SEO Ranking Factor
SEO
Ranking Factor
Maximize your SEO efforts by focusing on a few specific
ranking factors. These top four ranking factors are based on the most recent
studies by SearchMetrics, Backlinko,
SEO
PowerSuite.
1. Content:
Content is one
of the most important Google ranking factors,
according to Andrey Lipattsev, a Search
Quality Senior Strategist at Google.
2. Back Links:
Backlinks remain one of the strongest ranking
signals in Google’s search algorithm. The more links you have from multiple
high-authority domains, the better your chances are to rank well for top
keywords. Online marketers should pay close attention to their backlink
profiles, especially given recent updates such as “Penguin 4.0”, which cleaned
and filtered sites with low-quality backlink profiles.
A. Link score
A. Link score
How
does Google turn the abstract concept of “backlinks” into a quantifiable
ranking signal? In several patents,
Google explains that this is done by calculating a “link score.” The score is
made up by every incoming link’s individual quality score (aka PageRank) and
the number of links to the site.
So
link quantity is an important part of the score. However, remember that you
can’t afford to have spammy, low-quality links in 2017. It’s also worth noting
that links coming from the same domain carry little weight; Google will
typically only count one of them when evaluating your link profile. So in terms
of quantity, your primary factor to focus on should be the number of linking
domains.
Measuring
quality is less straightforward. While we know that PageRank is still one
of the key factors in Google’s algorithm, its public version is
no longer available. Luckily, there are reliable alternatives that are based on
PageRank’s original formula, including SEO PowerSuite’s recently launched InLink
Rank.
B. Anchor text relevance
(but not too much of it)
Anchor text is another part of the “backlinks” concept
that matters for rankings. Much like the content on your pages, your backlinks’
anchors tell Google what your page is about — and what it should rank for. Of
course, you’ve got to remember about Penguin and keep your anchors diverse
and natural; it’s all about striking the right balance.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO
The
technical foundation of your site is crucial for SEO (and well beyond). Here
are the top two factors that matter for rankings.
3. Page speed
Google expects pages
to load in two seconds or
less, and they’ve officially confirmed that
speed is a ranking signal. Speed also has a massive impact on UX: slower pages have higher bounce rates and lower conversion
rates. The most common
culprits for poor speed are uncompressed resources: scripts, images and CSS
files.
4. Mobile-friendliness
If your pages aren’t optimized for
smartphones, they won’t
rank in mobile search at all. With over half of
Google queries coming from mobile devices, that’s not something you can put up
with in 2017.
The focus on mobile will likely continue with
Google’s commitment to switch to mobile-first indexingsoon.
Encryption: Backlinko still
finds a strong correlation between HTTPS websites and first page Google
rankings, and SearchMetrics confirms that 45% of the top websites all use HTTPS
encryption (up from 12% in 2015). Google confirmed back in 2014 that
websites with a strong HTTPS encryption will rank better than their HTTP
counterparts, and websites that have not switched to HTTPS are now marked as unsafe in
Google Chrome.
H1 and
H2 Headings: There are more
landing pages with an H1 and H2 in the source code this year. SearchMetrics
found a strong correlation between the use of at least one H2 and a higher
rank. Anchor text: Exact-match
anchor text still has a strong influence on rankings, but you risk a
Penguin penalty if your links appear unnatural or spammy. Make
sure your backlink anchor text is diverse and organic.
Interstitials: In keeping
with Google’s emphasis on mobile-first optimization, they’re cracking
down on intrusive interstitial pop-ups. That means any page with an
ad or CTA that covers the main content or whisks users to a new page upon
clicking might suffer a penalty. Exceptions to this include login dialogs,
small banners that are easy to dismiss, and legally-required interstitials
(e.g. age verification).