Take a peek under the hood and learn how Google works to rank websites. Understanding these search algorithm basics will help you build a smarter SEO strategy and get your site in front of the right audience.
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You know that Google is essential for getting found online, but have you ever wondered how it all works?
Don’t worry- you don’t need a computer science degree to understand it (I definitely don’t!).
In this post, I’ll break down Google’s process in simple terms so you can better understand how to make it work for your business.
What is a Search Engine?
Let’s start with the basics.
A search engine, like Google, is a tool that helps people find information on the internet.
It’s like a librarian for all the world’s information, sifting through billions of web pages to find the most relevant answers to your questions.
But how does Google decide which web pages to show?
It happens in three stages: Crawling, Indexing, and Ranking.
Crawling: How Google Finds Your Website
Google’s first step is crawling, where Google’s bots (often called spiders) roam the internet, moving from link to link to discover new pages.
Crawling is how Google finds your site, and making it easy for Google to crawl can increase your chances of showing up in search results.
Several elements affect how well Google’s spiders can crawl your website:
Site Structure (The Roadmap)
Your website’s structure acts like a roadmap for Google’s spiders.
If your site is well-organized with clear paths (internal links) between pages, Google will be able to navigate and find all your content more easily.
Sitemaps & robots.txt (Google’s Instructions)
A sitemap is a list of all the pages on your site you want Google to know about, like a table of contents. Submitting your sitemap through Google Search Console gives Google a helpful guide to follow.
Additionally, a file called robots.txt tells Google which pages to ignore all together.
Mobile-First Indexing
Google now primarily uses the mobile version of websites for indexing and ranking.
While this doesn’t directly affect how Google crawls your site, it does mean that issues on your mobile version, like missing content or poor navigation, can impact how your site is indexed and ranked.
Common Crawling Mistakes
Here are a few common issues that can prevent Google from crawling your site fully:
- Forgetting to submit a sitemap: Without a sitemap, Google might miss some pages, especially newer or less-linked ones.
- Accidentally blocking important pages with robots.txt: An incorrectly configured robots.txt file can block Google from crawling certain parts of your website.
- Broken links: These can disrupt the “crawling path”, leaving parts of your site undiscovered.
- Non-mobile-friendly site structure: Poor mobile layout or navigation can make it harder for Google to crawl effectively, especially with mobile-first indexing in place.
[FAQ] How can I check if Google is crawling my website?
- If your website appears in search results, it has been crawled by Google at some point.If it’s not showing up, check out: Why Isn’t My Site Showing Up On Google?
- To check the crawl status of a specific page (e.g., when it was last crawled), go to Google Search Console, select URL Inspection, and enter your page’s URL. You’ll see when the page was last crawled and whether it’s eligible to be indexed.
- Want Google to crawl a new page or re-crawl an updated page? Use the Request Indexing option in the URL Inspection tool after submitting your URL
Crawling Checklist
- Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console.
- Make sure your website is easy to navigate by internally linking relevant pages.
- Avoid blocking important pages with your robots.txt file.
- Use an audit tool like Ubersuggest.com to check for broken links.
- Make sure your most important pages are linked to your homepage.
Indexing: How Google Understands Your Content
Once Google has crawled your site, it moves to indexing, where it interprets and organizes your content to store in its vast database of web pages.
This step is critical because if Google doesn’t fully understand or interpret your content correctly, it may not appear in search results.
Several factors influence how Google indexes and interprets your content:
Meta Directives
Meta directives are instructions you can give Google about how to index specific pages on your site.
For example, you can use a noindex tag to tell Google not to store certain pages in its index.
These rules are added in the head section of your site’s code, but plugins like Yoast (for WordPress) make this pretty easy to manage.
Content Interpretation
Google tries to understand the purpose and meaning of your content, not just individual words.
It evaluates headings, page structure, and specific settings like WordPress’s reading settings, which can tell Google which page is your main homepage.
Organizing your content well helps Google see its relevance and intent.
Schema Markup
Adding schema markup (structured data) is a more advanced way to provide context about your content.
Schema markup gives Google additional details, such as information about your business, products, or services.
This also enhances your search results with rich snippets (like star ratings or event details), which can boost your click-through rate.
Common Indexing Mistakes
Sometimes, even after crawling, Google might not index your pages correctly due to issues like:
- Using “noindex” tags on important pages: If your key pages are set to “noindex,” Google will skip them entirely in search results.
- Duplicate content issues: Duplicate or thin content can cause Google to skip indexing certain pages, as it sees them as low-quality or redundant so it doesn’t want to waste space on them.
- Blocking search engines in WordPress settings: A common mistake is accidentally selecting “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” in WordPress, making the entire site invisible to Google.
[FAQ] How can I check if Google has indexed my website or specific pages?
In Google Search Console, the Pages report is also helpful for checking which pages Google has successfully indexed.
Look for:
Indexed Pages: “Indexed” pages in the report indicate successful indexing, meaning Google has added them to search results.
Non-Indexed Pages: If important pages appear under “Not Indexed,” it means they were crawled but not indexed, often due to duplicate content, a “noindex” directive, or low perceived value.
The Pages report allows you to see both crawling and indexing details in one place, but there is a difference: crawling tells you if Google can access a page, while indexing tells you if Google has stored it for use in search results.
Indexing Checklist
- Check Google Search Console for indexed pages and errors.
- Use meta directives (like noindex) cautiously to tell Google which pages to skip.
- Verify that your site settings (like in WordPress) are not blocking search engines.
- Use a plugin like Yoast to manage meta tags without coding.
- Organize your content with clear headings (H1, H2, etc.).
Ranking: How Google Decides Which Websites Make the Cut
The final step is ranking, where Google decides which pages appear in search results and in what order.
Getting a spot in search results starts with the essentials, technical SEO, keywords, and quality content.
But to reach top positions? Google uses advanced systems to measure how helpful and relevant your page is likely to be.
Now up front, I want to acknowledge this is the section that gets the techiest. And if you want the Cliffs Notes, I’ve provided that summary below in the ivory-colored text box.
But I’ll encourage you to put your hair up and dig into the details of this system, because it will well and truly help you understand what it takes to rank on the first page of Google.
If you want to UNDERSTAND why keywords aren’t enough to “rank” anymore, I’ll nudge you to wade into the details.
How Google Decides Which Websites Rank Best [The Simple Answer]
Google ranks websites by figuring out which pages are the most helpful and relevant to the searcher.
Here’s how it works:
First, Google Looks at the Basics:
Things like keywords, page quality, backlinks, and technical health (like how fast your site loads) get you into the running.
Next, AI Fine-Tunes the Results:
Google uses AI to figure out what the searcher really wants (search intent) and looks at how people interact with the results (engagement).
Finally, Other Factors Come Into Play:
Depending on the query, Google might prioritize newer content (freshness) or results close to the searcher’s location (locality).
At the end of the process, the websites that match the searcher’s needs the best—while keeping them engaged—are the ones that rank highest.
Want to get a little deeper into the weeds? Keep reading!
Initial Ranking: Core Algorithms, BERT, and Neural Matching
Google’s core algorithms and machine learning systems identify pages likely to be relevant based on traditional SEO metrics and its advanced language understanding.
This includes factors like:
- Technical Health: Google values fast load times and an easy user experience, as measured by Core Web Vitals.
- Keywords and Content Relevance: Google checks if your content covers the topics people are searching for.
- Backlinks: Quality links from other sites are like “votes of confidence” that your content is valuable.
- Content Quality: High-quality, well-organized content has a better shot at getting noticed.
- BERT: This AI system helps Google understand the intent behind search queries, especially for longer, conversational searches. This helps Google get better and better and giving the most relevant results.
- Neural Matching: Another AI system, Neural Matching helps Google link broad concepts to relevant pages, even if there’s no exact keyword match.
Together, these systems pull together a shortlist of high-quality, relevant results, creating a pool for further re-ranking based factors like user engagement and search intent.
Re-Ranking: RankBrain and User Engagement Signals
Once Google’s core algorithms narrow down the top 20-30 most relevant results, RankBrain, one of Google’s AI systems, steps in to refine the ranking based on search intent and user engagement.
RankBrain uses these factors to re-rank results:
- Search Intent: RankBrain examines what the searcher is likely looking for, even if the query is worded differently. It adjusts results to better align with the user’s intent.
- User Engagement: RankBrain learns from engagement signals to predict which results are most helpful. It looks at:
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): Do people click on your page in the search results?
- Dwell Time: How long do they stay on your page?
- Scroll Depth and Interactions: Are they scrolling, clicking, and engaging with your content?
RankBrain learns over time which types of content best satisfied different searches and it uses that information to make predictions about the best result for future searches.
So, once you’re in the top 20-30 results, user experience, engagement, and search intent alignment are what really push your page higher.
Other Re-Ranking Systems:
Besides RankBrain, Google has other systems that can play a role in re-ranking depending on the search query.
These include systems that re-rank based on freshness or location:
- Freshness: This helps newer or more recently-updated content appear higher in search results.
- Locality: For location-based searches, Google applies local algorithms that prioritize businesses and content close to the searcher’s location, helping ensure that people see nearby options for local intent queries.
Fine-Tuning with Quality Rater Feedback
Finally, Google uses feedback from [human quality raters] to help improve how it assesses content quality.
Quality raters look at search results based on criteria like expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) to help Google’s systems improve over time.
While this feedback doesn’t directly change rankings, it helps Google’s algorithms get better at delivering reliable results.
Keywords Aren't Enough Anymore. Now What?
Understanding Google’s process of Crawling, Indexing, and Ranking gives you a clearer picture of what makes a website “search engine friendly.”
Each step builds on the last:
Crawling ensures Google finds your site.
Indexing allows it to understand your content.
Ranking determines if your content is the best answer to a searcher’s question.
To improve your chances of ranking well, you’ve got to think like today’s Google, and reimagine your SEO beyond keywords.
- Build a technically sound, user-friendly site. That’s your ticket for entry into Google’s index.
- Create content that aligns with what your audience is searching for. And make sure your content is so good, it concludes their search- that is, they won’t need to click back to Google to find additional information.
- Make sure your website is built with your users in mind. It should be quick to load, simple to navigate and a joy to consume.
- Keep your content fresh. Update old content, produce new content.
- Build your brand beyond your website. Pick a social media platform, guest on podcasts, claim your Google Business Profile (if you’re eligible).
By aligning your content with Google’s processes, you’re well-positioned to make your site visible and accessible to the people who need your services.
Ready to turn your understanding of Google into a smarter SEO strategy?
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