Google is more than just a search engine; it’s a complex ecosystem with stringent standards that guide how content is ranked and displayed. Understanding these standards is crucial for businesses looking to improve their online visibility. In this blog, we’ll explore Google’s standards and how you can leverage them to your advantage.

What Are Google’s Marketing Standards?

Google’s standards are guidelines and best practices designed to ensure high-quality search results. These standards cover various aspects, including website performance, content quality, and user experience.

1. Website Performance

Performance is a key factor in Google’s ranking algorithm. Faster websites provide a better user experience, which Google rewards with higher search rankings. At RCM Digital Solutions, we use tools like GT Metrix to audit site speeds and performance. Ensuring your website loads quickly can significantly boost your SEO efforts.

2. Content Quality

Google prioritises high-quality, relevant content. This means your content should be well-researched, informative, and engaging. Tools like Yoast SEO can help optimise your content for search engines, ensuring it meets Google’s quality standards.

3. User Experience

User experience (UX) encompasses everything from website design to content readability. A positive UX can reduce bounce rates and increase the time users spend on your site, both of which are important ranking factors. Screaming Frog is an excellent tool for analysing and improving your site’s UX.

SEO Tools and Techniques

Leveraging the right tools and techniques can significantly impact your SEO strategy. Here are some of the tools we use at Right Click Media to ensure compliance with Google’s standards:

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Provides detailed insights into user behaviour, helping you tailor your content and strategies.
• Google Ads Keyword Planner: Helps identify relevant keywords and estimate their impact.
• SEOptimer: Offers a comprehensive site audit to identify and fix SEO issues.
• Search Console: Monitors your site’s performance in Google Search, providing valuable data for optimisation.

The Importance of Keywords

Keywords are the backbone of SEO. Integrating relevant keywords into your content helps Google understand what your page is about. Here are some examples of terms & phrases used by marketing agencies in South Africa:

• SEO Agency Johannesburg
• Marketing firms Johannesburg
• SEO company Johannesburg
• Digital marketing agency Johannesburg
• Digital marketing agency Cape Town
• Marketing companies Johannesburg
• Digital Marketing Agency South Africa
• Top digital marketing companies

Optimising for Featured Snippets

Featured snippets are a great way to increase your visibility on Google. These are the short, information-packed boxes that appear at the top of search results. To optimise for featured snippets, structure your content in a way that answers common questions succinctly.

Internal Linking

Internal linking helps distribute page authority across your site and makes it easier for Google to index your pages. Here are some internal link examples that we use to enhance our SEO:

• Our Services
• Google Ads / AdWords
• Social Media
• Contact Us

Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions serve several essential purposes:

1. Increase Click-Through Rates (CTR): They help boost page CTR from search engine results pages (SERPs).
2. Influence Click Decisions: They impact a searcher’s decision on whether to click on a search result.
3. Act as Organic Ad Text: They function as organic ad text, encouraging users to explore a web page naturally.

Examples of Meta Descriptions

Here are examples of how meta descriptions appear in HTML code and in search engine results pages:

<meta name=”description” content=”Learn the best practices for creating effective meta descriptions to boost your SEO efforts and attract more clicks.”>

How to Write a Compelling Meta Description

Crafting an effective meta-description can sometime be a little tricky but follow these guidelines and that should put you on the right track:

• Highlight Key Content: Write compelling ad copy that highlights the most attractive and relevant aspects of your content.
• Use Power Words: Incorporate power words that evoke emotions and encourage action.
• Include a CTA: Ensure there’s a clear call to action (CTA).
• Use Primary Keywords Early: Place your primary keyword close to the beginning.
• Match Page Content: Ensure the content on the page matches what’s promised in the meta description.

Meta Description Length

Keep your meta descriptions concise, ideally within 155 to 160 characters, to ensure they display fully in search results. Longer descriptions may be truncated, losing vital information.

Does Google Rewrite my meta descriptions?

Google may rewrite meta descriptions based on user intent and other factors. While it’s not guaranteed to prevent this, focusing on high-traffic keywords can help your original descriptions stand a better chance of being used.

Little to no organic (SEO) traffic?

If you are struggling to get organic traffic coming into your website, you might be in a difficult spot where your site is not being indexed by Google here are the top 9 key indicators why Google isn’t indexing your website

• Mobile-friendly Website

Ensure your website is mobile-friendly to get indexed by Google. Use responsive design principles like fluid grids and CSS media queries. Google’s Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool can help identify issues.

• No Domain Name

Without a domain name, Google won’t index your site. Ensure your web address starts with “https://” and properly set up 301 redirects from WWW versions of pages.

• Complex Coding Language

Google avoids indexing sites with complex coding. Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool to check for and fix issues.

• Plugins & Googlebot Block

Incorrect robots.txt settings can block Googlebot. Ensure your robots.txt file allows crawling by not disallowing the entire site.

• Redirect Loop

Redirect loops prevent indexing. Fix typos in redirect codes and ensure 301 redirects are correctly set up.

• JavaScript Issues

JavaScript can block crawling. Ensure all JS and CSS files are crawlable by Google.

• Noindex, Nofollow Meta Tags

Remove noindex, nofollow meta tags from pages you want indexed.

• Sitemap

An XML sitemap helps Google find and index all pages on your website.

• Google Penalisation

If penalised, clean up your site and content thoroughly before requesting re-indexing from Google.

Future Blogs in This Series

This blog is the first in a series that will delve deeper into the standards of major online platforms. Future blogs will cover:

• Did you know Meta has standards? (for Facebook & Instagram)
• Did you know YouTube has standards? (for video creation)
• Did you know Google has standards (for Google ads and SEO)

Understanding and adhering to Google’s standards is essential for any business looking to improve its online presence. You can enhance your SEO strategy and achieve better search rankings by focusing on website performance, content quality, and user experience. At RCM, we use a range of tools and techniques to ensure our clients meet these standards and achieve their digital marketing goals.

Contact us today for more information on how we can help you optimise your website.