Understanding the ranking factors is important for SEO. Content creators, marketers and SEO experts should be familiar with this as it helps to create a better user experience. The top content writing company helps create compelling content and helps to bring more leads and conversion for your business. Here are the major Google ranking factors you need to consider if you want to rank your website at the top of the SERPs.
Google Ranking Factors In 2022
1. Accessible And Secure Website
Your website should be accessible so Google can index it easily. A secure site assures the users that their information is in safe hands.
The first step is getting Google to access and index the website so it can rank on the search pages. If your website doesn’t have HTTPS, it is not secure. It can disadvantage your business even if you rank high on Google SERPs.
Implementation: Fix it, so Google search bots crawl and index the website. Use a popular Content Management System like WordPress; all this will be done for you automatically. Other strategies can help to improve site accessibility.
- Get SSL certificate
- Include robots.txt file
- Use sitemap
2. Page Speed
It is one of the most important SEO ranking factors. This is because Google wants to improve user experience and prefers high-loading speed web pages. As one-half of the traffic comes from mobile devices, it also ranks the page mobile load time.
Page speed refers to two things:
- How much time a web page takes to show all the content
- How much time a web server takes to send the first bits of data to the user’s browser
Google prefers the second metric to measure the page speed, known as Time to First Byte (TTFB).
A fast-loading page is a minimum thing that makes the online experience great. If your website takes time to load, it will have lower conversions and a higher bounce rate. Google will also penalize these types of pages. Google bots also take a long time to crawl the website, impacting the site’s indexation.
Implementation: To fix it, set a baseline for the page speed and determine which areas are slowing your site. Many things can help to make your site fast.
- Optimize image format and size
- Optimize dependencies
- Tracking scripts
- Plugins
- CMS software
3. Mobile Friendliness
Nowadays, people browse more on a smartphone than on desktops. This changed Google ranking algorithm and implemented the mobile-first index. If your website is not mobile-friendly, it can impact your ranking.
Browsing a non-responsive site needs zooming and scrolling constantly. It makes the visitors frustrated, and they leave the site. It will increase the bounce rate and impacts the search rankings.
Implementation: If you are building your website in WordPress, making it mobile-friendly is quite easy. It will provide a mobile preview so you can check what the web page will look like for mobile users.
4. Domain Ranking Factors
Almost 60% of sites with top ten Google search rankings are three years old. According to a study, 2 million pages confirms that few sites that are less than a year old get a top ranking position.
If you have a site and optimizing it, you got a good head start on the domain authority. The domain age is a factor in boosting the web page ranking. Websites that have been longer and have a good track record get better search engine rankings and hold the ranking for longer than the new ones.
The authority of the domain is a major factor in ranking. A reputable website or a credible source can help you get on the first page on Google.
Implementation: Many say that you can only wait when it comes to domain age. But that’s not true. Quality content can go a long way, so invest as much as possible. Ensure you don’t violate Google’s rules to prevent permanently tarnishing the domain’s reputation.
5. Technical SEO Ranking Factors
How a site is built and code is included on the page impacts how Google reads the content and attaches relevance in the context of search queries. Technical SEO supports all other SEO efforts. Your site might have relevant, informative content, but it doesn’t make sense if there are some technical barriers that can’t be found.
Implementation: Technical SEO has one goal: to make your website searchable and crawlable. Some improvements might need coding knowledge; there are many things to do if you don’t know the technical thing.
Use Header Tags: It helps to establish the web page’s structure. Google helps its algorithm to understand the content better. Using the H1 (Title) tag can boost your SEO.
H1 Tag: It’s good to include the main keyword as Google notices this first to determine if the page is relevant or not.
Give Meta Description: It describes what’s page is all about. It doesn’t affect ranking, but Google presents it in the search results. A great Meta description can boost click-through, which can affect the ranking. Make sure the actual content and Meta description match.
Use Alt Text On Images: Include keywords in alt text and describe the visual. This helps people understand the image even if the image is not visible.
Use Schema Mark-Up: It tells Google what type of content you are producing.
6. Links
Google assess inbound links from reputable and trustworthy websites (backlinks), which shows how relevant and authoritative your content is. If there are many reputable sites linked, Google values your page. It will also rank high in the SERPs.
Implementation: There are many strategies to get backlinks. Some are guest posting, broken link building and blogger outreach.
Internal links to other pages can also help the users and Google to navigate the content and introduce them to other pages. Try to link with a high authority page, as it lends its authority to the page you link to.
Outbound links show the readers other quality content. It helps you to rank high due to a better user experience.
How E-A-T Impacts The Ranking Factors
E-A-T refers to Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. It features in Google’s Search Rater Guidelines.
It may not be a ranking factor, but it indirectly affects the ranking. E-A-T helps to understand where Google focuses on improving the quality of the search results. It is used to evaluate the truth of content and impacts your ranking. So, use it wisely.
Understand Google Ranking Factors
SEO has a major impact on businesses. Google’s search algorithm is based on the ranking factor that helps in great user experience and high-value content. Google is getting better at measuring how users interact with content. Understanding the Google ranking factors can make or break the online marketing strategy; keep an eye on the updates, know the basics, and you have a good chance of success.
