If you’re on the hunt for a digital marketing agency to help you with your SEO, you may have come across a lot of technical SEO jargon like ‘Google ranking factors’ and wonder what these technical terms mean – are they even important? At Wildcat Digital, we’re here to help you have a better understanding of SEO and its technical terms so that you can feel confident in hiring an SEO agency.
So, what are Google Ranking Factors? Google ranking factors are a range of requirements set by Google which evaluates the quality of web pages and determines a suitable rank on search results. Such factors include high-quality content, user experience, internal and external linking, and page speed among other factors.
Read on for more information about on-page and off-page Google ranking factors.
‘Ranking’ in SEO refers to where a web page sits on a search results page. The term ‘Ranking Factors’ refers to a criteria applied by Google to evaluate the quality of a web page and determine where it should rank on any relevant search.
Whether you are focusing on on-page or off-page SEO, you must understand the ranking factors that influence this in order to see an improvement in your web page rankings over time. Of course, you could always get in touch with the SEO experts at Wildcat Digital for a little help with this. Our team of experienced content writers are aware of the wide variety of ranking factors and are always looking for ways to improve the quality of content we provide.
It is estimated that Google uses over 200 SEO ranking factors in their algorithm. Some factors have more impact on rankings than others, however all suspected ranking factors should have a positive impact in some way – whether that’s on web page rankings or general user experience. Below we explain what are thought to be some of the most important Google ranking factors.
The most important Google ranking factors include:
Not all content is quality content and valuable to your website. In order to be valuable it needs to be well written, well structured and be relevant. What’s more, in order to rank well, it should also contain a number of SEO factors such as good linking and appropriate use of keywords, among other things.
Webpage speed measures how fast your content loads on your page. This is a huge way to enhance user experience and ultimately improves your customer conversion rates. What’s more, this is an important factor that Google assesses when evaluating web pages.
What makes a website user friendly? It’s about making it easy for your visitors to navigate around your site and easily find the information they require. Don’t forget, if your site is easy to navigate and user friendly, there is a increased chance this could contribute to an increase in conversions.
According to recent reports, over half of consumer traffic to websites is through mobiles. Mobile optimisation is essential if you want your website to rank well and gain visitors, and for conversion.
On-page SEO ultimately focuses on increasing traffic and authority of your web domain through high quality content and backlinks. Google encourages all sites to increase their page security when the traffic is led to a web page. In return, Google will reward sites with an SSL certificate, which then boosts a site’s search ranking.
Link building is an SEO technique where you gain relevant backlinks to your website from high-authority external sites. These links are almost like a vote of confidence for your website, telling Google that your content is of high quality and is valuable to the reader, thus helping to influence rankings over time.
Brand trust is extremely important. Your consumers, old, new or potential, look to trust your brand when choosing your brand’s products or service, instead of a competitor. Reviews are a way to build this trust. Reviews give your business the opportunity to boost its social appearance and reputation. What’s more, reviews are thought to be a key ranking factor for local SEO.
Google ranking factors can be thought of as guidelines for writing quality content and for creating user-friendly pages. When pages meet the criteria, there is an increased chance of your page ranking higher for relevant searches, although other factors, such as domain authority, can also have an impact here, both positive and negative.
There is no guarantee that simply adhering to Google’s known ranking factors will have a positive, instant effect on web page rankings (SEO takes time!). However, it does ensure that your content will be of high quality, easy to read and digest, and be useful to your users, thus improving your chances of conversion for those that do reach your site.
If Google ranking factors are still causing head-scratching and concern, why not enlist the help of Wildcat Digital’s SEO experts? From landing pages to blogs, resources and a range of other content, our team will ensure that your content meets Google’s criteria, as well as being a great piece of content in its own right.
We also offer PPC, Paid Social, and Web Design services for those looking to punch above their weight online.
