Top SEO companies in USA

1. First Page Sage

2. Duffy Agency

3.Boostability

4 LocaliQ

5.Epsilon

6. Seller Interactive

7.Aumcore

8. Clay Agency

9. Marketing Eye

10. Community Boost

Top SEO companies in USA

1. First Page Sage

2. Duffy Agency

3.Boostability

4 LocaliQ

5.Epsilon

6. Seller Interactive

7.Aumcore

8. Clay Agency

9. Marketing Eye

10. Community Boost

How does Google order and rank search results?

Google has a collection of algorithms such as Hummingbird, Panda and RankBrain that are responsible for deciding how to order and rank search engine results.

The machine-learning based algorithm RankBrain builds off Hummingbird and works by:

If RankBrain sees a word or phrase it isn’t familiar with, it uses artificial intelligence to understand it better by connecting it to similar search queries through word vectors – in other words, understand ‘search intent’.

It allows Google to understand these queries by converting keywords into known topics and concepts, meaning it can provide better search engine results – even when queries are unusual.

Rather than attempting to be the best keyword optimized result, RankBrain rewards websites that provide user satisfaction (by measuring it) and return the result that the user expects.

For ranking, you should also consider Google’s EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) framework which may not be a ranking factor but it’s a component of its Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines.

How do search engines actually work?

Search engines are used by people when they have a query and are searching online for the answer.

Search engine algorithms are computer programmes that look for clues to give searchers the exact results they are looking for. Search engines rely on algorithms to find web pages and decide which ones to rank for any given keyword. Remember there’s also social media algorithms to consider for search.

There are three steps to how search engines work: crawling, indexing and ranking.

Step 1: Search Engine Crawling

The first step is crawling. Search engines send out web crawlers to find new pages and record information about them. We sometimes call these web crawlers ‘spiders’,‘robots’ or Googlebots.

Their purpose is to discover new web pages that exist, and to periodically check the content on pages they’ve previously visited to see whether they’ve changed or been updated.

Search engines crawl web pages by following links they’ve already discovered. So if you have a blog and it’s linked from your homepage, when a search engine crawls your homepage, it will then look for another link and may follow the link to your new blog post.

Step 2: Search Engine Indexing

The second step is indexing. Indexing is when a search engine decides whether or not it is going to use the content that it has crawled. If a crawled web page is deemed worthy by a search engine, it will be added to its index.

This index is used at the final ranking stage. When a web page or piece of content is indexed, it is filed and stored in a database where it can later be retrieved. Most web pages that offer unique and valuable content are placed into the index. A web page might not be placed in the index if:

The content is considered duplicate

The content is considered low value or spammy

It couldn’t be crawled

The page or domain lacked inbound links

Top tip: You can check your indexed pages by typing ‘site:yourdomain.com’ in the search bar (see our example below). This will show you the pages showing up on Google. For a more detailed report you can look at the ‘Index Coverage report’ in Google Search Console.

Google Search Console site search

Google Search Console site search

Step 3: Search Engine Ranking

The third step is really the most important, and that is ranking. Ranking can only happen after the crawling and indexing steps are complete. So once a search engine has crawled and indexed your site, your site can be ranked.

There are more than 200 ranking signals that search engines use to sort and rank content, and they all fit under the three pillars of SEO: technical optimization, on-page optimization, and off-page optimization.

Some examples of signals that search engines use to rank web pages are:

Keyword in title tag – Whether the keyword or a synonym was mentioned on the page and within the title tag

Loading speed – Whether the web page loads quickly and is mobile-friendly

Website reputation – Whether the web page and website is considered reputable for the topic being searched for

Backlinks – the quantity and quality of backlinks to a web page

Content quality and relevance – Is the content valuable and relevant to the website’s target audience?

Mobile friendliness – Are pages, content and images optimized for mobile?

It’s not all about differences – there are also similarities between paid and organic search:

Keyword research: You use a search engine for both paid and organic search, and both require a user to enter a keyword. So you need to do keyword research for organic search and paid search.

Landing pages: Both types of search require you to create great landing pages. For SEO, the landing page needs to be connected to your website. For paid search, it can be the exact same landing page you use for organic, or it can be a completely separate stand-alone page that sits on your website.

Traffic: Generating traffic is a major goal of both paid and organic search. Most importantly, both paid and organic search traffic include user intent. That is, someone is asking Google a question or searching for information – they are in an active mindset and as a result they are more likely to take action once they find this information.

It’s not all about differences – there are also similarities between paid and organic search:

Keyword research: You use a search engine for both paid and organic search, and both require a user to enter a keyword. So you need to do keyword research for organic search and paid search.

Landing pages: Both types of search require you to create great landing pages. For SEO, the landing page needs to be connected to your website. For paid search, it can be the exact same landing page you use for organic, or it can be a completely separate stand-alone page that sits on your website.

Traffic: Generating traffic is a major goal of both paid and organic search. Most importantly, both paid and organic search traffic include user intent. That is, someone is asking Google a question or searching for information – they are in an active mindset and as a result they are more likely to take action once they find this information.

It’s not all about differences – there are also similarities between paid and organic search:

Keyword research: You use a search engine for both paid and organic search, and both require a user to enter a keyword. So you need to do keyword research for organic search and paid search.

Landing pages: Both types of search require you to create great landing pages. For SEO, the landing page needs to be connected to your website. For paid search, it can be the exact same landing page you use for organic, or it can be a completely separate stand-alone page that sits on your website.

Traffic: Generating traffic is a major goal of both paid and organic search. Most importantly, both paid and organic search traffic include user intent. That is, someone is asking Google a question or searching for information – they are in an active mindset and as a result they are more likely to take action once they find this information.

What are the three pillars of SEO?

As a digital marketer, knowing how to get your brand, website, or company found by searchers is a core skill, and understanding how SEO is evolving will keep you at the top of your game. 

While SEO changes frequently in small ways, its key principles do not. We can break SEO into three core components or pillars that you need to be familiar with – and action regularly:

Technical Optimization: Technical Optimization is the process of completing activities on your site that are designed to improve SEO but are not related to content. It often happens behind the scenes. A simple example of technical optimization is submitting your sitemap to Google. 

On-Page Optimization: On-Page Optimization is the process of ensuring the content on your site is relevant and provides a great user experience. It includes targeting the right keywords within your content and can be done through a content management system like WordPress, Wix, Drupal, Joomla, Magento, or Shopify.

Off-Page Optimization: Off-Page Optimization is the process of enhancing your site’s search engine rankings through activities outside of the site. This is largely driven by high-quality backlinks, which help to build the site’s reputation.