- Content Is King
Google tends to hide their algorithm requirements. An algorithm is just the set of criteria that google does its “search engine math” based around. Even though the requirements are hidden, you can get pretty close by just building solid content. Video & images will get you to the top faster. Try to include at least 300 to 400 words in your stories. - Secure Site
Seems like every week we hear about some corporation getting hacked and user data being exploited. Don’t let it happen to you. Google cares about your website’s security, and uses whether or not the site is secure as a ranking signal. They’re encouraging every site to become HTTPS, and favoring sites that are in search results. It doesn’t matter if you accept payments on your website or not — you need an SSL certificate. Google is going so far as to shame websites that collect information without an SSL certificate. Your users need to trust you; make it easy for them. - Fast Site
Optimize your page speed. This is how fast your site loads. Page speed is complicated and you can break your site doing it. You’ll need help from a web developer to do it right. - Responsive Site
Make sure your site works on desktop, tablet & especially, phone. A mobile site is better than nothing, but what Google really recommends is the use of Responsive Design — a website that has one base of code and a design that responds to the size of the user’s device. It goes so far as to say that “Responsive design is Google’s recommended design pattern.” - Solve Problems
Your site should answer questions. It should help your end user make a decision. Most importantly, your site has to showcase who you are, what you do, and how you do it. - Be Useful & Easy To Read
Your content needs to be unique. If you say and do the same thing as your competition, there’s no reason for Google to put it above your competition. “Solving problems” is a great way to be useful. Beyond that, giving the same information in a simpler way than your competitor makes it useful. Make sure you tell your customer’s your message by using text, images, and especially video. Tip: Use youtube to get the fastest rankings on Google.
