Google is the most popular search engine with over 8.5 billion searches daily. Several studies have found that more than 90% of all online searches are made on Google. This means ranking higher on this search engine can be the best shortcut to stand out in the competitive marketplace. However, securing a top position is not easy as constant algorithm updates result in frequent changes in ranking factors. So, it is important to keep up with the latest Google or SEO ranking factors.
Understand the Google Ranking Factor
Google uses ranking factors to determine how effectively a webpage helps searchers answer a certain search query and improve their online experience. It may include the time consumed to load images, the total number of words on a webpage, etc. Understanding and implementing the updated Google ranking factors helps in dominating organic search results and getting your website ranked higher.
Let’s delve into the best ranking factors Google considers.
1. Website Security
Google will send a ‘Not secure’ warning if a user accesses a website with HTTP, eventually it can hurt your bounce rate. So, convert your website from HTTP to HTTPS. Purchase and install an SSL certificate on your hosting account. Also, check your inbound and outbound links after migration.
2. Mobile Responsiveness
Since most people access the web using mobile devices, Google considers the mobile-friendliness of a website while ranking it on search results. Create a responsive website that automatically resizes based on the mobile device and features accessible menus for easier navigation. Use large fonts for seamless readability on a small screen device and make sure ads don’t hide significant content.
3. Content
Google will rank your content higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) if it is original and helpful for users. Create web pages that are not copied from other sources and offer real value to visitors. Google might not index and crawl a duplicate webpage.
Most importantly, keep your content fresh by updating it regularly with new information. Alongside content quality, length is also important to focus on as it can also impact ranking. Results in the top ten positions have 1890 words. However, you must focus on creating content that covers a topic deeply and responds to users’ needs. Pay attention to the content structure and ensure it is well organized. Add headings, subheadings, numbered lists, or bulletins to make it readable.
4. Keyword Optimization
Optimize keywords for your website by adding target keywords in the SEO title tags of your post. Create detailed descriptions with focus keywords to let users know what your page is all about. Additionally, you can use keywords for anchor text and in the image alt text section of your image.
5. Website Loading Speed
Make your website load quickly (less than 3 seconds) and offer an excellent user experience. Website speed consists of metrics that search engines consider important for user experience on a website. You can use Google’s Page-speed Insights to monitor your webpage loading speed.
6. Domain Authority and URL
Studies have found that over 50% of websites ranking on the first page of Google search results are three or more years older. This means having an older URL can benefit you with a higher ranking. Google has penalized exact-match domains featuring irrelevant keywords in the URL for being spammy and irrelevant.
Select a domain that is relevant and reflects your business. A website authority is covered by Google’s E-A-T (expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) principle. Moz has created page authority and domain authority scores which can be ranked from 0-100.
7. Links
There are three types of links – inbound (backlinks), outbound (external), and internal. Each of them is a crucial ranking signal. Inbound links are used to determine the relevance and authority of content. Try to get more inbound links from highly authoritative websites. Using external links by linking to authoritative websites shows Google that your content is of high quality. Internal linking is linking to your own webpages to describe your site’s overall structure to Google and help visitors find related pages.
8. User Experience
Google uses an AI-based algorithm ‘Google Rank-brain’ to monitor user experience (UX) factors and better rank web pages. Click-through rates (CTRs), bounce rate, and dwell time are three factors that impact Google’s ranking. CTR refers to the percentage of people who click on your website after seeing it in search results and visit it. The duration for which they visit your website is referred to as dwell time. Bounce rate is the number of users who click on your site but immediately return to the search results.
9. Search Intent
Understanding how well your content matches the search intent of users is important when optimizing content. A series of high bounce rates and low CTRs will show Google that your content is not aligning with users’ search intent. So, identify what a user is trying to achieve with a search. For example, if they want to buy some product or need detailed information about a specific topic. Don’t forget that every searcher is different so understand the reason behind their search query to address it properly.
10. Social Signals
According to Google, social signals are not direct ranking factors. However, they help in improving ranking because when people engage and share your content on social media, it will drive website traffic. This will show the relevancy of your content to Google and enhance UX factors. The more people access your content, the higher the chances of getting backlinks.
How SEO Companies Help in Leveraging Google Ranking Factors?
Understanding and using Google ranking signals can be difficult for businesses. Since an SEO agency has detailed and updated knowledge of technical aspects of website optimization and the ever-changing ranking algorithm of Google, they leverage ranking factors effectively. They have a specialized team of content writers, SEO experts, website designers, etc. for effective keyword research and optimization, website development, content creation, link building, data analysis, social marketing, and other online marketing strategies. They practice white-hat tactics and monitor performance to maintain a positive online reputation and avoid Google penalties.
