Why your most important customer might not be who you think

The Google Bot

The Google bot, also known as a web crawler or spider, is an automated software program used by Google to explore and index web pages across the internet. Think of it as a tireless explorer that traverses the vast digital landscape, scouring websites to gather information and understand their content.

The primary role of the Google bot is to crawl and index web pages so that they can be included in Google's search results. When you perform a search on Google, the results you see are not generated in real-time but are instead drawn from Google's index of web pages that have been crawled and evaluated by the bot.

How does Google use bots to crawl and index web pages?

Google's web crawling process begins with a list of URLs from its previous crawls and sitemaps provided by website owners. The bot starts by visiting these URLs and then follows links on those pages to discover new content. As it traverses through websites, the bot collects information about the content, structure, and metadata of each page.

Once the bot has gathered this information, it indexes the content based on relevance, quality, and other factors determined by Google's algorithms. This indexed data is then stored in Google's massive database, ready to be retrieved when users perform relevant searches.

Making sure your website is visible to Google

Being visible and accessible to the Google bot is crucial for mortgage brokers who want to improve their search engine ranking and increase their online visibility. When a mortgage broker’s website is crawled and indexed by the Google bot, it has the potential to appear in search results for relevant queries, driving organic traffic to the site.

However, if a mortgage broker’s website is not properly optimised for crawling and indexing, it may not be included in Google's search index or may be ranked lower in search results. This can result in decreased visibility, fewer visitors, and missed opportunities to convert this visitors into clients

By ensuring that your website is easily discoverable and navigable by the Google bot, you can increase the likelihood of your content being indexed and ranked prominently in search results. This involves implementing SEO best practices, such as creating quality content, optimising metadata, and improving site structure, navigation and site performance.

In essence, being visible and accessible to the Google bot is fundamental to achieving improved search engine ranking and maximising the online visibility and success of your website. It's not just about pleasing the bot; it's about enhancing the overall user experience and driving meaningful engagement with your content.

Google Bot and SEO

At its core, SEO is the practice of optimising website content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) and attract more organic traffic. The Google bot plays a central role in this process, as it is responsible for crawling and indexing web pages, determining their relevance and quality, and ultimately influencing their ranking in search results.

By understanding how the Google bot operates and what it looks for when crawling and indexing web pages, mortgage brokers can tailor their content and optimisation efforts to align with the bot's criteria. This synergy between SEO and the Google bot is essential for achieving higher search rankings and maximising online visibility.

Aligning website content with Google bot's indexing criteria

The Google bot operates based on a set of criteria or algorithms designed to assess the quality, relevance, and user-friendliness of web pages. When crawling and indexing websites, the bot evaluates various factors, including content relevance, keyword usage, site structure, and overall user experience.

Aligning website content with the Google bot's indexing criteria is crucial for ensuring that your pages are properly crawled, indexed, and ranked in search results. By incorporating relevant keywords, providing high-quality content, optimising metadata, and improving site navigation, website owners can increase the likelihood of their pages being deemed valuable and relevant by the bot.

It is also critical to think about your content in the context of what your clients are potentially searching for to ensure your website appears when they search.

Enhancing visibility to the Google bot and impacting search rankings

SEO practices are designed not only to improve website visibility to human users but also to enhance visibility to the Google bot. By implementing SEO strategies such as keyword research, on-page optimisation, link building, and technical SEO, mortgage brokers can optimise their websites for better crawlability, indexability, and search engine ranking.

When website content aligns with the Google bot's indexing criteria, it becomes more likely to be crawled and indexed promptly and ranked higher in search results. This increased visibility to the bot translates to increased visibility to potential users, leading to higher organic traffic and greater opportunities for engagement and conversion.

In essence, the relationship between the Google bot and SEO is integral to the success of websites for mortgage brokers. By understanding and leveraging this connection, mortgage brokers can improve their search rankings, attract more organic traffic, and ultimately achieve their goals of online visibility and success.

Could the Google Crawlbot be your website's most important visitor?

When a new webpage is published or an existing one is updated, it is often the Google bot that discovers and visits the page first. This occurs as part of the crawling and indexing process, where the bot systematically explores the web, following links and discovering new content.

The bot's ability to swiftly detect and index new or updated pages ensures that they become part of Google's search index, making them eligible to appear in search results when relevant queries are entered by users. As such, the Google bot's initial visit serves as the gateway to online visibility and exposure for newly created or updated content.

The impact of the bot's initial visit on search engine rankings and visibility

The Google bot's initial visit to a webpage holds significant implications for its search engine rankings and visibility. When the bot crawls and indexes a webpage, it assesses various factors, including content relevance, quality, and user experience. These assessments inform Google's algorithms, which ultimately determine the webpage's ranking in search results.

Pages that are deemed valuable and relevant by the Google bot are more likely to rank higher in search results, thereby increasing their visibility to potential users. Conversely, pages that are overlooked or deemed less valuable may struggle to achieve favorable rankings and may remain buried in search results, limiting their visibility and reach.

Catering to the Google bot is akin to catering to potential human visitors

Catering to the Google bot is not merely a matter of appeasing an automated algorithm; it is akin to catering to potential human visitors. This is because the factors that influence the bot's assessments, such as content relevance, quality, and user experience, are also critical considerations for human users.

By optimising your website to align with the bot's indexing criteria, you are inherently improving the user experience for human visitors. Pages that are well-organised, informative, and easy to navigate are not only favoured by the Google bot but are also more likely to engage and satisfy human users.

In essence, treating the Google bot as the first visitor to your webpage is a strategic approach to maximising online visibility and enhancing user experience. By prioritising optimisation efforts to align with the bot's criteria, website owners can improve their search engine rankings, increase their visibility in search results, and provide a more rewarding experience for human visitors.

If you’re not sure how your website appears to the Google bot, book in a free website review and we can help you understand how Google perceives your website and what improvements you should make.