SEO Series 7: How search engines rank pages and personalize results

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Discovering, crawling, and indexing content only the first steps in how search engines understand your website. Once your page is stored in the index, the real competition begins – ranking.

When a user types a query, the search engine must decide which pages deserve to appear first. This is where ranking algorithms come in (you’ll learn more about these in SEO Series 8: Google Algorithm).

How Google Orders and Ranks Search Results

Google’s ranking process relies on hundreds of algorithms that analyse billions of web pages and other content in its Search index. These systems evaluate, match, and sort results based on relevance and quality — all in a fraction of a second.

In fact, Google updates its ranking algorithms over 500–600 times a year to ensure accuracy, speed, and relevance.

Although the full list of ranking factors remains confidential, SEO experts have identified the key signals that consistently influence rankings. These factors are grouped into six main areas:

  1. Technical SEO – How your site is built and performs.
  2. On-page SEO – Content quality, structure, and optimisation.
  3. Off-page SEO – External links, brand reputation, and trust.
  4. Content & UX SEO – The overall experience of your content.
  5. Local & Entity SEO – Visibility for local searches and brand authority.
  6. Image & Video SEO – Optimising visual and multimedia content.

(We’ll cover these six pillars in depth in SEO Series 12: The 6 Types of SEO.)

What Happens When You Search

When a user enters a query, Google scans its vast index,  a digital catalogue of billions of known web pages and retrieves what it believes is the best possible match.

If search engines are libraries, SEO is your job to prove your page is the right book — the most relevant, trustworthy, and helpful answer.

Just below the search bar, you’ll see filters such as Images, Videos, News, Maps, Shopping, Books, Flights, and Finance. While some brands optimise for specific categories, the “All” tab remains the most valuable and competitive for visibility.

At the top of the results, you’ll often find ads paid placements through Google Ads. The number of ads varies depending on how competitive the keyword is and how much advertisers are willing to pay. Paid results are clearly marked with labels like “Ad” or “Sponsored.”

Why Ranking Matters

Ranking high isn’t optional — it’s essential.

  • 33% of clicks go to the first result.
  • 17% go to the second.
  • 90% of users never go beyond the first page.

Being near the top is what drives organic visibility, authority, and growth.

Key Google ranking factors.

Google’s ranking systems work primarily on a page level, using various signals to evaluate how to rank individual pages. However, site-wide signals — like overall trust or security — also contribute to how pages are understood.Having strong site-wide signals doesn’t guarantee every page will rank highly, just as weaker ones don’t mean every page will perform poorly. Google continually improves its ranking systems through rigorous testing and updates, and it often provides public notices when significant changes are made (Google Search Central, 2025).

Ranking Factor

Why It Matters

How to Optimise

Backlinks

(Authority & Trust) – Do other trusted websites link to your page?

Serve as trust signals from reputable websites. The more high-quality links you earn, the more credible your content appears.

Earn links naturally from trusted, relevant sources. Prioritise quality over quantity. You can analyse your backlinks in Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for free, their crawler is the fifth most active on the web. (Ahrefs, 2024).

Search Intent (Relevance of Purpose)

Aligns your content with the purpose behind a search. Google’s Helpful Content System focuses on showing original, people-first content instead of content made only for ranking. Integrated into Google’s core systems in 2024.

For example:

•   When you search for “Chocolate recipes” → the search result mostly will be blog posts and listicles of chocolate recipes. So, if you have an online shop and want to sell your chocolate, with this query, you won’t be matching the search intent thus you wont rank

•   By changing the query to “Buy chocolate” → This will help you get rank on eCommerce category pages and get a user who are looking to buy chocolate.

Study top-ranking results for your keyword and match their intent (informational, transactional, or navigational).

Remember: If your content doesn’t match the intent behind a keyword, you won’t rank, no matter how optimised it is. So, before creating content for your online shop for instance, search your target keyword and study the top results. Match their format (blog, video, product page) and angle (informational, transactional, navigational).

Website reputation

Is your domain credible and authoritative in its niche?

 

Keyword in title tag

Is the search keyword (or a synonym) used naturally in the title?

 

Content Depth & Relevance

Proves your content answers the user’s question fully and accurately. Google’s Reliable Information Systems promote authoritative, high-quality content and demote low-quality or misleading pages.

For example, a query like:

•  ‘How to drive a car’ the content offers a detailed and step-by-step explanation like how to fasten your seatbelt etc. This depth information = answer the searcher’s query.

•  “How to turn off iPhone 17” → only 185 words, but enough to solve and answer user query. depth content ≠translate to length.

Provide complete, clear, and helpful coverage of your topic — focus on clarity and usefulness, not just length.

Freshness

Google’s “Query Deserves Freshness” systems prioritise new information when it’s relevant — for example, recent movie reviews or breaking news.

Update time-sensitive pages regularly and keep evergreen content accurate.

Page Experience & Speed

Improves user trust and engagement. Google rewards fast, stable, mobile-friendly, and secure websites.

Optimise site speed, enable HTTPS, and ensure responsive design. Check your site with Google Page Speed Insights (Lighthouse) or Ahrefs Site Audit. The less red you see, the better your performance.

Mobile-Friendliness

Ensures accessibility on all devices. Google’s mobile-first indexing means your mobile version is prioritised.

Test your site using Google’s Mobile-Friendly tools.

Engagement (CTR, Dwell Time)

Reflects user satisfaction and relevance — users who click and stay signal quality.

Use clear titles, compelling visuals, and well-structured content.

Site Security (HTTPS)

Builds user trust and protects sensitive data.

Always use HTTPS rather than HTTP.

Snippet Optimisation (Meta Tags)

Encourages users to click your result with clear, appealing text.

Write accurate, keyword-rich meta titles and descriptions.

PageRank

One of Google’s oldest ranking systems, still active today. Evaluates how pages link to and reference one another to determine relevance and authority.

Build a logical internal linking structure and earn backlinks from reputable websites.

Original Content

Google prioritises original reporting and unique content over duplicated material.

Create fresh, authoritative content and use canonical tags where necessary.

How search engines personalize results

Search results aren’t identical for everyone. Google personalises results based on:

  • Location: Determines local intent (e.g. “English tea café” shows nearby options).
  • Language: Prioritises content written or translated into the user’s preferred language.
  • Search History: Adjusts results based on your previous queries and clicks.

Tip: Use Incognito mode or a VPN to view more neutral (less personalised) search results, though complete depersonalisation isn’t always possible.

Personalisation & Context — Why Results Differ

Even identical searches produce different outcomes. For example, a user in London and another in Tokyo searching “best SEO tools” will see different results — tailored to their region, language, and local intent. Google’s goal isn’t to show identical results but to provide the most useful results for each individual user.

Otinga Case study : from “Discovered – not indexed” to growth

One of our clients had several pages marked as “Discovered – not indexed.” Here’s how we resolved it:

  • Simplified complex URLs.
  • Fixed canonical tags.
  • Added dedicated XML sitemaps for each website section.
  • Ensured key content pages were server-rendered.

Result: Within 6 months, their pages progressed from “discovered” to “indexed”, and long-tail organic traffic rose to 15,000+ monthly visits.

Key takeaways

  • A search engine = index + algorithms.
  • Crawl → Index → Rank = the foundation of SEO visibility.
  • Nobody knows “all 200 signals”, but we do know the principles that win: intent match, usefulness, experience, and earned authority.
  • Personalisation (location, language, history) shapes every user’s results.
  • In 2025, competition is fierce; most pages get no traffic. For SEO success = publish exceptional content + solid technical structure publish

References 

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