Among search engines today, Google covers the majority of searches. With over 8.5 billion searches made in a day, Google dominates the search engine niche.
However, not everyone seems to be satisfied with how Google has been ranking search results. For a few years now, Google has been accused of being biased.
The allegations of its biases are usually seen more from political-leaning organizations and businesses stuck in stiff competition with other businesses. Google is sometimes accused of favoring certain political beliefs over others and favoring its own business branches over companies that offer the same services. So, the big question is, “Is Google biased”?
In this article, we will try to answer the question, “Is Google biased?” and dive into how it really ranks search engine results.
In this article
- Is Google Biased?
- How to Improve Page Rankings
- Perform a Page Audit
- Deliver High-Quality Content
- Provide a Great User Experience
- Update Content Regularly
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Take Away
- Related Reads
Is Google Biased?
The short answer to this question is yes; Google definitely has its biases, but not in the way you may think or in a way that people accuse them of. To this day, there is no actual evidence that Google is manually favoring some web pages over others. So, it is not true to say that the algorithm is rigged.
However, Google’s ranking algorithm is biased on things such as the number of keywords, the length of content, its reliability, and even the webpage loading speed. On the other hand, Google biased against inaccurate and harmful content. In overview, Google favors webpages that have real value to users and readers.
With this said, let us dive deeper into how you can improve your website ranking on search engines such as Google.
How To Improve Page Rankings
1. Perform a Page Audit
A plan will only be effective if it is tailored to address existing problems or issues. That is why a page audit is necessary to know which areas need to be addressed. A page audit involves but is not limited to the following:
- Domain – Check if your current domain is relevant to your products and services.
- Page factors – One factor that affects Google’s bias is page loading time. So, knowing where you are when it comes to loading speed is very important.
- Content – Content length and accuracy are the top two factors that affect how Google ranks your webpage.
Checking these factors will give you a good position on where you are when it comes to creating a plan and will let you know if is Google biased or not.
2. Deliver High-Quality Content
By now, everyone knows the impact of content quality when it comes to Google search rankings. Content is basically what helps you attract and convert leads. When it comes to this factor, here are a few things you have to consider:
- Keywords
Keywords are what your target audience types into the search engine. So, this part is crucial when it comes to planning your content. If you are producing content that talks about the benefits of digital marketing, your keyword should be relevant to this topic. There are many online tools that can help you land a keyword that would give maximum results.
You can target keywords with lesser competition so that your page has a better chance of ranking high. Keyword placement along the article is also important to make sure that google recognizes this as valuable. You should avoid placing keywords in a forced and promotional manner.
- Accurate and Relevant Information
When it comes to the overall content, it should be accurate and relevant. In addition, it should be timely. When users search these engines, they are most likely looking for answers. These answers may be in the form of explanations or products that are helpful.
So, your content should produce helpful answers to these queries. The overall content should not appear as though it was created for ranking purposes. At the end of the day, the quality determines how users interact with your page.
3. Provide a Great User Experience
In definition, the user experience is how users or page visitors perceive their interaction with your webpage. There are many factors that affect this. Some of these factors are how easily navigational and responsive your page is. These things determine whether or not the user continues to interact with your page, thereby affecting how Google perceives your page.
Some things to note to ensure a great user experience:
- Page Loading Time
Nobody wants a webpage that is as slow as a turtle. Slow web pages usually cause users to close the tab and find another website. Generally, this move hurts your ranking.
One of the factors that affect loading time is the images found on the webpage. Make sure that the images you put on there are not too large, so it won’t affect the loading time.
- Navigation
The overall layout of your page also affects the user experience. Make sure that everything on your page can easily be accessed. For example, if you are an e-commerce site, the checkout process should be easily accessible after putting the items in the cart. A good layout decreases the chances of users leaving your page.
- Mobile Responsiveness
In a digitally influenced world, we use different types of devices, but mostly mobile ones. That is why it is important that your website is accessible through mobile devices. Mobile responsiveness highly depends on the layout and size of the web elements present.
4. Update Content Regularly
As mentioned above, the content should always be informative and relevant. Since we are living in a fast-paced world, facts usually change as there are new discoveries along the way.
So, your content must always be updated. This step helps ensure you are not feeding false information over the internet. Also, this helps you identify pages that need to be improved.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I make Google unbiased?
Google’s algorithm might raise the question, “Is Google biased?” toward some websites. But it is not like it will help only a few websites rank higher. But to get unbiased search results from Google, you can do the following things:
1. Search in private browsing site
2. Delete your search history
3. Regularly clear your cookies and cache data
4. Hide your location to get depersonalized data, among many other methods.
What is the most trustworthy search engine?
According to the Oberlo statistics, Google’s worldwide search engine market share is 92.49%. In the U.S., the market share is 87.72% which is making the most used search engine and the most trustworthy search engine too.
Take Away
Is Google biased? The answer is most likely yes, but it does not manually control its biases. These biases are anchored on factors that help create high-quality websites, both in content and experience. Today, these factors are needed more than ever to help filter pages that do not necessarily provide valuable information to users.
Listed above are some of the best ways to make sure that you meet the factors in which Google leans in.
Related Reads:
- Understanding Website Crawlability and Indexability for SEO 2022
- Top 5 Strategies For Improving Search Engine Visibility In 2022
- Could Your Site Become a Victim of Negative SEO?
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