Google — and other search engines — rank pages based on the query to put the most relevant results at the top of the page. Since 71% of clicks on Google go to the first page of results, it’s crucial to rank at the top.
While Google’s search algorithm is not entirely known, they do share some top factors that they look for when ranking pages and websites, like:
Meaning — what users are looking for when they search
Relevance — how well your content matches the intent
Quality — what sites are most helpful when offering information
Usability — whether sites and pages are accessible or not
Context — details like location, search history, and settings
Google weighs all of these factors while crawling and selecting websites to determine which will give users the information they want fast.