What is Search Engine Bias and How to Overcome It
Theoretically speaking, search engines are created to meet the needs of users who type in specific queries so they can get the most accurate results possible. In reality, however, search engines also serve to satisfy the requirements of both the user and the creator. And although every business on the web strives to boost their online visibility in some way, it is usually the bigger, more reputable companies that have a better chance of a higher ranking. Whether it’s because they have a wider market outreach, a higher brand authority, a large number of products, or something else entirely, these types of companies often outdo smaller companies in SERPs – which is something we call search engine bias.
We are going to talk about what search engine bias is and show you how you can work your way around it using some of the white-hat strategies. These strategies can help you get a better ranking on search engines, regardless of your business reputation or size, so make sure to stick around.
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How Does Search Engine Bias Work and How It Can Affect Your Site
To understand search engine bias, you first have to understand the basic working principles of Google search algorithms. According to Google itself, its ranking systems work by looking into many different factors – from the way you worded your query and the relevance of pages all the way to your location and specific search settings. In that regard, Google bias is greatly defined by the particular needs of users. That being said, Google also calculates its results according to something called domain authority. This is a ranking factor that measures a website’s relevance and expertise by taking different aspects into account, like the number of quality inbound links it has, for example. It’s more likely than not that big companies that constantly produce fresh content and keep collecting inbound links will also easily increase domain authority of their site. In turn, this gives them a higher position in SERPs, which can automatically decrease the DA score of a smaller site that operates in the same niche and has fewer quality backlinks. As a result, this can also negatively impact the visibility of a smaller website in search engine results.
Best Strategies to Help You Overcome Search Engine Bias
Even though the reason why a certain website ranks higher than the other can depend on multiple factors that aren’t always easy to pinpoint, there are still some great strategies you can (and should) use to overcome this. Here are some of the ways in which you can improve your DA score and achieve a higher position in search results:
Regardless of the fact that search engines are sometimes inclined to give a ranking priority to big-scale websites, you can work your way around this by focusing on a single subject when creating your content. You can do your best to explore the subject of your choice down to the tiniest detail until you become an expert. By doing this, you will both increase your chances of scoring more ranking points and gain a reputation as someone who is considered professional and knowledgeable in their niche. So, go ahead – choose a topic you are most informed about, and explore all the different aspects of it. Depending on your niche and topic in question, you can create reviews, talk about your own experiences and points of view, consider viewpoints from the experts in your industry, post comprehensive how-to guides, and more. Sooner or later, Google will pick up on your expertise and reward you for your efforts.
We’ve already mentioned the importance of inbound links. This is a commonly used practice that can help you significantly improve your search engine ranking. Inbound links (also known as backlinks) represent links from other sites that lead to your own site or blog. As such, they have the potential to vastly improve your domain authority. Namely, quality backlinks that come from other reputable sites can indicate to search engines that your website is a reliable source on certain topics. It’s quite simple – the better DA score a site linking to your own has, the more chances that Google will perceive you as an expert in a given field. For this reason, you should implement some strategies that will help you create a successful link building campaign and improve your overall search engine visibility. Some of these strategies include writing guest posts, linking to other blogs yourself (by doing so, you increase your chances of getting a link back to your blog), visiting platforms meant to connect bloggers and journalists (such as HARO) and sending your quotes on specific topics, and so on.
You must be wondering how long-form content can help you combat search engine bias and boost the visibility of your site at the same time. The answer to this is quite simple. First and foremost, if you make sure to create long-form content, you will be able to explore different topics in more detail and tackle them from multiple perspectives. No matter if you plan to make in-depth guides related to your field, write long and informative product reviews, create expert roundups, or anything else, producing long-form content will only increase the potential of finding the audience that would be willing to engage with your content and help you establish a reputation of an expert in your field. As a result, you can only score more page views and, by extension, get a higher page ranking.
Finally, you should note that regardless of the type of content you plan to create, its average length should be around 1200 words or longer.
This sort of goes without saying, but we thought it should be mentioned nonetheless. Implementing a solid keyword strategy can help you go a long way when it comes to your website’s ranking in SERPs. To find the best keywords in your niche, it’s important that you do your keyword research right. You can perform industry-related keyword research by using the help of many available SEO tools, like aHrefs or Moz Keyword Explorer, to name a few. These tools will help you analyze key phrases that are most commonly used by your potential audience and see which keywords your competition is already ranking for. You will also be able to assess the keyword difficulty (i.e. the difficulty for your site to rank for a particular keyword) and determine the keywords you should use for your pages to score higher on Google.
Simply put, unique, fresh content has way more chances of getting noticed by Google and earning a high ranking than content that has already been published by others. The reason for this is simple – if no one else has tackled a certain subject so far, there are solid chances that Google will consider you an expert in it. So, if you spot the opportunity to explore a specific topic no one else has talked about before, or if you simply have much more to offer than your competition when it comes to that particular subject, by all means, you should go ahead and post about it. By doing so, you also increase your chances of getting much-needed backlinks. Plus, many sites may also start to see you as an expert on the topic and end up linking to your site in order to provide some extra info to their visitors.
Staying relevant is one of the most effective ways to fight against search engine bias. In the context of search engines, being relevant means ensuring that the content you’re putting up meets the needs of the intended audience.
Now, to boost the relevance of your site in your field, you should do your absolute best to understand user search intent. This means learning why users are making a certain query – for example, whether they want to buy something, or get an answer to a specific question – and then optimize your content around it. This will improve your chances of getting a better position on search engine pages when it comes to those particular queries. Finally, for the best possible results, you should also make sure that all other important info about your business (such as location, contact details, business hours, etc.) is kept up-to-date as well.
Conclusion
It is an indisputable fact that search engine bias is a real thing that can directly impact a website’s ranking. Still, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be successfully conquered. By implementing some of the above-mentioned strategies, you increase your chances of directly improving your domain authority score and boosting your website’s ranking and online visibility as a whole.
Just remember to write about the topics you’re knowledgeable about, do a proper keyword research, and always produce fresh and high-quality content that is also relevant to your audience. By doing so, you’ll be well on your way to achieve the deserved ranking position – regardless of the size of your business or the amount of competition in your field.
