Search engines will provide search results for every query that a user types. They survey a wide range of websites on the internet to determine what they are looking for. They use a complex algorithm to determine which search queries will display the best results.

Google is the focus of SEO

Many people associate the term “search engine” with Google. Google has 92% of the global search engine market. Google is the most popular search engine, and an affordable SEO agency often focused on what works best for Google. It is helpful to understand how Google works.

Google’s needs

Google was created to provide the best search experience for its users or searchers. This means providing relevant results as fast as possible. The search term (the user input), and the search results are the core elements of the search experience.

Let’s assume you search for “Mailchimp tutorials and guides”. This is a very clear search. Google knows what you are looking for and delivers the most useful page as the top organic search result.

Google views this as a positive search result. It’s also likely that users will click on the top results and be satisfied with the result.

Google’s money-making strategies

Google makes money from people trusting its search engine and valuing it. Google achieves this by providing useful search results.

Google offers businesses the chance to purchase an advertorial spot at the top search results pages. These listings are indicated by the word “Ad”. The pay-per-click (PPC), advertisements that Google sells through AdWords make Google money. These ads will be visible on queries that are more general.

These search results are almost indistinguishable from other search results except for the small label. This is deliberate since many users click on these search results and don’t realize they are ads.

Google is counting on this. Google generated $182.5 billion in advertising revenues in 2020. Although search functions are still Google’s core product, its advertising business is critical.

Search results anatomy

The SERPs are a mix of paid and organic search results. Organic results do not contribute to Google’s revenues. Google instead delivers organic results based on its assessment of the site’s quality and relevance. Google may include images, videos, and maps depending on the type of search query.

The search terms that users have used to determine the volume of ads displayed on a SERP. For example, if you search for “shoes”, you would likely see a lot of ads. To find the first organic result, you will likely have to scroll further down.

This query generates many ads because the searcher may be looking for shoes online. There are many shoe companies that will pay to appear in AdWords results.

However, you will get different results if your search is for “Atlanta Falcons”. The top results will be related to this because the search is primarily tied to the name of the American football team. It’s still not a clear question. There will be news stories, a knowledge graph, and a homepage. These three types of results indicate that Google does not know your exact intent but will provide quick links to information about the team, their latest news, and their website.

Advertisers aren’t willing to bid on the keyword as there is no intent to purchase, so there aren’t any AdWords results.

If you change your query to “Atlanta Falcons Hat”, which indicates to Google that you may be shopping, the SERPs results will change to include more sponsored results.

SEO: What is its role?

SEO’s goal is to improve your rank in organic search results. SEO can be done in different ways: AdWords optimization, local optimization, and shopping optimization.

Although it might seem that there are too many elements competing for real estate on the SERPs, SEO is still a powerful and lucrative effort.

Google processes billions upon billions of search queries every day. Organic search results make up a large portion of this pie. While there are some upfront and ongoing investments required to maintain and secure organic rankings, each click that brings traffic to your site is free.