google. AUTHORITY.

But, but, but... Google also want to deliver pages that are POPULAR. People "vote" for a page by linking back to it (backlinks)!

So back to our horserace. If we found...

dogtraining1.com (PageRank 4 with 1,000 backlinks)
dogtraining2.com (PageRank 6 with 10 backlinks)

Google will think... "hmm... people seem to be voting for dogtraining1.com more... maybe we should put it before dogtraining2.com!)"

But then, spanner in the works... if the second site's 10 backlinks are RELEVANT (i.e. the linking text says "dog training") and carry AUTHORITY (i.e. CNN, BBC). and the first site's 1,000 backlinks don't have relevance or authority, the 10 backlinks could carry more weight!

Bottom line?

Everything... and I mean everything about Google's system can be summed up in the three words...

RELEVANCE, AUTHORITY and POPULARITY.

Most of the sites in the Top 10 for a popular keyword will usually have at least two of these working for them.

So a low PR site (low AUTHORITY) can outrank others if it can get more RELEVANCE and POPULARITY.

Sometimes a page can dominate because of the domain's AUTHORITY and POPULARITY, even if it is a little less RELEVANT.

And that's as much as I can say in 90 seconds.

Just remember, it's pretty much all about those three words: RELEVANCE, AUTHORITY and POPULARITY.

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#algorithm #google #ranking #seconds #understand

Intrepreneur

15 years ago

The start of All-IN-Cencsored By Allen SEO, thread?

Great post, and so true.

The "how to train a dog" doesn't need to be in the title, it can be content on the homepage, that's my contribution, to this super easy to understand understanding of the big G!

Mark

Thanks
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Paul Hancox

15 years ago

Thanks Mark.

Originally Posted by Intrepreneur

The "how to train a dog" doesn't need to be in the title, it can be content on the homepage, that's my contribution, to this super easy to understand understanding of the big G!

It doesn't need to be if you want to be in Google, but if you intend to rank in the Top 3 it will help (for popular terms anyway)

I just did a Google search for that term:

#1:

How To Train A Dog, dog training tips and techniques for home ...
Discover how to train a dog the right way yourself at home. Learn about clicker dog training, dog whispering, puppy house training and more dog training ...
www .dog-obedience-training-review.com/ -

(PR: 4, Yahoo! Page Links: 3,340)

#2:

How To Train A Puppy | Puppy Training | Potty & House Training ...
Discover how to train a puppy the right way yourself, at home. Including puppy house training, crate training, basic obedience, potty training and clicker ...
www. dog-obedience-training-review.com/how-to-train-a-puppy.html

(PR: 3, Yahoo! Page Links: 180)

#3:

HowStuffWorks "How to Train a Dog: Tips and Guidelines"
Training your dog will make life better for both you and your pet. Find out how to train a dog.
animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/how-to-train-a-dog.htm

(PR: 3, Yahoo! Page Links: 12)

So positions #1 and #3 had "how to train a dog" in the title. I wonder if they'd be in those positions without the phrase in the title.

(What's strange was #2, "How To Train A Puppy"

)

Incidentally, #8 had more backlinks (1,250 according to Yahoo!) but it's title was:

"Aggressive Puppy Dog Training|Stop Barking Biting Digging Chewing ..."

So maybe that's why it's #8, instead of #1, #2 or #3.

I'd suggest that for fairly popular terms, the exact phrase (or something very similar) in the title will HELP a lot... but decent backlinks will also help a lot

Thanks
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Intrepreneur

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Paul Hancox

I'd suggest that for fairly popular terms, the exact phrase (or something very similar) in the title will HELP a lot... but decent backlinks will also help a lot

Certainly Paul,

Having the main keyword is important in the title, very important, although you pointed out the importance of "how to" and that's exactly what Google's algorythm will be hunting for when someone searches the words dog training. Google is very smart, but in 90 seconds we can be just as!

You know my first blog, I went after that niche, it is now ranking up in the 2nd and 3rd page for the keywords how to train a dog.

I have started on creation of an ecourse as a source of income from it, but one thing I can't get right is not having a ghost town of a forum which will ultimately determine it's success rate)..

I tried quite a bit to get it active, except cheating!

Mark

Thanks

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snvservices

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Paul Hancox

Thanks Mark.

It doesn't need to be if you want to be in Google, but if you intend to rank in the Top 3 it will help (for popular terms anyway)

Hi,

Decent backlinks will work if they are relevant, coz relevancy is very important in terms of SEO, and it works for you everytime.

These, backlinks will rank your site well, in SERPS in a good position with good PR.

Thanks!!

Thanks

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Easy Cash 15 years ago

Great post - easy to read and very informative.

Thanks.

All I can add is - if your a newbie - read this 20 times.........
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webpromoterservice 15 years ago

thanks for the info.You have raised a very important point that a site with a low PR can outrank high PR site based on Relevance and Popularity
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- rimam1 15 years ago
  
  Impressive... thanks for sharing.
  
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AlexTampa 15 years ago

Authority has nothing to do with page rank.
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Fernando Veloso 15 years ago

Paul,

Some lower PR sites keep #1 and #2 spots for years. Keep that in mind in the discussion

Great Post - The 3 golden words: RELEVANCE, AUTHORITY and POPULARITY.
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How To Understand Google's Ranking Algorithm In 90 Seconds

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