Demi JenkinsIf there is one field that’s dynamically changing, it’s the ever-growing world of Search Engine Optimization. It is an integral part of any website and without implementing its best practices, a website might never be able to reach the maximum number of audiences. One of the highly sought search engines in the world right no wonder the one and only, Google. However, ranking your website at the top of Google is a bit of a hefty task. That’s because Google’s ranking algorithm is always undergoing some new change. It is introducing something new and different, something important.
There are over 200 different Google ranking factors that ensure a website must rank on the Internet.
Which of these factors are important? Let’s find out.
But before we start discussing some of the most important ranking factors, have you checked whether your website is indexed in Google. Sometimes, websites don’t show up on Google, here’s why.
So without further ado, here are the 30 most important ranking factors you may consider for your site.
On-Page Factors
The way your website page is optimized plays an important role in bringing your domain up on Google. Here are some of the important on-page factors which can affect your search visibility.
1) Adding the Right Keywords in Title Tags
One of the strongest relevancy signals on Google is none other but title tags. Google crawl title tags first before it finds your content buzzworthy to be indexed and ranked on the first page. Adding the right keyword to the title tag can get your website rank at the top in Google’s search engine.
Tags which are starting with the chosen keyword happens to rank better and faster than the rest.
2) Adding the Right Keyword in Meta Description
Just as much as adding a keyword to the title tag is important, it is increasingly important to add the right keyword in your meta description. It is the description Google will show in the search engine for your content. A good meta description increases the possibility for content to get clicked by the users.
Just like title tags, keywords appearing at the beginning of meta description ranks better than the rest.
3) Adding the Right Keyword in H1 Tags
H1 tags serve the purpose of describing your product in the H1 heading category of your website content. It is a relevance signal according to Google and it is a good practice to add keywords in it.
4) Adding the Right Keywords in Your Web Copy
Gone are the days when stuffing keyword in the content of your web pages was the sole reason for achieving a ranking on Google. This practice is now strongly discouraged by Google and can lead your website to a hit. However, adding keywords to your web copy is an acceptable and favored practice.
A web copy is the core text of your website which helps people to learn about your product.
5) Building Informative & Authoritative Pages
If you want your website to rank on Google, you need to make sure that you build the perfect authority. To do so, it is important that you educate the masses in-depth and detailed information rather than feeding them with basic information. The longer the content, the better your chance to build authority.
6) Remove All Duplicate Content from Web Pages
Not every ranking factor on the block can have a positive influence on your website ranking. If you’ve similar content across all your website pages, it can have some serious negative impact on your site rankings. Hence, it is best advised that you avoid adding duplicate content and work on the original copy.
7) Apply Canonical Tags to Overlapping Content
Sometimes, two URLs can have the same content. It can create a duplication content error. When URLs are superimposing with the same content, the best way to avoid such hassle is by using a canonical tag on your website. It is a simple tag that tells Google, the URL is equivalent to another.
8) Optimize All the Images on Your Website
If you think that text is the only thing that can be optimized on a page, then it’s not. You can even optimize other media on your website such as images to meet search engine relevancy. You can add keywords in the alt text, captions, descriptions, examples and other places associated with the content.
9) Don’t Forget to Add Keywords in Your Site URL
Last but not least, don’t forget to add the keyword in your URL slug. It is a great relevancy signal that allows Google to quickly track your website and help you rank it on the top of Google search.
Off-Page Factors
Other then on-page factors, there are several off-page factors Google brings to attention.
1) It Addresses the Number of Linking Domains
It is important to address the number of domains linking back to your website. The greater the number, the higher is the chance for your website to come up on the Google Search Results.
2) How Many Pages Are Linking Back to the Site?
It’s not just how many domains are linking back to your website, but the number of links that are coming back to your website from these referring domains. More link indicates a greater chance of getting ranked. However, it is important that these links may come abundantly from different domains.
3) How Much is the Domain Authority of the Site?
It is also important that the pages linking back to your website have higher domain authority. Hence, when you are link building for your website ask yourself how much is the domain authority of the site.
4) Is the Link Relevant?
According to certain SEO specialists, pages which relate to your original topic holds greater relevancy for search engine than those which holds no relevance at all. Hence, link pages that are relevant.
5) Are You Linking Directly from the Homepage?
Do you know the strength of a backlink is more solidified when it’s directly coming from a homepage of a website? One of the best ranking factors for Google is to link back to pages with the homepage.
6) Create a Large Number of Links for Your Website
Another noteworthy ranking factor for Google is the number of links a website holds. Google bots are always going through websites, and the site with a great number of diverse links gets the best score.
7) Contextual Links are More Favorable
Links on the sidebar of the content is not a favorable option. What’s favorable for Google bots are links appearing in between the content. It becomes easier for Google bots to crawl texts with links in bulk.
8) Don’t Forget the Anchor Texts
Lastly, off-page links only work best when they have a strong anchor text. These anchor texts can be used as a solid ranking factor. If not done right, it can turn into webspam or negative impact rankings.
Domain Ranking Factors
And let’s not forget that domains can also have a negative impact on your website ranking. Which signals can have a negative/positive impact on Google when it comes to ranking domains?
Let’s check them out.
1) Has it Been Long Since You Registered Your Domain?
If there is one thing that Google considers as a strong and valuable point for your domain to easily rank up the Search, it is the ideology that domains are registered for at least more than a year.
2) What Does Your Domain History Looks Like?
Why domain history matter? It’s because if a domain has been penalized in the past, it might have a negative effect on your site ranking. A bad ranking means a fairly negative history for current ranking.
Site Ranking Factors
There are certain factors distributed across the site that Google brings to its attention when it comes to ranking. How many of these factors are important? Well, here’s where you need to pay attention.
1) Does Your Existing Website Have a Proper Site Map?
A properly designed sitemap ensures that all of your website pages are properly indexed. Having a site map is one of the simplest most effective ways of navigating Google bots to rank your site.
2) Is Your Domain Trustworthy?
If your domain can’t be trusted, Google will not be able to rank it. It means you need to make sure that your website domain doesn’t have quite many negative reviews on the Internet. A bad name can seriously hurt the image of your business and eventually your site ranking on the Internet.
3) Where is Your Server Located?
According to some experts, server location for regional websites plays a significant role in increasing the ranking of a website on Google Search.
4) Is Your Site Mobile-Optimized?
Last year, approximately 46% of the online searchers accessed websites from their smartphones. These numbers have immensely grown over the time span. Now, it is believed that almost 80% of individuals are accessing websites on smartphones. It’s why Google favors mobile optimization first.
So there you go, here are all the important factors which I believe every SEO specialist should be aware of when it comes to ranking your site on Google Search. There are over 200 different Google ranking factors which one must pay attention to. However, discussed above are few important ones.
