How to Look at Your Website the Way Google Does
When you lot pass months or years on a website, non to elevate thousands of dollars, it’s difficult to stride dorsum too facial expression at it objectively. Can you lot facial expression at it through the eyes of your users? Can you lot facial expression at it the means Google does?
If you lot tin facial expression at your website the means Google does, you’ll belike discovery areas inwards which your website needs work. So inwards that spirit, I’m going to learn you lot how you lot tin encounter your website from Google’s perspective, too how you lot tin too thus target the areas that demand improvement.
First, Google finds your website
In company to see your website, Google needs to honor it.
When you lot create a website, Google volition discovery it eventually. The Googlebot systematically crawls the web, discovering websites, gathering information on those websites, too indexing that information to hold upwardly returned inwards searching.
You tin assist the Googlebot amongst this process, too you lot should. If you lot larn through the steps below, your site volition larn indexed faster.
- First, create a sitemap – a sitemap is a special document created precisely for search engines. If your site lacks a sitemap, you lot demand to install one. WordPress users tin install the Google Sitemap Generator for an slow but effective means to create one. Otherwise, you lot tin utilization sites like xml-sitemaps.com to generate one. You’ll demand to upload the site map file to your root directory.
- Submit your website to Google Webmaster Tools – Google Webmaster Tools is the go-to resources for lots of valuable information. As a start step, you lot should sign your site upwardly amongst Google Webmaster Tools to ensure that it’s beingness indexed too returned yesteryear Google. Once you’ve done this, it’s fourth dimension to add together your sitemap. In Google Webmaster Tools, click on your site. Then, navigate to “Crawl” too and thus “Sitemaps”. If in that place is no sitemap, click “Add/Test Sitemap” inwards the upper right corner. Add the sitemap you lot created inwards the stride above.
- Go the extra mile – if you lot desire to larn the extra mile, you lot tin inquire Google to index your site on the Webmaster Tool URL submission page.
Now that Google sees your website you lot demand to honor out what they’re going to encounter when they facial expression at it.
Google doesn’t facial expression at anything blocked yesteryear robots.txt
Your Robots.txt tells Google, “you tin facial expression at these sections of my site, but non these other sections.”
If in that place are whatever files, pages, or directories on your site that are disallowed, too thus Google volition comply amongst your asking yesteryear non indexing them. As a result, these pages volition non hold upwardly returned inwards search engine results.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 robots.txt tin hold upwardly every bit uncomplicated or complicated every bit you lot want. I recommend the uncomplicated approach.
All you lot demand is a text file on your spider web server, titled robots.txt. Before looking at your site, it checks to encounter what it has permission to crawl. When Google comes crawling your site, it volition facial expression for this file.
The next robots.txt says, “Yes, larn ahead. Crawl everything.” That’s because in that place is nada listed later on “disallow.”
User-agent: *
Disallow:
If you lot listing anything later on “Disallow:” too thus Google volition non index that page or directory. For example:
Disallow: /trafficsystem/
Disallow: /wp-admin/
Disallow: /*?
Disallow: /*.css$
How tin you lot tell if you lot receive got a robots.txt file?
Type inwards your URL, followed yesteryear /robots.txt. If you lot encounter a page similar this, it’s a robots.txt file.

You tin also honor out if Google is fetching robots.txt information yesteryear checking the principal dashboard of your Google Webmaster Tools account.

If you lot receive got no robots.txt file, too thus Google volition only crawl too index your entire site. That mightiness hold upwardly okay. But if in that place are sections of your site that you lot prefer not to hold upwardly crawled or indexed, you lot should create a robots.txt file, too listing them.
Using a robots.txt tin hold upwardly a groovy means to block off sections of your website that are creating duplicate content. For instance, some content management systems volition create extra pages for comments or unnecessary variations of webpages. If that is happening to your website, too thus block them off inwards your robots.txt file.
Google looks at your title
After checking your robots.txt file, Google looks at a nugget of content on your website — the page title. It’s a meta tag, enclosed yesteryear <title> inwards your page’s HTML code.
The championship tag has been called “the unmarried most of import on-page SEO element”, too “the most of import on page SEO factor”.

Here’s how Google sees your championship tag:
- Google sees your entire title, but entirely 65 characters matter. Those 65 characters is what a user volition encounter when your page appears inwards the search engine results pages (SERPs). For Quick Sprout, Google see’s “Quick Sprout – I’m Kind of a Big Deal” every bit shown inwards the paradigm above.
- Google sees all the titles on all your pages, too wants each i to hold upwardly unique. Don’t give every page on your site the same title.
- Google sees the keywords inwards the title, but doesn’t desire to encounter keyword stuffing. In other words your championship tag should comprise to a greater extent than than precisely keywords.
Google looks at your description
After looking at your title, Google moves on to your page description.
The page description is some other meta tag, this fourth dimension enclosed yesteryear the <description> tag.
Although Google indexes your meta description, it doesn’t utilization it every bit a ranking factor. In other words, you’re non going to larn higher rankings amongst some sizzling genius of a keyword-focused description tag. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 description is in that place for your users, too Google looks at the description to display to users on the SERP.

You should include a meta description on each page, recognizing that Google looks at it, but doesn’t depend on it every bit a major ranking factor.
Make sure you lot write a brief meta description for each page, larn far roughly 160 characters, too most of import write it for humans too search engines.
Remember! This description is belike the entirely gratuitous advertising re-create you lot larn on the entire planet. So don’t gloss over it. Spend fourth dimension crafting compelling descriptions that volition increase your click-through rate.
Google can’t encounter what your images facial expression like, but they facial expression at alt tags to encounter what the paradigm is about
Google is pretty goodness at looking at precisely nigh everything on your site. They’re even good at searching yesteryear image.

But for your site, alt tags on images are what really matters. This is what Google indexes too uses every bit role of the search returns. Even though it can’t necessarily “see” the image, it sees what you lot render inwards the alt tag.
An alt tag is role of the HTML code for whatever paradigm on your site.
<img src=”http://www.example.com/picture.png” alt=”Keyword Phrase”>
The “keyword” inwards the draw higher upwardly is where you lot should render a brief description of your image. Every unmarried paradigm needs this, too it needs to hold upwardly a description that is related to the actual image.
In some CMSs, the alt tags are automatically generated. Sometimes, they are applied indiscriminately yesteryear individual who is non aware of proper alt tagging practices. The tags destination upwardly looking similar this:
alt=”image001″
alt=”headerimg-gif”
alt=”CANONDSC019919F80009″
alt=”file01-smiling-boy-2014-04-17″
These are useless.
Instead, you lot should create alt tags for images that are descriptive, keyword smart, too useful. To brand sure you lot receive got alt tags, only facial expression at your HTML code to encounter if in that place is information later on alt= for each image.
You may desire to cheque your robots.txt to brand sure that you’re non disallowing images from beingness crawled on the site. Once you lot receive got images all nicely alt tagged, larn ahead too allow the crawlers loose on this valuable source of rank potential.
Here is an illustration of what you lot should not have on your robots.txt.

What you lot demand to do is add together descriptive too keyword-sensitive alt tags to every paradigm on your site. If you lot run an ecommerce website hold upwardly sure you lot include whatever model or series numbers inwards your alt tags.
Google looks at content
Now we’ve come upwardly to the most of import aspect of what Google sees… your content.
By “content,” I hateful everything that is unfettered yesteryear HTML code too displayed for users inwards all its glorious brilliance — undaunted yesteryear length requirements, too gratuitous to bring powerful, compelling, too useful information.
Content! I dearest it.
Every unmarried give-and-take on your page is seen too indexed yesteryear Google. And the to a greater extent than content you lot have, the better. Google is non express inwards how many pages of your website it volition crawl, index, too return. It reaches everything.
I recommend that you lot have plenty of content on every page. You can’t larn incorrect amongst lots of content. But please, brand sure that it’s character content.
Not entirely does Google facial expression at all your content, but they plough their Googlebot heads whenever you lot publish new content. That is why I insist on producing epic-length content every week, and why I propose that you lot do the same.
How to create a high character website
To succeed online inwards the long term you lot demand to receive got a high character website.
Whether you lot are running a tidings blog, a content driven website or an e-commerce store, it has to hold upwardly dissimilar (and better) than the thousands of other websites inwards the same niche.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 high character website volition grow over fourth dimension both inwards damage of loyal readers but also inwards damage of search engine trust, which is equivalent to to a greater extent than organic visits.
Google engineers are trying for years to brand their algorithms clever plenty to seat too rank websites that are of goodness quality.
It is non an slow task, taking into draw of piece of employment organisation human relationship that everything has to hold upwardly decided yesteryear a reckoner programme too non a human.
Nevertheless amongst the introduction of ‘Panda’ a few years ago, it seems that they are inwards the right path.
The ‘Panda’ algorithmic changes made a goodness chore inwards identifying which websites are improve than the repose too and gave those a higher position inwards the SERPS.
I am non going to pass whatever to a greater extent than fourth dimension on the theory behind Panda, you lot tin read more here if you lot desire to honor out more.
What I am going to explicate below, is what Google considers to hold upwardly a high character website too most importantly what practical actions you lot tin guide to brand your spider web holding gibe the Google standards.
Don’t forget that if a website is considered high character yesteryear Google, too thus it volition hold upwardly considered every bit such by other search engines as good since Google’s standards are stricter than those of Bing or Yahoo.
What is a high character website?
Over the years the whole SEO manufacture is talking nigh the demand of producing high character content and hand experts came upwardly amongst the clever quote ‘Content is king’, important that content is the success factor of whatever website.
While this is true, does it hateful that a website amongst goodness content is also a high character website?
The reply is NO.
Good content is non enough.
It is i of the factors (the most important) that separates depression from high character sites but goodness content lonely does non consummate the puzzle of what is considered yesteryear Google every bit a high character website.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 high character spider web site has the next characteristics
- Unique content – Content is unique both inside the website itself (i.e. each page has unique content too non similar to other pages), but also compared to other websites.
- Expertise – Content is produced yesteryear experts based on query too or experience. If for illustration the dependent area is wellness related, too thus the advice should hold upwardly provided yesteryear qualified authors who tin professionally give advice for the exceptional subject.
- Unbiased content – Content is item too describes both sides of a even too is non promoting a unmarried product, thought or service.
- Accessibility – Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 high character website has versions for non PC users every bit well. It is of import that mobile too tablet users tin access the website without whatever usability issues.
- Usability – Can the user navigate the website easily; is the website user friendly?
- Attention to detail: Content is slow to read amongst images (if applicable) too gratuitous of spelling too grammer mistakes. Does it seem that the possessor cares on what is published on the website or is it for the role of having content inwards company to run ads?
- Optimization – Optimizing a spider web site for search engines has many benefits but it is of import non to overdo it. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 goodness character spider web site needs to receive got non-optimized content every bit well.
This is my persuasion too although some people may disagree it is a fact that over-optimization tin sometimes generate the contrary results.
The argue is that algorithms tin sometimes interpret over-optimization every bit an assay to game the organisation too they may guide measures to foreclose this from happening.
- Balance betwixt content too ads – It is non something bad for a website to receive got ads or promotions but these should non distract the users from finding the information they need.
- Speed – Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 high character website loads fast. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 fast website volition rank higher too create to a greater extent than conventions, sales too loyal readers.
- Social – Social media changed our lives, the means nosotros communicate but also the means nosotros assess quality.
It is expected for a goodness production to receive got goodness reviews, Facebook likes too Tweets. Before you lot brand a determination to purchase or not, you lot may examine these social factors every bit well.
Likewise, It is also expected for a goodness website to hold upwardly socially accepted too recognised i.e. receive got Facebook followers, RSS subscribers etc.
- User Engagement too Interaction– Do users pass plenty fourth dimension on the site too read to a greater extent than than i pages earlier they leave? Do they interact amongst the content yesteryear adding comments, making suggestions, getting into conversations etc.?
- How does it compare amongst the competition – When you lot guide a specific keyword, is your website improve than your competitors? Does it deserve i of the hand positions if judged without bias?
How do you lot create a high character website?
Taking into draw of piece of employment organisation human relationship the higher upwardly characteristics of a high character website, how do these interpret inwards practice?
What tin you lot do today to increase the character too ‘Google trust’ of your website?
- Check your site for content uniqueness – Ensure that you lot receive got unique content inwards all the pages. (I utilization copyscape to cheque all content earlier publishing to ensure that it is unique).
Check your existing pages too if you lot honor duplicate content either take away it or de-index it. If you lot receive got pages amongst similar content merge them into i too redirect the pages amongst 301 redirections.
- Go mobile. You should render for both a mobile version too native apps. The sense of the reader is of import regardless of the platform.
- Tidy upwardly your content. Check all articles/pages for spelling too grammer mistakes. Make right utilization of formatting tags i.e. H1, H2 too bold.
Use modest paragraphs to brand reading easier too add together images, illustrations or infographics to brand your content to a greater extent than interesting too appealing.
- Find out what readers want. Use the Google keyword tool to honor out what people are searching too give them content they desire but avoid over-optimization.
You tin write content around the keywords they empathise but assay to brand your posts social every bit well. Avoid using optimized titles all the fourth dimension but give-up the ghost on a residue betwixt optimized too non-optimized content.
- Minimize the amount of ads higher upwardly the fold. Google is penalizing websites having besides many ads higher upwardly the fold. This is also non goodness for the user experience. If you lot receive got goodness content, ads below the crimp too at the destination of your articles tin also perform well.
- Make your spider web site charge fast – Check your spider web site amongst the page speed tool and ensure that it loads every bit fast every bit possible.
I know that it’s non the easiest labor to do but it is really important.
If you lot are using WordPress you lot can read this guide: How to improve the loading speed of a WordPress website.
- Work on your social media promotion– Do you lot receive got a Facebook page, twitter account, Pinterest page too Google+?
If not, you lot are missing many opportunities. Read my previous post SEO boost your social media profiles on how to brand the most from your social media profiles.
- Check your bounce rate– One of the measures you lot demand to monitor, every bit explained inwards the Best Google analytics reports for beginners is the bounce rate.
Bounce charge per unit of measurement is the per centum of people who left your spider web site without viewing other pages.
You demand to aim for a depression bounce charge per unit of measurement thus cheque your analytics too seat which pages of your site receive got a high bounce charge per unit of measurement too right them.
Although officially, the bounce charge per unit of measurement is non a ranking factor, it is sure enough a factor that tin assist you lot create improve character websites.
- Check your competition – When individual makes a complain to Google nigh a website non ranking every bit high every bit it should, they sometimes reply amongst this: Give every bit examples of how your website is improve than the websites nosotros receive got inwards the hand positions.
In other words, what they are telling us is larn too cheque your competitors too assay to brand your content too websites better!
There is nada incorrect amongst that, inwards fact this is something you lot should do earlier creating your content.
What I do earlier writing an article is search Google for the keyword I desire to rank my article too taking a closer facial expression on the websites inwards the start page.
I cheque things similar content length, authorization of the website, authorization of the author too assay to brand my content improve too to a greater extent than usable.
- Keep your website salubrious too spam free – Last but non least, a high character website is spam free.
One of the mistakes made yesteryear big websites (think Newspapers) is non moderating their comments. As a resultant you lot encounter a ton of spam comments below their articles which is non a goodness user experience.
As a dominion of thumb, you lot demand to give-up the ghost on your website up-to-date inwards damage of software updates too to monitor too delete spam or inappropriate comments.
I am sure that in that place are many to a greater extent than characteristics that distinguish goodness websites from the repose but the higher upwardly guidelines are the bare minimum for producing websites that tin hold upwardly trusted yesteryear Google too considered every bit high quality.

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