Every now and then, the SEO requirements keep on changing. At this point in time, keeping a track of all these changes has become quite challenging. But if you want your website to rank on top, you have got to keep track of all the emerging trends. Appearing in the first ten results is a dream for many websites and that can be done only with the rightful optimization of the website.
Well-optimized websites get much more traffic in comparison to the ones that are not optimized in a proper manner. Appropriately optimized sites are able to generate more leads and sales over time, which means more profit.
In this blog, we are going to talk about what are some of the best Google ranking factors that can make or break your website’s ranking.
One of the most cited ranking factors for years has been Page Speed. Google is always making efforts towards improving the user experience. It is forever looking for fast-loading web pages because if not, Google can also penalize it.
Content is hands down the most important factor when one talks about ranking factors. Fresh, original, and high-quality content are always the best. Using the right keywords, without stuffing them, understanding the search intent, and determining the ideal content length are all essential during content optimization. Well-structured and optimized content is an immensely powerful Google ranking factor.
For quite some time now, Google has been using AI to rank web pages in a better way. If people land on your page and do not find any relevant content, they bounce back. This bouncing back will cause Google to think that your website isn’t relevant to the needs of people. This will make it more difficult for your site to rank higher in the search results.
While crawling websites, Google uses mobile-first indexing. This straight-up means that Google uses the mobile version of a website when it evaluates a page. It is interesting to note that even if the desktop version of your website has a flawless design, your ranking can take a huge hit if your site hasn’t been optimized for mobile. Accessibility across different devices is recommended for higher rankings.
Internal links are used as signals by crawlers that help them to analyze and index the given information. The more organized and properly knit the internal linking structure is, the easier will it be for Google and users to find what they are looking for. To do so, it is recommended to be mindful of which pages are being linked every time new pages are created or a new piece of content is curated.
Keywords are the center of a powerful SEO strategy. Before curating relevant content, it is vital to conduct keyword research. Keyword researching is identified as an impactful practice to drive new traffic to a website. It is with this research process that you will be able to develop a better understanding of what your audience is searching for. On the basis of these search queries, you should develop content. This will help you in curating more relatable content.
If your content is being shared on any of the social media networks, it is a sign that your content holds value. While social shares are not a direct Google ranking factor, there is no denying the fact that the highest-ranking pages are the ones that have the most shares. More social shares are helpful in generating more traffic to the page. Indirectly, having a higher number of social shares can help in enhancing your search engine ranking.
The way you structure your URL has a great impact on your search engine ranking as it is an essential Google ranking factor. A URL that is simply jumbled up with several characters and numbers might not be useful in helping google or any other search engine learn about the webpage. However, with a well-structured URL that is concise and incorporates the target keyword, you can have an impactful and SEO-friendly URL.
There is no rocket science or a holy grail that can shoot you up in the top SERPs. Climbing the top search results takes time. If you optimize your website with ranking factors today, your website wouldn’t magically appear in the top results tomorrow. As long as you are focused on having a functional and well-optimized website with your target audience in mind, you will begin to see organic growth. Give your audience what they are looking for. Instead of optimizing things for Google, think about your target audience. Making your website user-friendly, removing distractions, and organizing your content in a logical manner is going to lead you a long way. We hope this blog has helped you out in understanding the top Google ranking factors. Visit us for more!
