Which Are the Top 15 Google Ranking Factors?
Has it ever occurred to you why some websites rank high in Google searches while others just struggle? Google’s search engine is very complex, and it considers many factors for the ranking purpose. If you want your website or blog to rank better in Google search results, you need to take important elements of SEO into account. However, when Google ranks a page, it uses many ranking factors.
So, which are those? I have come up with a list of the top 15 Google ranking factors after monitoring the website of Connect app, an upcoming dating site on Indian social media. You must use it to increase your website traffic and ranking in Google searches.
So, let’s get started…
Quality Content
This is the most important element and is understandably right at the top among Google ranking factors. It doesn’t matter how efficient SEO you do, your content can never rank in Google unless you have quality content. Simply put, if you aren’t writing informative blog posts on your site, you are just wasting your time on your blog and you won’t get what you are aiming for.
Try to post unique and quality content. And make sure your content is interesting and useful for your audience.
Content-Length
Usually, long content ranks better in Google searches than short one. Ideally, your content should have at least 800 to 1000 words. Besides, there are other benefits of having a long blog post on your site. You can easily optimize your focus keyword, and visitors will also spend more time on your site.
Keyword Research
Along with good content, you should also do some keyword research. Without having a good keyword, you cannot expect to get top ranking in Google or any other search engine. These are vital for SEO, and finding the right keyword isn’t difficult. There are many tools and websites that you can use to find the most appropriate keywords. Always select keywords for your content that have less competition, high searches, and Long Tail.
Keyword Density
Use keywords organically in your content. And if you are using too many keywords, it will create keyword stuffing. And that can adversely affect your ranking. Using too many keywords makes your content look unnatural and your audience also won’t enjoy reading it. Ideally, your keyword density shouldn’t exceed 1.5% – 2% in your content.
Long Tail Keywords
Once you optimize your site with long-tail keywords, you are bound to get good results because the competition on such keywords is also very low. Moreover, there are many other benefits of using long-tail keywords such as:
- It becomes easier to rank
- Helps to get Target traffic
- Gives Better Conversion Rate
- It also helps you to rank on your short tail keywords
- Are perfect for competitive niches
- Easy to optimize
Use LSI Keywords
LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) is similar to long-tail keywords. It helps to understand the content better. It will be better if you use LSI keywords in your title and description. Try to include your keywords in the first paragraph of the article. The idea is to use your focus keyword as soon as possible and most likely at the beginning of the article. This way Google can understand your content better.
Include the Keyword in the Title
According to the principles of SEO, a title starting with a keyword ranks always better in search engines. Therefore, include your keyword in the title, and make sure it’s catchy. You shouldn’t use more than 50–60 characters in your title.
HTTPS
Now Google also considers HTTPS for the ranking purpose. Google Chrome has begun categorizing sites insecure that are not using HTTPS. This is another indicator that Google is using HTTPS as a ranking factor, and sites that use HTTPS will always rank better in search engines.
Mobile-Friendliness
We are living in the age of smartphones, and more than half of all searches are done on smartphones. Accordingly, Google took the initiative to improve mobile-friendly search results. Therefore, the mobile-friendliness of your website is also a Google ranking factor. Google has also developed a mobile-friendly testing tool to determine whether your site is mobile-friendly or not.
Domain Age
Google doesn’t differentiate between a six-month-old domain, and a year old.
Domain age usually matters more for new websites as they are more likely to be spam sites.
Domain Registration Length
Reputed domains are often paid for several years in advance, while substandard domains are rarely used for more than a year. Hence, shortly, the expiry date of a domain can be considered as a factor in predicting the quality of a domain. Reputed domains are normally registered in advance, while inferior domains are hardly used for more than six months.
Heading Tags
The H1 tag helps search engines find out what your page or post is about. However, H2, and H3 tags in HTML also help Google to understand the structure of the page. Therefore, a good H1 tag will help to boost your Google ranking. But do not overload your content with H1 tags.
Loading Speed
Google considers website loading speed as one of the ranking factors to give a better user experience to its users. If the loading speed of your site is good enough, Google will most probably rank your content at the top. Users will also love visiting your site.
Optimize your image size
To rank your website well in the Google search, you cannot ignore the images. Therefore, to optimize your image size, you need to do the following:
- Keep only useful plugins
- Delete unwanted media
- Minimize CSS and JS Files
- Use a good Cache plugin
- Minimize Redirects
- Use Lightweight theme
- Try to use a CDN
- Use good web hosting
Number of Comments
The number of comments from users plays a key role in Google’s ranking factor. Because many comments act like reviews reflecting the quality of your content and user interaction. So, if you are getting a good number of comments that talk positively about your website can help you boost the ranking.
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