Did you know that around 90.63% of web pages fail to attract organic search traffic from Google? This is because of the search engine ranking system. Since, Google is the most widely used search engine, it's essential for online marketers to optimize their websites and improve the performance of crucial SEO metrics to increase organic traffic and drive conversions. In this blog post, we'll discuss the vital Google ranking factors that you should focus on to achieve your desired marketing goals.
What is Google ranking factor?
Google ranking depends on various factors that determine the position of a webpage in search results for a particular query. Websites use search engine optimization techniques to improve their ranking, generate high-quality leads, and drive traffic to their site.
Google uses bots, also known as web crawlers, which crawl the content available on webpages, index them into separate groups according to relevance, and provide a search result when someone types for a certain query. For example - suppose you are searching for “ best laptop to buy.” Google will display different web pages that sell or manufacture laptops based on your needs. Ranking factors include everything from the number of words on a webpage to the time it takes to load an image. On these factors, Google ranks your webpage and shows it in the search results.
a. Title tag matching with H1 tag- Title tag should match with H1 tag. The H1 tag is used to show the primary topic of the web page to the visitors. The best practice is to include the target keyword where your post starts.
b. Understanding Google ranking factors is essential for effective SEO because it increases user experience and the website ranking on Google. SEO drives 1,000%+ more traffic than organic social media, with 69% of marketers actively investing time in it. Therefore, SEO helps to increase unpaid traffic, so it plays a vital role in the quantity and quality of website traffic. A website can enhance its performance by hiring an agency that specializes in SEO audit services and SEO reporting services.
What are the Google ranking factors that matter?
Some website owners may be tempted to optimize for every ranking factor when trying to improve their website's Google rankings. However, given the complexity of Google's algorithm, it can be difficult to optimize for all ranking factors. While it is believed that there are around 200 Google ranking factors, some of these factors are more important than others and can greatly assist in the optimization of a webpage. These factors are:-
1. Website performance
2. Content on website
3. Domain control
4. Mobile friendliness
5. Social media visibility
6. Keyword optimization
7. Backlink optimization
8. Page performance
Now you know some of the most important Google ranking factors that help increase the webpage's ranking. Let's talk in detail to find out more about these factors:
Important Google ranking factors
1. Website performance
Enhanced website performance is one of the crucial elements that every marketer should focus on to grab users' attention. The better the website performance, the higher the chances visitors convert to customers. Some of the essential factors that play an important role in improving website performance are mentioned below.
a. Layout of website
Website layout refers to the organization of content. A website should be designed in such a way that it becomes easy for Google bots to crawl and index content on your website and enhance user experience. Google ranking is based on these factors. Apart from that, it also ranks on the basis of whether your website is opening in a stipulated time, along with the easy navigation on the page.
b. Safety of website
A poll conducted by the Deloitte Centre for Controllership said that in 12 months, 34.5% of executives who voted said that cyber adversaries targeted their organizations' accounting and financial data, and 22% of voters experienced that event one time, while 12.5% experienced such event more than a time. From this data, website security is the most important factor for Google while ranking websites and for businesses to protect their website from cyber attacks, phishing, malfunction, etc. HTTPS is used to increase the security of your website. If you do not use https, it will show a "not secure" warning in the URL. A website's safety should be a priority for the webmaster when creating it to protect sensitive user information from hackers and increase the website's Google ranking.
c. Loading efficiency of website
Website loading speed is another key component in Google's ranking factor. An ideal time for a website to open is 2.5 seconds, while 8.6 seconds is considered for mobile. A good page loading speed is an important factor for conversion and driving traffic. Suppose your website is slow; your potential customer might get frustrated and switch to your competitors. Therefore, a website should be designed in such a way that it loads in less than 3 seconds to increase conversion rate optimization. Page Speed Insights is a tool by Google that checks the speed of website pages.
2. Content on website
You might have heard the slogan in the digital marketing industry that “Content is king.” Content plays a crucial role in the digital marketing world in maintaining a business's authority and increasing its brand awareness. Creating unique and informative content helps increase your website ranking on search engine result pages(SERPs) for the keywords or search terms entered by the users. You can also outsource a content marketing agency that helps in increasing the ranking of your website on search engines. There are certain factors that you should consider while creating content. These are:-
a. Content quality
Google prefers high-quality original content that imparts some useful information to the users. The content should always be up to date with the latest information. It is advisable to research the topic before publishing content on the website. When writing about a topic, you can use the Google Trends tool to find the latest queries that are trending on the Google search page. Using these methods can help your content rank higher on Google search pages.
b. Size & structure of content
Although there is no perfect length for content, 2000 words are often seen as a good benchmark. Content should be crafted to ensure that readers can easily read and understand it within a short time frame, typically 7-10 minutes. Additionally, the structure of the content plays a crucial role in determining your Google ranking. Therefore, it is recommended that the content should be comprehensive enough to offer in-depth information to the reader while being well-organized to prevent any confusion during reading.
c. Relevance & authority of content
When creating content, it is essential to consider its relevance and authority. Relevance means ensuring your content matches the query entered into the search engine. For instance, if a user searches for "best SEO tools to consider to increase the ranking of a page" and your page appears with content about "how to write a blog quickly using artificial intelligence," the search intent does not align with your content. This mismatch can frustrate users and may lead to a lower ranking for your webpage.
3. Domain control
Domain control and age are considered important website ranking factors for Google. Domain age refers to the span of time a domain name was registered and in use. ‘The older the better’ formula is used by search engine algorithms, especially Google, in ranking websites. Older websites have more authority than new websites. Higher domain authority(95-100) can increase the SEO ranking and the website’s organic traffic. You can use tools like the Ahrefs website authority checker and Moz Domain checker to know your domain score.
4. Mobile-friendliness
Do you know that 58.99% of website traffic comes from mobile phones worldwide? While researching on mobile, 51% of smartphone users discovered a new company or product. Therefore, the optimization of mobile SEO becomes a crucial factor in increasing the visibility of your website. Mobile friendliness is another important website ranking factor, as confirmed by Google. More than half of the population in the world uses mobile phones, and they are considered to be an integral part of people's daily lives. Therefore, mobile SEO becomes a crucial parameter in increasing website traffic. Your website’s page speed and performance should be according to the mobile screen. You can outsource web design specialists who can design mobile-friendly design.
5. Social media visibility
Although it is not a direct factor that contributes to Google ranking, social media visibility can help you get more backlinks, which can contribute to your increased website ranking. Instagram platform, Facebook platform, X formally Twitter linkedIn platform have high targeted audience, by engaging with them regularly you can get a higher ranking on the Google search page. It is suggested to engage with the audience through liking, sharing, commenting, subscribing, etc. Social media presence is not only helpful in increasing Google ranking but also in attracting more traffic to your website and increasing your business authority and awareness. Outsource social media services to increase and manage your social media presence.
6. Keyword optimization
Keyword optimization is the most crucial factor for your website to rank on Google search pages. It involves researching keywords, and selecting the best keywords to drive the highest traffic to your site. Using tools like Google Keyword Planner can help you find the most suitable keywords for your website. Here are some tips to help you optimize your website:
a. Title tag matching with H1 tag - Title tag should match with H1 tag. The H1 tag is used to show the primary topic of the web page to the visitors. The best practice is to include the target keyword where your post starts.
b. User-friendly URL - A clear, structured URL should be implemented so that users can read it properly. Ideally, it is suggested that keywords be used in the URL for better clarity.
c. Captivating meta description - A meta description is a short summary of a particular webpage. Using keywords to write compelling meta descriptions can attract visitors as well as can help you rank your webpage.
d. Image optimization - Image optimization is a direct Google ranking factor; use images alt text so Google can understand what the image is about.
7. Backlink optimization
A backlink is a link that one site gets from another. These links are made up of HTML language used to mark up text on your website. Backlinks are beneficial as Google uses them to crawl and index content on your website so that they can display page results when a user asks a query. According to Ahrefs, 43.7% of the top-ranking pages have some reciprocal links. Hence, getting high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites increases your website's authority and credibility. Outsource backlink services to boost your SEO ranking. Google notices websites that get backlinks from authoritative websites and can further improve your ranking on the top of the page.
8. Page performance
According to Google, page performance or page experience is a core web vital. On-page experience is based on how users experience it when navigating through a website. Some factors that influence page experience are:-
a. CTR - Click through rate(CTR) refers to the number of clicks a website receives. High CTR means high website traffic, which can boost a web page's SEO. Since SEO plays a crucial role in increasing Google search ranking, it is advisable to hire an SEO agency to increase your website authority online.
b. Bounce rate - A low bounce rate is considered to be a good website performance statistic. Bounce rate refers to the number of people who exited from a website without further engaging. A high bounce means your page is irrelevant to users, which can lead to reduced Google ranking.
Conclusion
Since Google accounts for around 83% of the global search market. It is important to optimize your website according to the Google ranking factor. However, there are so many ranking factors on the internet. But these factors are more important than others, which can help you to optimize your website to rank higher on Google.
You can also hire a digital marketing company to assist you with SEO services. With the right SEO strategy, they will help you improve your website's ranking on search engines. They will assist you with the changes required to improve the website's quality to drive high-quality traffic and increase the conversion rate. An SEO specialist will provide you with other services such as SEO reports, link building, detox and penalty removal, SEO analytics, plan and strategy and guest posting for enhanced website visibility. We highly recommend outsourcing SEO services to a trusted digital marketing agency to lighten your workload and let experts like us manage the job. Our specialized SEO services cater to businesses across various home service industries, including electrician SEO, roofing SEO, flooring SEO, lawyer SEO, and small business SEO services.
References
- 11 critical Google ranking factors that will drive more traffic
- The top 10 Google ranking factors for 2023 (+how to optimize for them)