How Google Reads Your Blog

Smart businesses know that in order to truly serve their customer, they need to put themselves in their customers shoes and learn to think like them.

They need to feel their pain, understand their needs and figure out how they can serve people efficiently and effectively.

Which is why it makes sense that when Google is serving their customers with search results they aren’t acting as robotically as one might think. They’re thinking: how would a real life human react when they see the content on this site? 

The algorithm attempts to calculate the answer to this question using ranking factors. But at the very core, the algorithm is just trying to put itself in the shoes of the customer conducting a search and trying its best to think like him or her.

In other words they think: WWUD – What Would Users Do?

A user who has clicked on a search result will be taken to a page and immediately evaluate the content on the following fronts: trustworthiness, authority, quality, editorial standards, and overall experience.

Trustworthiness

• Would a user trust the information presented in this article?
• Would a user be comfortable giving their credit card information to this site?

Authority

• Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?
• Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?
• Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
• Does the article describe both sides of a story?
• Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?

Quality

• Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?
• Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
• Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?
• How much quality control is done on content?
• Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
• Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?

Editorial standards

• Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?
• Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
• Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?
• Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?
• Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
• Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?

Overall experience

• Is this the sort of page a user want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
• Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
• Would users complain when they see pages from this site?

For more algorithm wisdom from Google, check out this post on webmaster quality guidelines.

[Image: nathanmac87]