As a business owner, you know that ranking high in search engine results is essential to driving traffic to your website. But what exactly determines your ranking?
There are over 200 ranking factors that Google takes into account when determining where to rank a website in its search engine results pages (SERPs). That’s a lot for any one person – or even an SEO agency – to keep track of.
But don’t despair! While it may seem like an impossible task, there are ways to stay on top of all the latest ranking factors and ensure that your website is always performing at its best.
There are many factors that go into it, but some are more important than others. Here are 8 of the most crucial SEO ranking factors you need to know:
Relevancy
One of the most important ranking factors is relevancy. That is, how relevant your website and its content is to the searcher’s query.
If you want to rank for a certain keyword or phrase, make sure that your website and content are actually about that topic. You can do this by including the keyword throughout your site, from the titles and headlines to the body text and metadata.
Avoid Keyword Stuffing
Keyword stuffing is the act of filling a page with an excessive amount of keywords in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings. Although it was once a common practice, search engines have since become much more sophisticated and can now identify when a page is being stuffed with keywords. Not only is keyword stuffing ineffective, it can also result in search engine penalties that can severely harm a website’s ranking.
When creating content for your website, it’s important to use keywords sparingly and focus on creating quality, informative content that will engage readers. Using too many keywords on a single page can not only turn off readers but also trigger search engine penalties that can hurt your website’s ranking.
User Experience
Another important ranking factor is user experience. Google wants to provide its users with the best possible experience, so it takes into account things like how easy your site is to navigate and whether or not users are able to find what they’re looking for.4. Page Speed
Google also looks at page speed when determining rankings. If your site takes too long to load, users are likely to click away before they even get a chance to see your content.
Mobile-Friendliness
In today’s mobile-first world, it’s also important to have a mobile-friendly website. Google gives preference to websites that are optimized for mobile devices and displays them higher in search results.
HTTPS Encryption
Another ranking factor that’s become more important in recent years is HTTPS encryption. Websites that are encrypted with HTTPS are seen as more secure and trustworthy by Google, so they tend to rank higher.
Freshness
There’s no doubt that fresh content is essential for keeping your website relevant and engaging for both search engines and users. But what exactly is “fresh” content? Fresh content is any new or updated content on your site, whether it’s a blog post, product description, or even just a simple tweak to an existing page.
Search engines love fresh content because it signals that your site is active and up to date, which gives them more reason to rank it prominently in their search results. And when users find fresh, relevant content on your site, they’re more likely to stick around and keep coming back for more.
Backlinks
Finally, backlinks are also a major ranking factor. Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the higher you’ll rank in search results.
Final Thoughts
These are just some of the most important SEO ranking factors that an SEO agency will focus on in an SEO campaign. By focusing on these factors, you can improve your ranking and drive more traffic to your website.