There are over 200+ SEO factors when it comes to Google ranking. However, you don’t need to know all of them by heart to promote your site. There are some very important ones, though.
We will cover them in this article. Write them out and follow each one to increase your Google ranking, increase the speed of page indexing, and improve the authority of your source.
Let’s get started!
The Right Keyword Choice
Don’t just start writing about everything you know on your website and/or blog. First of all, you should create a list of ideas and research keywords. While there have to be general articles providing visitors with basic information, the most promoted pages need to be well-optimized for medium to low-competition phrases.
Here are some tips to get started:
- Remember about the value of long-tail keywords.
These are long queries, often full questions. They are quite specific, and you have all the chances to make your page the first one users see when asking those questions. - Choose proper competition.
It’s logical that the most popular keywords have crazy competition. It’s difficult to tank high with them for older, experienced websites, not to mention the newcomers. Choosing a proper competition range will help you immensely to rank focus pages high. - Fill in the gaps.
If you see a keyword with little to no information on it online (poorly-written articles with no value) or you know you can do better, fill in the gap.
Backlink Profile
Your backlink profile is one of the most important things when it comes to the credibility of your source. Here are major criteria:
- The links have to be on websites with mid to high ranking;
- They have to be present in relevant sources;
- Their appearance has to be as natural as possible;
- They should link to both your homepage and other pages;
- There shouldn’t be any spammy links.
What is the best way to get backlinks? Read this guide on how to use guest posts effectively, and you’ll find out. Guest posting is one of the best things to raise brand awareness, get links and interested visitors, and increase the credibility of your source.
However, look, there are many places you can get high-quality backlinks from. There are several methods as well:
- Looking for hosts yourself;
- Filling in unlinked references;
- Using software like described on businesspartnermagazine.com;
- Using backlink services that cover all needs for your profile;
- Looking for broken links;
- Asking to put your link in a post containing competitors’ links, etc.
Analyze the profile regularly to make sure there are no broken links, websites that have changed focus topics or become spammy, etc. Digital SEO tools will help you greatly with that.
Content Quality
Earlier, it was more about the number of keywords. Now, Google is great at its purpose, which is bringing clear, informative answers to searchers’ questions. So, the quality of your content becomes one of the key SEO factors.
Make the articles, landing pages, homepage:
- Concise;
- Informative;
- Rich with useful visuals;
- Scannable (lists, subheadings, etc.).
Website Security
Having HTTPS encryption is crucial for ranking higher and gaining more credibility. The discussion on whether SSL is important for SEO and ranking has been going on since 2014. Now, it’s one of the major factors influencing the authority of a website.
The Ability to Crawl Your Pages
The sooner your site is crawled, the sooner you’ll see the results of your strategies. To increase the importance of your pages:
- Use robots.txt to communicate with search engines and guide them to the pages they should and should not crawl;
- Learn to use Google Search Console to see which pages are already indexed and which aren’t;
- Choose the most important search engines for you and submit sitemaps to them.
Responsive Design of Your Website
Responsive design is the one that adapts to the gadget your visitors are using. Most importantly, the source has to be accessible by mobile phones conveniently. If you don’t know if your site does that, use the Mobile-Friendly Test by Google.
Keep in mind that over 50% of users access the Web from their mobile phones now. If your site can’t adapt to smaller screens without losses in quality and navigation convenience, you risk losing all those people. The number of smartphone users is rising dramatically every year. No wonder having a mobile-friendly website is essential for eCommerce websites, blogs, and other Internet sources if they want to rank high.
Things Will Change
Keep in mind, though, that these factors are subject to change. Google algorithms are alive, they change and adapt annually to fulfill their purpose of bringing the best information. Some factors will last for eternity, like the quality of your content. But others may not be as crucial in the future.
