---
title: "Beginner Ranking Guide: How Search Engines & LLMs Decide Who Wins - SirLinksalot"
description: If you’re new to SEO and wondering how websites actually rank in search engines and show up in AI-driven results, this video breaks it down from the ground up. We’ll walk through the core ranking concepts beginners need to understand — including relevance, authority, content quality, and trust — and how those same signals are […]
---
# Beginner Ranking Guide: How Search Engines & LLMs Decide Who Wins
by | Jan 20, 2026 | [0 comments](https://sirlinksalot.co/videos/beginner-ranking-guide-how-search-engines-llms-decide-who-wins/#respond)
[YouTube Video UEx5R2NxWnlIZk54YVpoSTdFMzRaX1pDQVNXcHdlaFRRTS43QzNCNkZENzIyMDY2MjZB ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaoWVz7cU44)
If you’re new to SEO and wondering how websites actually rank in search engines and show up in AI-driven results, this video breaks it down from the ground up.
We’ll walk through the core ranking concepts beginners need to understand — including relevance, authority, content quality, and trust — and how those same signals are now influencing large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, and other AI-powered search experiences.
This is a high-level overview designed to help you understand what matters, why it matters, and how traditional SEO fundamentals still play a major role in rankings — even as search evolves.
Check out these additional resources:
Check out our FREE SEO learning hub here:
https://sirlinksalot.co/learn-seo-for-free/
Check out our Managed Linkbuilding Program:
https://sirlinksalot.co/managed-link-building/
Watch the SirLinksalot Podcast:
https://sirlinksalot.co/seo-podcast/
SEO Round Table Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SirLinksalotSEORoundtable
#### Categories
- [Advertise](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/advertise/)
- [AI citable page](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/ai-citable-page/)
- [AI Citations](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/ai-citations/)
- [AI Overview](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/ai-overview/)
- [AI search](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/ai-search/)
- [AI SEO Software](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/ai-seo-software/)
- [AI Writing Tools](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/ai-writing-tools/)
- [Analytics Alternatives](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/analytics-alternatives/)
- [Answer Engine Optimization](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/answer-engine-optimization/)
- [Backlinks](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/backlinks/)
- [Blogging](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/blogging/)
- [Clustering Tools](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/clustering-tools/)
- [Content Creation](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/content-creation/)
- [CTR Manipulation](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/ctr-manipulation/)
- [Digital Marketing](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/digital-marketing/)
- [Email Marketing](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/email-marketing/)
- [Enterprise SEO](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/enterprise-seo/)
- [Equipment Management](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/equipment-management/)
- [Facebook Ads](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/facebook-ads/)
- [Favicon](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/favicon/)
- [Generative Engine Optimization](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/generative-engine-optimization/)
- [Google Ads](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/google-ads/)
- [Google Maps](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/google-maps/)
- [Guest Posting](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/guest-posting/)
- [Hidden Website Pages](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/hidden-website-pages/)
- [Hosting](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/hosting/)
- [Internet Archive](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/internet-archive/)
- [Keywords](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/keywords/)
- [Link Building Case Studies](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/link-building-case-studies/)
- [Live SEO Support](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/live-seo-support/)
- [Local SEO](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/local-seo/)
- [Marketing](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/marketing/)
- [Meta Descriptions](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/meta-descriptions/)
- [Monitoring Tools](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/monitoring-tools/)
- [Pitchbox review](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/pitchbox-review/)
- [Podcast](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/podcast/)
- [PPC](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/ppc/)
- [PR Agencies](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/pr-agencies/)
- [Rank Trackers](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/rank-trackers/)
- [Review](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/review/)
- [Search Engine](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/search-engine/)
- [Secure Socket Layer](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/secure-socket-layer/)
- [SEO](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/seo/)
- [SEO Entity](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/seo-entity/)
- [Social Media](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/social-media/)
- [Tools](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/tools/)
- [Track Brand Mentions](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/track-brand-mentions/)
- [Trending Topics](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/trending-topics/)
- [Truth Social statistics](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/truth-social-statistics/)
- [Website Analysis](https://sirlinksalot.co/category/website-analysis/)
#### Recent Posts
- [How to Use Reddit for AI Citations in 2026](https://sirlinksalot.co/how-to-use-reddit-for-ai-citations/)
- [How to Do Prompt Research for AI Search](https://sirlinksalot.co/ai-prompt-research-seo/)
- [How to Assess Backlink Opportunities Before Reaching Out](https://sirlinksalot.co/how-to-assess-backlink-opportunities-before-reaching-out/)
- [Why Most Companies Still Don’t Know Where Their Equipment Actually Is](https://sirlinksalot.co/why-most-companies-still-dont-know-where-their-equipment-actually-is/)
- [What to Write for an SEO Agency’s Copy: A Certified SEO Copywriter’s Playbook](https://sirlinksalot.co/what-to-write-a-blog-about/)
Search for:
```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://sirlinksalot.co/videos/beginner-ranking-guide-how-search-engines-llms-decide-who-wins/","url":"https://sirlinksalot.co/videos/beginner-ranking-guide-how-search-engines-llms-decide-who-wins/","name":"Beginner Ranking Guide: How Search Engines & LLMs Decide Who Wins - SirLinksalot","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://sirlinksalot.co/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-01-20T16:30:05+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://sirlinksalot.co/videos/beginner-ranking-guide-how-search-engines-llms-decide-who-wins/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://sirlinksalot.co/videos/beginner-ranking-guide-how-search-engines-llms-decide-who-wins/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://sirlinksalot.co/videos/beginner-ranking-guide-how-search-engines-llms-decide-who-wins/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://sirlinksalot.co/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"YouTube Videos","item":"https://sirlinksalot.co/videos/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Beginner Ranking Guide: How Search Engines & LLMs Decide Who Wins"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://sirlinksalot.co/#website","url":"https://sirlinksalot.co/","name":"SirLinksalot","description":"Link Building Services That Work.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://sirlinksalot.co/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}
```