The Science behind SEO

Allow me to take a trip down search memory lane. With the advancements in social and mobile mediums, it may be hard to remember a time when algorithms were the star of the SEO show. In fact, the science of SEO is what enables marketers to deliver high performing campaigns. This is worth remembering, if only for a Monday morning blog.

For the majority of SEO experts, driving qualified, relevant search results for high page rankings and conversion rates is the pinnacle of success. The search algorithms used to calculate SEO rankings are continuously evolving as search engines try to take advantage of proprietary technology. For instance, Google used the algorithm PageRank to kick start its monumental industry rise. But in keeping with the need to improve, search marketers understand that it was the algorithm Hilltop that helped Google peak.

Establishing link authority was proving to be too difficult for PageRank. There wasn’t a criterion in place for determining link authority, which enabled links from irrelevant sources to rank high. The Hilltop algorithm is similar to Google PageRank in that the amount and quality of inbound links constitutes the ranking. But unlike PageRank, Hilltop only considers "expert" sources from authority sites when evaluating incoming links.

Since SEO programs rely on relevancy for high performance, Hilltop was and continues to be an important member of the Google algorithm family. It is a testament to its functionality and utility that Hilltop, along with Google’s many search algorithms, remain significant SEO metrics.