Google is like a middleman – a manufactures’ rep, if you will – that is the key point of contact between your business and the prospects that are searching for your products and services. You didn’t hire this representative, however. The fact that Google is the most pervasive search engine in the world, you’re forced to deal with them, and on their terms. In order to get to any prospects, you first need to explain, in as much details as possible, what it is you are trying to market and to whom. This explanation being provided to Google comes in the form of your website and other elements of your company’s online presence. Google can only know what its automated systems can understand via the content of your website and other items it finds online about what your are selling or providing. Google cannot see photos, graphics or videos. Google can only parse written words. For this reason, the content of any website that wants to communicate well with Google needs to be well organized, clearly written and as concise as possible. From just the words on your website, Google needs to be able to understand what it is you are offering and to whom you are offering it. If Google can’t figure that out efficiently and effectively, your website will rarely, if ever, show up on the first or second search engine results page or SERP. There are a lot of other signals that Google looks at besides words, like internal links, outbound links, inbound links, optimized pages (which make it easier for Google to understand and categorize the information on the page), mobile friendliness, ease of use, and more. Google also take some signals from social media and other websites.
To be successful in search, you need to make sure that Google, the middleman that is standing between you and your online customer, knows what you’re trying to accomplish. The more attention that is paid to all of these elements that help Google know what it is you’re trying to do, the better chance your website will show up higher in the search listings for the key words and phrases (i.e. features of your products or services) on which you want to be found online.