HubSpot SEO Certification Practice Test

What search engine function is at play when a respected authority links to your content?

1. Indexing

2. Crawling

3. Ranking

4. Serving ads

The correct answer is: Ranking

When a respected authority links to your content, it plays a significant role in the ranking function of search engines. Search engines evaluate the quality and relevance of web pages based on various factors, one of which is the number and quality of backlinks. A link from a respected authority is considered a strong endorsement, indicating that your content is valuable and trustworthy. This can positively influence how search engines assess your site, leading to improved rankings in search results. Ranking involves algorithms that determine how high a webpage appears in search engine results pages (SERPs) based on its relevance to the user's query. High-quality backlinks, especially from authoritative sites, signal to search engines that your content is relevant and worthy of a better position in the rankings. Therefore, when an authority links to your content, it boosts your content's credibility and can lead to enhanced visibility in search results. The other functions mentioned – indexing, crawling, and serving ads – while important aspects of search engine operations, do not directly relate to the influence of backlinks on content authority and site ranking. Indexing involves the process of storing and organizing content by search engines, crawling refers to the discovery of web pages by bots, and serving ads is about delivering paid advertisements, none of which directly affect the ranking based