Top 5 Google Ranking Factors You Can’t Afford to Ignore

Google handles over 8.5 billion searches per day, and ranking on page one can mean the difference between thousands of website visitors each year, or none.

Google looks at over 200 factors when it comes to ranking websites. This list is filled with so many ranking factors, it can be easy to become overwhelmed. Which are most important? Where do you start?

In today’s article, I’m breaking down the top 5 Google ranking factors to pay attention to if you want to rank higher and reach the right people online!

Factor 1: High-Quality Content

With the rise of AI generated content and the ease of access to information, it’s becoming increasing important to create high-quality content including relevant, and unique content that is going to satisfy the reader. In order to keep users engaged online, Google has to give them what they want – the answers to their queries. For content creators and service based businesses trying to rank on these search terms, this means giving Google and users exactly what they’re looking for: high-quality content.

Do’s: 

• Start with a keyword (aka search term) that is being searched online. 
• From there, browse already ranking articles and sites for ideas but do not copy them! 
• Create your own content that answers users questions or queries comprehensively, making it even better than those other ranking sites. 

Don’t’s: 

• Don’t write unhelpful, thin articles just for the sake of posting or ranking without keeping users in mind. Google does not like content that is duplicated, useless, or written solely for SEO. It’s a balance!

Factor 2: E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness)

E-A-T is a cornerstone of Google’s quality guidelines, ensuring that content that is created is credible and from sources that are authoritative and show expertise on a subject. This factor is especially important for industries like health, finance, or legal services but creatives and service providers also benefit by showcasing trustworthiness. 

Do’s: 

• Include elements on every page of your website to satisfy the E-A-T requirement through displaying awards, certifications, credentials, press, and testimonials. 
• Establish yourself by writing content for authority in your niche, industry, and/or location. 
• Start growing your online presence through guest posting, collaborations, and earning backlinks from authoritative sites. 

Don’t’s: 

• Don’t forget to add an “about” page to your website that showcases your authority, expertise, and trustworthiness in your niche and industry.
• Don’t neglect to have testimonials on every main page of your site!

Factor 3: Technical Optimizations

Technical SEO ensures that your website can even be found and indexed by Google, so it’s one of the most important factors. Among the most important technical factors are: indexability, XML sitemaps, site security, page speed, mobile-friendliness, schema markups, and internal linking. These are all foundational to a healthy website, ensuring that your site is capable of being found online. It also ensures a smooth user experience, which is important for both search engines and your users. This is also why it’s important to build your website on a reliable website platform.

Do’s:

• Make sure your site is able to be indexed by searching site://yourdomain.com into the search bar. If nothing pops up, you need to do some sleuthing to figure out why your domain isn’t indexed by Google.
• Create and submit your XML sitemap to search engines using Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools to help them read your site easier with a map.
• Implement relevant structured data (schema markups) to help search engines understand your page more easily.
• Fix any broken links to and from your website.
• Ensure your website has an active HTTPS security certificate.

Don’t’s:

• Don’t create pages with duplicate content. You’ll be punished by the search engines if you do.
• Don’t skip over important steps when setting your website up and ensure your website is following best practices when it comes to technical optimizations.

Factor 4: Keyword Optimization

Using strategic and researched keywords in the right places on your website ensures search engines will understand your content and matches it with relevant search terms. This is one of the biggest ranking factors, and one that many service providers skip over or get wrong when trying to get their sites ranking online.

Do’s:

• Conduct keyword research to find long-tail, low-competition keywords with a good number of searches per month.
• Use your primary keyword in page titles, meta descriptions, headings, and in your content throughout your pages.
• Use relevant secondary keywords naturally throughout your text to cover keyword variations and rank for more terms.
• Optimize your images and include keywords in your image titles and alt text, when natural.

Don’t’s:

• Do not skip over keyword research. This is the biggest mistake I see and results in websites never being found. You may be ranking for keywords no one is searching, or trying to rank for ones that are too high in competition for your site. Or, you may use keywords that have a different search intent than you want to be ranking for.
• Don’t stuff keywords everywhere or use spammy tactics like hiding paragraphs of keywords on your site. These are flagged and penalized by Google.

Factor 5: Backlink & Citations Profile

Backlinks are links from other websites to your site. There are good and bad backlinks, and most sites have a mix of both. Backlinks from high-quality, authoritative websites tell search engines that your site is relevant and authoritative, which helps to improve rankings. When looking at top ranking sites, most of them have higher domain authority, and lots of quality backlinks.

Citations are any mentions of your brand online. These include text on someone’s site, directory listings, or social media mentions. These are important to signal to search engines that your brand is relevant and trustworthy.

Do’s:

• Build links through publishing high-value and sharable content that other sites will want to link to.
• Your backlink strategy should also include proactive outreach to other sites. Find opportunities to submit your work to a blog publication, guest post, or collaborate.
• Start building citations by searching for reputable directories to list your business.

Don’t’s:

• Don’t cave and purchase low-quality links or spend your time building tons of irrelevant links. These can actually harm your site. Think about links as associations. If Google sees you associate with spammy or low-quality sites, it will see you as spammy or low-quality. Quality over quantity!
• Don’t take part in black hat SEO link building through redirect links. Eventually Google will notice spammy tactics and will penalize your site.

Bonus: User Experience and Engagement

User experience is what it sounds like–a user’s experience on your website. If your web design and structure is poor, visitors will not stay on your site or click over to any other pages. This increases your bounce rate and decreases your engagement rate, which signals to search engines that you are not relevant for that search term (or any search terms for that matter).

This is why it’s so important that you pay attention to your site’s structure and usability. A good, well designed website will convert much better than a confusing diy website. Focus on clarity, logical menus and buttons, and internal links to guide users through your site. 

Understanding and prioritizing what search engines care about is important for your website to not only rank on Google, but also attract the right visitors to your site. From creating high-quality and helpful content to ensuring your technical optimizations are in place, each factor plays a crucial role in how your site is perceived by both users and search engines.

Don’t forget–Google’s ultimate goal is to deliver the best experience to its users (so they keep using Google, of course). By focusing on elements like E-A-T, keyword optimization, and backlinks, you’re aligning your website with what search engines value most.

Need help optimizing your site for these critical ranking factors and the others that search engines care so much about? Contact Taylor at Aligned SEO today, and let’s work together to increase your rankings and reach more dream clients online!