About the guide

This guide explains how Google finds and compares pages, how links pass authority and how information from previous searches can affect later rankings.

The starting principle

The document is the claim. Backlinks from relevant pages with organic traffic and organic clicks from relevant queries provide third-party validation. Internal links pass existing authority between related pages.

Authority is topical. A site that ranks for bike repairs may struggle to rank for bike insurance. Check the individual pages and queries to see those differences.

Ranking position is the main driver of CTR. The practical starting point is a relevant query where your current authority can reach the top three or five. Earn organic clicks there, build click history and then expand to related queries.

Reading order

Start with how SEO works. Follow a search from its words to the pages that could answer it, then learn how backlinks and internal links help pages compete.

The later lessons show how to check rankings and organic clicks, choose related queries and review internal links. Each lesson links to the previous and next question within its explanation.

The diagrams

Each lesson has a worked example for its own question. Compare query-level reports, follow a particular link or switch between two scenarios to see what changes. Numbers and URLs used in the examples are illustrative, rather than live measurements.

Some labels name information a search system might store. Those names don't tell us exactly how Google uses it or how much it affects a ranking.

Reading progress

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