Can you think of a time when the world did not have the internet or search engines? Probably not! Take your own personal example; what do you do is you have to locate something or find out information- you Google it.
Our world has become increasingly dominated and influenced by the internet. Search engines like Google, Bing, and others have given us access to innumerable pieces of information. They have helped create a digital ecosystem that has helped brands and marketers reach audiences.
While it all started some decades back with Yahoo, Google has emerged as the search engine of choice for almost the entire world. So much so that it has been accused of unfair trade practices and trying to establish a global hegemony of sorts.
Accompanying the growth of search has been the various strategies that marketers, brands, and agencies have tried to use to push forth their digital growth. The changing nature of consumer behavior (strongly influenced by digital) necessitated this change.
In this article, we look at some critical aspects that will highlight how search has evolved over the last two decades.
What Brands need to understand about Ranking Websites on Search Engines
According to Digitrio, a leading digital marketing agency based in Singapore, the following are some of the critical things, agencies need to understand about ranking-
- There is more to ranking higher than 200 Factors-
Many SEOs believe that ranking websites are just ticking off one by all of the 200 known ranking factors known to man. However, while this still works, search engines are evolving the way they rank websites.
Understanding the information or ‘parsing’ as it is called has become a very important factor in estimating a website’s rank. Many SEOs know nothing about parsing as this is why their SEO strategies fail to show any results.
- Mobile and Smart Devices are the Next Logical Evolution of Search-
A simple comparative analysis of the device use over the years can show you how search engines are optimizing. In 2018, Google shocked the world when it announced that it would be following a Mobile-First Indexing Policy.
This was basis the more than 70% search volume it was receiving from mobile devices. In this regard, SEOs and designers need to have a mobile-first strategy for optimization on search engines.
- FAQs, Features Snippets and Videos are Driving Ranking on Search-
Plain text content has its own importance. However, search engines realize that people are looking for faster access to information and content that is simple, reliable, and unfussy in nature.
This is why search engines prefer content formats like FAQs, and Featured Snippets that help in easy access of information. Videos are also emerging as one critical way of driving search volumes and accessing information. In all, these three affect rankings.
The Move from Technical SEO towards Search Equity: A Small Analysis
I want to start off this section by asking every SEO one simple question- do you know more about the brand or the industry that is your client more than the owners or founders of the brand themselves? The simple answer is No!
Google’s search engineers have also understood that no one knows it better than the brand owners and founders themselves. However, what plagues them from outing forth their views are the tens of technical challenges that confront ranking a content.
Some bright minds in Google have termed this as the quest to move from the technical aspects to greater Search Equity. In the next few years, search equity is going to come up in a major way as a ranking factor for brands and marketers on search engines.
The move is aimed at pushing forth as holistic and as comprehensive content as possible. This has also been done with a primary view of eliminating the millions of ‘thin content pieces’ that plague the internet and serve no viable purpose whatsoever.
The Bottom Line
As more modern and sophisticated models of technologies continue to influence the world of search engines, this field is likely to evolve. Brands and marketers need to keep pace with all the recent updates and changes that are often released in small, yet informative forums and communities regarding where the search is headed.
If you have any important questions on any of the major points that have been mentioned in the article, let us know in the comments section below. We will be more than happy to address as many of them as possible.