Google Ranking Factors

Only Google knows the exact number and specification of factors that affect the position of a given page in the SERP. What would be the point of blind positioning without mechanisms that actually have a positive effect? Yes, we do not know all Google ranking factors, but SEO specialists through years of experience and work on websites, some of which have been discovered. Check out the article below and find out what factors influence the position of a website in Google!

Table of Contents

  • Website position and ranking factors
  • Google on-site ranking factors
  • Google off-site ranking factors
  • What NOT to do to influence your position on Google
  • Ranking factors with potential – summary

Website Position and Ranking Factors

Google’s algorithms are constantly being developed and new features and functions are being introduced. Along with their increase, Google ranking factors also change, which affects the visibility of the page and its position in search results.

Well-optimized sites are gaining more traffic and click rate. To achieve the desired success, you must realize that without good positioning, search engine robots will not find your website.

According to statecounterresearch.com Google uses 97% of Internet users, hence the opportunities to reach a potential customer are enormous, but there is no less competitive. That is why website positioning is so important that both users and Google robots appreciate the value of the website and its content. Payday Loans Texas also has good stuff for users.

Do you want to make your site rank higher in the search results for a given keyphrase? The website needs to be optimized for search engines in such a way that it meets Google’s requirements regarding the introduced ranking factors. They are divided into those within and outside the website. It should also be remembered that positioning is not a one-time activity. You need to work on the website all the time and implement changes in line with the algorithm update to make it user-friendly and search engine robots. Learn how to implement them to get a higher position in Google.

Google on-site ranking factors

How can you get a billion visitors to your site? Most of them do not move around the entire available Google knowledge library but choose interesting results from TOP10. Website optimization for ranking factors needs to start with the elements on the page. This is SEO on-site optimization.

  • Keywords

The selection of appropriate keywords for a website is one of the factors determining its visibility in the Google search engine. It is through phrases and phrases that the user searches for topics of interest to him and selects pages that answer his questions. Google’s algorithms among indexed sites search for those that best match the key phrases entered in the bar. That is why it is so important to think carefully about their layout, and also to use keywords that are consistent with the subject of the website.

Key phrases should be found in:

  • Page title (h1) and lower-level headers (h2, h3),
  • The description on the main page,
  • Blog articles, news,
  • Category and product descriptions, alt attribute,
  • Metadata – especially in 

In blog content, news, and product descriptions, highlight keywords by bolding with or. Bolding of main phrases and phrases that are important to the user indirectly affects SEO because it makes the text-friendly to both the reader and Google robots.

Key phrases must be skillfully and naturally arranged in texts, there should not be a situation where they multiply so-called keyword stuffing. Such actions may be considered by Google robots as spammy, which in turn may lead to a significant reduction in the value and reliability of the page and a decrease in its position in the search engine.

  • Valuable and Current Content

Valuable content on the site, which is adequately saturated with key phrases, and at the same time transmits substantive values ​​- is a very important ranking factor. What matters most in content optimization is its quality, length, and keyword saturation. Of course, the subject matter of published texts is not without significance, which must be related to the profile of the website. The user should find content on it that will answer specific issues. A topical authority is a comprehensive description of a given topic and thus building industry authority. Such a website is designed to provide the reader with substantive content and comprehensive answers. Google’s algorithms are increasingly better at understanding and matching content to users’ queries, which is why the importance of content for positioning is increasing all the time (this is actually a key ranking factor).

Published content should contain checked and specific information that exhausts the topic. The text (according to the Panda algorithm) must be accessible not only to robots, but above all to the reader, so it should be properly formatted by using the headings h1-h3 (less often h4-h6 is already used), bullets, bolds, highlighting of the most important issues.

The so-called duplicate content, which is the duplication of the same content inside and outside of your site. Copying articles, using identical descriptions for various products, or using content prepared by the manufacturer usually adversely affects ranking factors. Unique and valuable content affects the website’s trust rank.

Content on the site is not only content but also photos, videos, graphics, and infographics that are attractive to the user, convey information, and are well optimized for search engines.

  • Headers H1-H3

Using headers will allow Google robots to understand the hierarchy of published content. They are also significant from the level of the reader, who receives a clear structure of the text. In addition, headings h1 to h3 (which contain keyphrases relevant to a given website) are an important element of ranking factors. Why is it still worth using headlines and subheadings?

  • They attract the reader’s attention
  • Header-separated text is easier to read
  • Headers are content navigation
  • Google robots scan titles and headings, which adds to the value of the page
  • Key phrases placed in them allow crawlers to determine the thematic and substantive content of the website.

4. Metadata

Title and description are elements that largely determine whether a user decides to go to a specific website. While description (or Meta description) and the information it contains has an indirect impact on positioning, title (page title appearing in search results) is a ranking factor that Google robots take into account.

The Meta title should specify exactly what the user will find on a given page or subpage. Appropriate optimization of the page title will affect its visibility. When creating a Meta title and description you have to remember the length of these tags.

  • Title – length from 60 to 70 chars, in the mobile version up to 78 chars.
  • Description – length from 150 to 160 zlotys, in the mobile version 110-120 chars.
  • Optimization of photos

Photos and graphics that have been placed on the website must be described by the alt attribute, which is an alternative description of the image. This is very important information for crawlers that read the content of a photo in this way. This is an important element of website optimization, which is one of the ranking factors.

img src = “/ blog / image address” alt = “Alternative description” /

  • Internal linking

In-page linking is the foundation of correct optimization. It helps users and crawlers reach all content. Therefore, the internal link ensures proper website navigation.

Well done internal linking facilitates correct and comfortable navigation on the site. Via links, you can move the user to the subpages that he wants to promote. Linking should be on the main page (menu), in the side menu, as well as in the content itself.

Why use Internal Linking?

  • Website navigation – the user can easily move around the site. The transparency of the navigation affects the comfort of use and the time of using the website. Navigation path, i.e. bread crumb method (Breadcrumb s) makes the site useful, intuitive, and transparent.
  • Impact on positioning – anchor with a key phrase or optimized category tree has a positive effect on indexation by Google robots – you need to ensure proper anchors here.
  • Lower bounce rate – an attractive website for the user, encouraging by appearance, content, and intuitive navigation through it, makes you want to stay on it. Internal linking increases conversion and CTR (click-through rate). At the same time, the bounce rate is significantly reduced.
  • Proposed results – internal linking is also cross-selling used in online stores, i.e. offering similar products to the client.

In internal linking, you must also pay attention to friendly URLs. A correctly optimized home page and subpage address are accessible to users and crawlers. Informs the reader and Google robots about the content on the page encourages linking and contains key phrases, which positively affects the indexation of the website.

  • Page loading speed

A page that loads too slowly will have a high bounce rate. Google users and robots choose websites that work well in both desktop and mobile versions. According to a study from Think with Google, the bounce rate increases to 123% on pages that load for about 10 seconds. Pages with a loading time of fewer than three seconds have the best conversion rate.

  • Mobile and responsive version of the site

Research conducted by Impacting in 2019 indicates that 52% of all internet traffic in the world comes from mobile devices, while 45% from computers. This result shows how important it is to adapt websites to mobile devices. Google puts emphasis on the mobility and responsiveness of the site, as evidenced by the introduction of Mobile First. Pages that are optimized for mobile versions and adapted to various types of devices (without prejudice to content) are indexed faster.

  • SSL security certificate

Online stores should have implemented SSL security like Comodo PositiveSSL Wildcard, which affects the credibility of the site, but is also rewarded by Google robots. In addition, the lack of this implementation (especially in online stores) may be reflected in the bounce rate.

  • Optimized robots.txt file

This is one of the most important files for website optimization for search engine robots because it determines what content is to be indexed by them and what is not. It should be noted that, unfortunately, Google has its own rules, and entries in the robots.txt file are not binding at all. However, they give tips on what content to track and which will be useless and even potentially harmful to the site. In this file, we also put a link to the sitemap.

  • Site map

A sitemap is a map of all pages of a site that makes it easier for crawlers to crawl. Correctly optimized site maps should primarily have online stores because it matters for crawl budget, i.e. the maximum number of pages that can be indexed under a given domain.

Read Also – Google My Business Optimization: How to Stand Out In The Crowd

  • Geolocation and Google My Business

Local positioning is an important element because many internet users are looking for information on specific cities and places that are in them. Local search is also an important ranking factor.

Google off-site ranking factors

  • External linking

According to statistics, high content and linking so-called link building are the two most important ranking factors. In linking, which increases the credibility of the page, and thus its position Google, it is not the quantity that counts, but the quality of links obtained. External linking is a key element of positioning. Google positively assesses the links that come from portals thematically related to the positioned page, because this way natural results are obtained.

External linking is a labor-intensive method that requires a proper strategy to achieve lasting results. Places where links can be obtained:

  • Catalogs,
  • Internet forums,
  • Themed pages
  • Advertising portals,
  • Social media,
  • Sponsored articles.

Important factors in external linking:

  • Link profile – distributing the proportion of links into so-called clean or those applied to the anchor. The correct link profile must also contain dofollow and nofollow links (the most frequently mentioned optimal ratio is 70/30).
  • Link update – Check if outdated links are not generating a 404 error.
  • The value of links – they should come from reliable and reliable websites that are thematically compatible with the positioned website. The value of links can be checked using the Ahrefs or Majestic tool.
  • Content – entries from which links should come should be valuable in terms of substance. The interesting and comprehensive topic content is more willingly shared.
  • Website authority – domain history and website popularity are factors that increase its credibility. The trust rank of pages from which links are linked strongly affects the ranking factors of the positioned domain.
  • Domain age and history

Domains that have a long history behind them are very popular. The age of the site is one of the ranking factors. However, they must be high-quality sites that are linked to valuable links.

If you are just starting to create a website and want to take over the domain, you should check its history.

What NOT to do to influence your position on Google

Bad practices in website optimization, i.e. Black Hat SEO, are methods that negatively affect ranking factors. Non-compliant practices may result in Google sanctions. Unauthorized actions of BHS result in the application of a manual filter that affects the decrease of the page in the search engine.

What is considered Black Hat SEO practices?

  • Link exchange system – it is used to manipulate links to or from the website. Buying or selling links or hiding links are practices that are severely blocked by Google and are associated with serious sanctions.
  • Keyword stuffing – keyword phrases should appear naturally in the text. Their multiplication, use after the decimal point, or simply stuffing them is not in line with the guidelines.
  • Thin content – this is a practice involving the artificial creation of content by tools created for this purpose. Such texts often contain a stuffed keyword, but the content itself does not convey substantive values.
  • Cloaking – masking is the practice of making content, URLs, or structures that are not visible to users available to crawlers.

Ranking factors with potential – summary

Telephones largely replace computers, which is why Google ranking factors are plus pages that are adapted to mobile devices and their loading time is short. The power of content is not weakening, but its value is expanded to include podcasts and video activities. In SERP, they rank well websites that show a visible commitment to building content and communication with the user through content, internal and external linking, and meeting the needs and expectations of users. Online Payday Loans is also a good option to choose.

Google is constantly updating its ranking factors and – even after implementing the BERT algorithm – you can see that the giant wants the search engine to understand the user’s language and needs. The above activities – in accordance with the principles of White Hat SEO – both on-site and off-site, affect the building of trust and reliability of the site. The websites that will try to provide substantive and comprehensive answers to the user’s questions and aesthetic needs are likely to increase conversion and click rate.

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