50 Most Important Google Ranking Factors

Google is one of the most popular search engines, providing endless opportunities to users and businesses. If your page ranks on the first SERP, it can increase traffic and conversion to the site. However, its updates and guidelines make it difficult for sites to rank. Below are the 50 most important Google ranking factors that will help you elevate your page ranking. So, let’s begin with the list!

Page Loading Speed

This modern generation of users mainly wants to access the data as soon as possible. Long wait times are no longer necessary if you aim to rank the highest on SERPs. The speed at which your content loads on cell phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and internet browsers is crucial for all users, so make sure your content loads in a timely manner.

Site Security

Users care about data security and only want to interact with brands confident about their data security procedures. Based on this Houston digital agency recommends site security is beginning to find a place among the most essential ranking factors in SEO.

Social Media

Social media is always in high demand and practical. The role of “social signals” as crucial Google ranking factors is understandable. Be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or other social platforms, “likes,” “shares,” “comments,” and your webpage visibility all matter and should be used in crafting a holistic social media scheme that is strategic for SEO.

Google My Business

Combining a verified GMB listing with the owner will surely yield a high SEO ranking as a direct consequence and capture a local audience at the same time.

Page Experience

The signal of Page Experience includes metrics that evaluate the user experience on your site, such as security, mobile-friendliness, CWV, and intrusive interstitials (ads that do not favorably affect the UX).

E-A-T

There’ll be no E-A-T score, but your Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness will be measured. Then, you’ll end up on the search engine result pages (SERPs) in that order because Google will likely use its algorithms to assess your E-A-T.

Recency

Customers are often bored to see the same information repeatedly, which is why Google likes content freshness in its SERP results. Whether it is updating existing content or adding new content, just these two are more than enough to boost your ranking.

Content Quality 

Good quality, suitable material that answers users’ desires is the key to obtaining good SEO.

Content Freshness

Regular content updates and refreshes mean the Google tool sees your website alive and worth counting.

Backlink Quality

Quality backlinks from respectable domains will remain at the top of the list of ranking rules.

Backlink Diversity

A heterogeneous backlink portfolio gained from different sites helps us to be more trustworthy and credible.

Anchor Text

Anchor text in backlinks that is relevant as well as contextual is a massive factor in signaling the relevance of content to search engines.

Social Signals

 Although social signals are not an element of direct ranking, their indirect contribution helps boost your website’s visibility.

User Experience (UX)

A smooth user experience, uncomplicated navigation, and a simple look/feel increase a website’s position in search engine results.

Bounce Rate

High bounce rates may indicate a non-optimal user experience or content devoid of meaning, ultimately affecting rankings positions.

Sitemap

A sitemap is not only aimed at indexing all the internal pages of the site but also serves as a guide for search engines. It explains to Google what this page is about.

Exact Match Domain

Occasionally, individuals choose to possess a domain name that is the same as the keyword they are trying to rank for, thinking that should be all the traffic they need. However, Google treats backlinks and tons of links alike, and this is a ranking factor that might result in a penalty or spam backlinks.

Freshness

If you have a large number of irrelevant or poorly-ranking articles, optimization based on recent data and fresh information will help you rank. The freshness update that Google rolled out in June 2010 also affects this.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Better CTRs mean your content matches the user’s interests and is engaging. This indicates a higher SEO ranking.

Meta Tags Optimization

 The process of crafting strong meta titles and descriptions leads to high click-through rates and superior rankings in the search engine result pages.

Schema Markup

Search engines parse your content with markup, making it clear to them and for users to see in a rich snippet.

Keyword Optimization

A strategic use of keywords all over the content works in this way. Google can make sense of both the theme and the context of your pages.

Domain Age

Younger domains have the tendency to score fewer points with respect to trust and authority than older domains, which could be influencing search engine rankings.

Domain Authority

 A Metrik developed by Moz that can be used to predict if the website will rank high on search engine results pages (SERPs).

URL Structure

Clear, readable URLs create a great user experience and make it easier for crawlers and bots to read and search for content on web pages.

Location

To deniers of this fact, the server location is the key factor that enhances rankings. However, this remains unconfirmed.

Search Console

Conversely, by linking your website with the Google Search Console, you can rest assured that your website is of high quality and has all the factors that will raise its ranking.

Parked Domains

Occasionally, you will come across a name on the Internet that does not resolve to a website or a service. This is called a parked domain. Google treats parked domains as inactive and thus ranks them very low.

Internal Links

The path of external and internal links is an SEO ranking factor that should be taken seriously, but internal links are also important. The presence of internal links pointing to a certain page helps to determine its overall impact on the site as a whole. 

URL Length

With your keyword terms in the initial version, use them instead and shorten the length of your URL to be relevant to the content, rise to the rankings, and drive traffic to your site.

Search Intent

User behavior can be predicted from search intent, which is why long-tail keywords should also be considered. When users are in shopping mode, like they need to buy a laptop and keyboard, Google will already respond to them with suitable e-commerce business websites.

Titles

Text is styled using HTML tags like H1, H2, and H3. These tags add titles and subtitles to a webpage, improving its readability and UX. The keywords you use in tagging also highlight which fragment of the page is more important.

Safe-Browsing

It will be a no-brainer that Google would not want malicious content to be in a position to get a higher ranking. Hence, it’s not very unexpected that the new Page Experience ranking factor includes safe browsing. Google’s Security Issues report can help you check your webpages to see if they might be a false positive and gives you information on how to ensure any content meets Safe Browsing requirements.

Site Architecture

A site structure with logical categories, hierarchies, and internal linking helps search engines better detect and index sites.

Content-Length

 Bigger, well-detailed, and deeper content can outrank content with little information, considering its quality and relevance.

Image Optimization

Using descriptive filenames and alt tags optimizes pictures, making the content more readable and, thus, improving SEO.

Local SEO

 Local businesses are not excluded from the huge benefits of online marketing and must aim for a high position in the local search results. The Maddex provides SEO plans and quality content that help brands enhance ranking and achieve their desired goals. 

Citation Consistency

The use of Consistently NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) Spans in Online Directories increases the Local SEO Effects.

Customer Reviews

The positive reviews people write about your store serve to build trust and credibility for both users and search engines.

Page Authority

 Page authority is a similar metric to domain authority that helps predict the high rankings of individual pages on search engine result pages.

Content Relevance

Creating content that meets users’ purposes and search queries is crucial for relevance and improved search results.

Dwell Time

The more minutes people spend on the page suggests that the content is well-written and relevant, affecting the rating.

Domain Registration Time

Google likes domain names that have been active for over a year, and it considers these domains more trustworthy than those registered for less time.

Domain History

If the site has gotten a penalty in the past, a place in the search results may be affected.

Country-Specific TLD

In case you fit the description of the country-specific audience, prefer to use the country-specific TLD.

Topic Authority

 If you create command authority around a certain topic or a specific niche, it will have an impact on your ranking for relevant search terms.

Geotargeting

Relevant content placed in locations that are the most specific to both the user’s geography and the search will increase visibility in local searches.

Structured Data Markup

So, using explicitly defined data markup assists search engines in understanding the meaning of your content.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Google’s algorithm for processing user queries and setting a content context now uses an NLP algorithm.

Brand Signals

 Active brand presence and familiarity have positive effects on SEO rankings. The user trust is also influenced in the same way.

Final Thoughts

By including the Google mentioned above ranking factors our digital marketing agency has helped many brands of various industries to rank higher. If you want to see your website in the top searches, feel free to call us at 866-979-3359