With each new algorithm update, we see that Google cares more and more about the users' experience and rewards sites that focus on it.

You used to be able to get a site to rank well by simply throwing up a bunch of content you had copied & pasted from another site (i.e. duplicate content) and then getting a whole ton of backlinks to the site. Companies with deep pockets that could afford to buy backlinks or pay people to build thousands of backlinks for them could get their sites ranking high in the search results despite the fact that their sites were unhelpful, uninteresting and unenjoyable to visit. Gratefully, those days are past.

Today, Google focuses a lot on visitors' "experience" at your site. And it makes sense. If you're trying to show good, useful results to your users, why not use them to help you determine whether they like the results you're showing them? Did they like your site? Did they find it interesting and helpful? Did they see things on your site that they couldn't see on any other site? Did they find what they were looking for? You may be asking yourself, "How in the world can Google possibly know the answers to all those questions?" Well, Google can! Let's talk about how it knows.

Google tracks all kinds of statistical information about what your site's visitors do:

• Google tracks the amount of time each visitor stays on your site. If your average visitor only spends a few seconds on your site before they leave, that tells Google visitors aren't liking what they're seeing. If they spend a fair amount of time on your site, Google knows they are interested in your site's content.


• Google tracks the the number of pages each visitor views. Google assumes that if the average visitor only looks at a page or two, you don't have very interesting or useful content. But if your average visitor looks at a bunch of pages, they must find the content helpful and important.


• Google tracks your site's bounce rate, which is the percentage of people who "bounce" from your site without bothering to visit any additional pages. In other words, they leave the site having only seen the page they "landed on" (the landing page). If your site's bounce rate is high, Google knows visitors aren't finding what they're looking for. If your bounce rate is low (meaning visitors are digging deeper into your site's content), Google knows visitors are interested and engaged.


• Google tracks how many people +1 your site. Google +1 is a relatively new thing Google created. It's basically a way Google has provided for visitors to vote for your site (kind of like a Facebook 'like'). It's not clear yet how "big" of a role +1 will play in terms of rankings, but Google clearly tracks it and considers it to determine how many visitors like your site.

Nobody knows exactly how much weight Google's algorithm gives to each of the important factors it considers. And it really doesn't matter, considering the fact that Google is constantly tweaking the algorithm anyway. But one thing we can say for sure is that the trend we've seen over the last several updates is an increased emphasis on making the user experience better. Put the customer first! Give visitors interesting, useful, unique content they actually want to see. Show videos on your site. Entice them to "click in" and visit multiple pages. Keep them on your site as long as possible.