You might already know that Google uses over 200 ranking factors in its algorithm.
But what are the top Google ranking factors?
These ranking systems are made up of not one, but a whole series of algorithms.
To give you the most useful information, Search algorithms look at many factors, including the words of your query, relevance, and usability of pages, the expertise of sources, and your location and settings.
We will start by looking at what search engines are and how they operate so that we can understand the ranking factors better.
Let’s dive in now!
What Are Search Engines?
A search engine is a program that takes a list of words or phrases, called a query, and tries to find websites that match those words or phrases.
Search engines are a type of artificial intelligence that use algorithms to try to match web pages with the keywords that people type into them.
Search engines are the gateway to the internet, and with the growing need for information and education, search engines are becoming more and more important and sought after.
They are the voice of the internet and have become an integral part of the search for knowledge.
They are not perfect, because people can type in different ways, and the search engines can’t always understand what people are looking for.
Search engines are of immense importance for people to find the information and content they are looking for.
Local SEO and ranking factors to scale the Google SERP
How Do Search Engines Work?
When you type a query into a search engine, the search engine program sends out a request to all of the websites on the internet that might match those words or phrases.
The search engine looks at all of the websites that respond to its request, and then it ranks them according to how relevant they are to your query.
The search engine then sends the most relevant websites back to you, and it displays them in order of how relevant they are to your query.
Search engines work by crawling hundreds of billions of pages using their own web crawlers.
These web crawlers are commonly referred to as search engine bots or spiders.
A search engine navigates the web by downloading web pages and following links on these pages to discover new pages that have been made available.
The problem with search engines is that they’re not perfect. They can’t always find the most relevant websites, and they can’t always rank them in the right order.
That’s why it’s important to use a variety of search engines and to also use other tools, like Google’s search tools and Google Scholar, to help you find the most relevant websites.
How Ranking On The Initial Page Of Google Search Results Work For Website?
What Are The Top Google Ranking Factors?
There are many different factors that can affect how a website ranks on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Some of these factors are controlled by the website owner, while others are controlled by the search engine.
Here are the top ranking factors:
- Quality content
Google’s number one ranking factor is content. Without high-quality, relevant content, your website will not rank high on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Your content must be well-written, informative, and useful to your target audience. It should also be updated regularly to ensure that it remains relevant and useful.
This means that you need to produce high-quality content that is relevant to your target audience.
So quality content is anything that Google decides is worth sharing.
It’s real answers to real people’s questions.
It’s content that people want to digest because it helps or entertains them, tells them how to do something or where to find something.
- User engagement
User engagement is any way in which a visitor to any of your digital properties takes action on that platform as opposed to browsing passively or exiting immediately to find a better source of information.
Google also looks at how users interact with your content. This includes factors such as the number of shares, comments, and time on the page.
The more engaged users are, the more likely it is that your content will rank higher.
Ways to increase engagement:
- Speed up Your Site
- Offer people different ways of engaging in your content
- Produce helpful content
- Improve internal linking
- Authority and credibility
Why do you need authority to succeed?
Today, there are more than 440 million blogs on the internet. That’s likely to be a very conservative number by 2019.
The industry is exploding and there are more and more bloggers who are taking the job seriously and attempting to make a business of it.
Google also looks at the authority and credibility of your website and content. This is determined by factors such as the number of links pointing to your site and the quality of those links.
- Technical SEO
SEO stands for “search engine optimization.”
In simple terms, it is the process of improving your site to increase its visibility when people search for something related to your business on Google, Bing, or Yahoo.
The better visibility your pages have in search results, the more likely you are to garner attention and attract prospective and existing customers to your business.
While content is still king, technical SEO is becoming increasingly important for ranking high on Google. This includes factors such as site speed, crawlability, and indexation.
- Mobile optimization
With more and more people using mobile devices to access the internet, it is essential to have a mobile-friendly website.
Google now uses mobile-friendly factors as a ranking signal, so make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices.
Mobile optimization is not just for ranking better on SERPs, it also is integral to capturing traffic.
More users than ever are accessing websites through mobile devices. In fact, more than half of all global web traffic comes from mobile devices, a share that is growing year over year.
Just like on desktop websites, mobile users who encounter slow and cumbersome websites are likely to navigate away and never return.
- Links
Links to pages serve as a source of confidence which can lead to higher result rankings.
There is a strong correlation to increased page ranking performance when sites point to a particular page.
Links are another important factor for ranking high on Google. In order to rank high, you need to have links from high-quality websites.
Links from authoritative websites will help your website rank higher in SERPs.
You can increase your website’s authority by publishing high-quality content and building relationships with other bloggers and website owners.
- Authority and trust
Authority is one of the most important factors in getting your website to appear at the top of Google search results.
Google strives to offer the best answers to its users’ queries, so it’s essential that they choose trustworthy and authoritative sites to appear at the top of search results.
But how does Google determine authority?
This can be done by earning links from high-quality websites, creating great content, and participating in social media.
Search engines determine how trustworthy your site is based on the following criteria:
How many links your website has. If your website has a lot of links from other credible and authoritative sites, search engines can determine that your website is also authoritative.
How established your site is.
In order to rank higher, you must also establish trust and authority with Google.
- Local SEO
What is local SEO?
Simply put, it’s the practice of improving your online local presence through multiple methods.
When done correctly, an effective local SEO strategy equates to a higher search engine results page (SERP) ranking, which means more SERP exposure, new customers, and more revenue.
If you are a local business, it is important to focus on local SEO. This includes optimizing your website for local search, claiming your Google My Business listing, and building citations.
- Page speed
It affects SEO. Page speed is a direct ranking factor, a fact known even better since Google’s Algorithm Speed Update.
However, speed can also affect rankings indirectly, by increasing the bounce rate and reducing dwell time. At Google, users come first.
One of the solutions to counter the problem is using the best web hosting provider and caching plugins.
Important On-Page Ranking Factors for SEO
Summary
A search engine is a program that takes a list of words or phrases, called a query, and tries to find websites that match those words or phrases.
When you go to Google and type in a search, you’re not actually communicating with Google directly.
You’re communicating with a computer program that Google has created called a search engine.
When you enter a query into a search engine, the engine looks through a database of documents for ones that contain the keywords you entered and then displays the most relevant results.
It looks at all of the websites that respond to its request, and then it ranks them according to how relevant they are to your query.
The search engine then sends the most relevant websites back to you, and it displays them in order of how relevant they are to your query.
It ranks the results using a variety of factors and these factors include:
- Quality content.
- Relevancy to users.
- Authority of website and its content.
- User engagement.
- Social media presence and shares.
- Quality backlinks.
- Technical SEO.
