How Google Works
This chapter explains those elements of the Google ranking process that will matter
most to you. It is not meant however to be an exhaustive inside look of how Google
works – only a handful of persons at Google know this.
Google, like other search engines, uses automated software to read, analyze,
compare, and rank your web pages. So you need to know what elements and factors
Google cares about, and how important these factors are in relation to each other.
Because this is an important concept, it will be repeated: Google uses automated
software to analyze your website – not human beings. Which means that visual
elements of your website that may matter to you – like layout, color, animation,
Flash, and other graphics are ignored by Google. The Google search engine is like a
blind person reading a book in Braille – anything that is graphical, spatial, or visual in
nature is simply not seen.
As such, you need to start thinking like the Google search engine.
So What Is a Ranking?
As stated previously, a ranking on a search engine is a web page’s listing and
relative placement on a results page (also known as a SERP) for a certain search
query. As an example, if you type “house plans” into the search box at Google, you
will get those listings displayed (10 listings per page by default) that Google deems
most relevant to the search phrase house plans, sorted in order of relative
importance.
