How Google Works

• NAVIGATIONAL—Looking to find something specific (i.e. "Target patio lighting")
• INFORMATIONAL—Looking to learn about a topic (i.e. "types of patio lighting")

• COMMERCIAL—Looking for information help with a buying decision (i.e. "LED lights vs. incandescent lights")

• TRANSACTIONAL—Looking to complete an action (i.e. "buy string lights for patio")

Google uses algorithms to find content that’s relevant to the search. In order for Google to show content, it has to be INDEXED (more on this later).

• These algorithms are really good at assessing relevance
• They are not good at analyzing subjectivity

Google uses PageRank and manual systems to find content with Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T). E-A-T is a good way to qualitatively analyze content, but it is not a part of Google's ranking systems. E-A-T is a set of standards that Google's content quality raters use to manually review sources.

Google uses JavaScript rendering and field data (from Google Chrome) to find webpages with good user experience (UX). Positive signals it looks for include: 

• Page is usable in all browsers
• Page is usable on all devices (mobile-friendly)
• Fast load times (PageSpeed; FCP + LCP)
• Stability of page after load (CLS)
• No intrusive ads or interstitials (no one likes these!)

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Using known information about the person behind the search, Google tries to provide relevant results by considering:

• Location of person
• Search history
• Browsing history
• Search settings
• Topic freshness