How To Reach The Top of 3 Different Search Engines

Post contributed by Hannah Whittenly

No matter what type of website you run, getting to the top of the search rankings is obviously one of your primary goals. After all, what’s the point of even making a site if it’s hidden so far down in the rankings that few, if any, visitors are likely to ever find it? In this sense, it’s really all about the search engine optimization or SEO. Be aware that ranking highly on one search engine doesn’t guarantee success on another. Every search engines uses its own algorithm to determine who shows up on top of results. Therefore, you need to be smart about optimizing your content to make sure it’s highly visible in all the major search engines.

Understand the Importance of Google

Google is far and away the world’s most popular search engine. In fact, nearly 75 percent of all online searches are performed using Google, which leaves Bing and all the rest scrambling amongst themselves for the other 25 percent of people that prefer not to use Google for one reason or another. Of course, the fact that it accounts for such a huge proportion of all searches is the reason why many online marketing professionals look to Google first when developing their SEO strategy.

The only problem is that Google is constantly changing and updating its algorithm, and each new change generally means having to update your strategy. Otherwise, you may risk your site being penalized as soon as the new search algorithm comes into effect. Luckily, many things tend to remain the same, and most of the changes are designed to punish so-called black hat practices designed to game the system. This means that you should use recommended white hat tactics and focus on optimizing the important factors like building quality backlinks, offering real information and relative content, using the right keywords and following other Google approved SEO practices.

Get Your Rankings Higher on Bing

Bing is the second most used search engine in the world. Even if it is still dwarfed by Google, Bing is popular enough that it can’t be ignored. Luckily, the steps to ranking high on Bing are mostly the same as those for getting to the top of the Google rankings. Nonetheless, whereas the Google algorithm has gotten much better at judging the overall quality of the content, Bing’s algorithm still focuses more on traditional methods such as metadata.

Having the primary keyword you wish to rank for in the title of the page, description and domain is much more important to ranking high in Bing searches. In addition, it is important to note that the Bing crawler still only looks at the first 100mb of a website, which makes it essential that you properly optimize the content in this space. This is in contrast to Google’s crawling bots, which now analyze the first 200mb. For these reasons, ranking high on Bing can sometimes be a bit more difficult than Google and thus more likely to require the help of an SEO professional.

Don’t Neglect New Search Engines Like DuckDuckGo

More and more people are becoming uncomfortable with using Google due to the sheer volume of information it collects. This is precisely why DuckDuckGo is so appealing since it is one of the few search engines that don’t track user data. Of course, this search engine is still relatively new, but the huge increases in search volume DuckDuckGo is experiencing month after month shows that it’s likely to become a major competitor sooner rather than later. Although less is known about its particular algorithm, DuckDuckGo definitely places a large emphasis on quality backlinks and most of the other practices prioritized by the Google algorithm. The big difference is when it comes to local search rankings.

The fact that DuckDuckGo doesn’t track users means it never knows a user’s precise location like Google or Bing. Instead, it only knows the approximate location based off the user’s IP address. This makes it more difficult to rank when someone searches along the lines of “XX product or service near me.’ In this case, about all you can do is try to include additional information that your potential audience may put in their search, such as city, street, intersection, near such and such place, etc.

The truth is that for any website to succeed, requires lots of time and effort. This isn’t to say that you should spend all your time on SEO. After all, SEO only works to drive traffic to your site, and whatever happens from there is completely up to you. That’s is why you also need to spend plenty of time optimizing your website, as well as using other channels like social media and online marketing to grow traffic to your website.

Nonetheless, even the most beautiful, well-designed site won’t do you much good if it doesn’t attract any visitors. By following Google guidelines and focusing on fundamentals, you can make sure your website gains search engine visibility and attracts the necessary traffic for your website to grow and prosper.

Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She enjoys kayaking and reading books by the lake. If you’re looking for an SEO professional, Hannah recommends Colton Miller.

Photo by Georgie Cobbs on Unsplash