What Are Google Ranking Factors?

Google Ranking Factors one should have to know for ranking higher in Google SERP. There are some factors that are affecting more and there are some factors, which are affecting less when it comes to ranking higher in Google SERP.

If you are someone who is still struggling to find out “What are Google ranking factors?”, then stay with us. We will discuss some of the most important factors which are affecting Google ranking factor.

According to Brian Dean of Backlinko, there are more than 200 plus Google ranking factors that are responsible for ranking higher in SERP. Let’s talk about some of the most important which you have to focus more in order to rank higher.

I will share the complete list of tried and proven factors, that helps in ranking better in Google.

Google Ranking Factors

Mobile-Friendly

On 26th March 2018, Google rolled out mobile-first indexing. According to this update, Google gives better ranking to all those websites which have a better mobile version and loads fast on mobile.

Now, what does this update really mean? Before this mobile-first indexing update, Google used to check the desktop version of the website and if the desktop version is good, then Google used to rank those websites. But after this update, Google started seeing the mobile version first, and then if the mobile version is good then only it is giving better ranking to a website.

If your website is not mobile-friendly then there is a huge chance that Google will not rank your website. So, for better ranking in Google make your website mobile-friendly.

Loading Speed On Desktop And Mobile

When it comes to all the factors that affect website ranking, loading speed is one of the most important things to consider. Google gives utmost priority to user experience. If the loading speed is better then the user experience will be definitely better. If more and more people will click on your link on SERP. Then Google will automatically rank you better.

It’s not only that your website should load fast on desktop but also it has to load really fast on mobile devices. To achieve better loading speed you can use AMP. AMP helps your mobile version to load fast. There is no particular limit for loading speed but if it is less than 3 seconds then better it is.

UI And UX

User interface and User Experience are also one of the major factors when it comes to ranking better in Google. 

User Interface means your website design should be very good. From the color combination of your logo to logo design to website design and menubar and all the widgets, all play a vital role in UI.

User Experience or UX should also be very good, for example, your website navigation should be easy. If a user is searching for anything on your website then he/she should get all the answers in 2-3 clicks. If anyone has to click more than 3 clicks then it will ruin the user experience. And also if you are using too many popups then also it ruins user experience, and eventually, the user will bounce back.

Social SIgnals

Some people don’t give proper importance to this factor but Google takes social signals into consideration while ranking any website. Your presence in all social media matters a lot to become a good brand.

If your social signal is very strong then there is a chance that Google will rank better your website. In social signals many things matters like all the mentions you are getting on social media, your number of followers, your social media post engagements, comment, and like on your post. 

So, create a strong social media presence,  that will really help you to rank better.

Content Quality

As we all already know content is the king. Good content is the backbone of any website. The better the content in your website better the chance of ranking in Google SERP. For your website, you should write unique and in-depth content.

As nowadays they say 10x content or pillar content. If you are planning to write the content, first of all, you should have to do proper keyword research which will help you in writing better content. 10x content means content where everything is properly mentioned about a topic. After reading that piece of content users should get a clear answer to their questions, and they should not go to any other content.

If you can write in-depth content then there is a chance it will ranking very easily in Google. With good quality nowadays the length of the content also matters a lot. Nowadays bloggers are writing 4000-5000 words blogs.

Freshness

The freshness of the content is one of the major factors affecting Google ranking. Google gives more priority to fresh content than that of old content because of the simple fact that in the fresh content all the facts and content must be updated according to present data. We all know that websites like Wikipedia rank for most of the keywords, one fact for ranking is obviously content and second is freshness. Wikipedia content gets updated daily.

Search Intent

Search Intent matters the most after Google’s latest updates. Before if you used to add only some keywords then your website used to rank for the term. But now search intent matters the most, for example, if anyone is searching for an “SEO” keyword then that person must be looking for some post to read and learn about SEO. But if anyone is searching for “SEO Agency”, then that person must be searching for an SEO Agency to hire.

Long-form keywords and most questions are the best way to fulfill search intent. So while writing any content never forget to add a question in you content and answer them properly. 

Once you use the question in your post and reply to them perfectly, then there is a chance you will rank in the “People Also Ask” section. It’s better to add more and more questions in your blog post.

Image Optimization

Image Optimization is one of the most important factors. If you don’t optimize your image with proper ALT tag and description then Google will not able to read your image. So if Google can’t read your image and can’t understand what is the image all about then there is slim to no chance that your image will rank.

Backlinks

Backlinks are the most important Google ranking factors when it comes to ranking better in Google. Creating backlinks fro high DA websites is like getting a reference from a high DA website. If you get backlinks from another high DA website then Google gives more value to those backlinks. In return, Google will rank your website better.

But keep in mind that you never have to create irrelevant backlinks. Create backlinks that are relevant. Irrelevant backlinks Google sees as bad backlinks instead of helping these types of backlinks will harm your website ranking.

Domain Age

Domain age is a small factor that affects Google ranking. Most of the people used to think that domain age is a big factor when it comes to ranking better. But in reality, it is not that important.

According to Google’s Matt Cutts:- “The difference between a domain that’s six months old versus one-year-old is really not that big at all.”

Domain Authority

When we talk about Google ranking factors, DA plays a big role in that. Google takes DA as one of the biggest Google ranking factors. For a simple fact is to increase DA you have to have a good website, good content, and good backlinks. If your DA increases then there is a big chance that your Google rank will also increase.

Technical SEO

When it comes to Google ranking factors of Google how can we miss out on Technical SEO. Most of the people will talk only about On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO. But to start SEO you have to focus more on technical SEO.

Here you have to take care of title, description of website, robots.txt file, sitemap submission and many more. 

Conclusion

Here I discussed some of the most important Google ranking factors of Google. Let me know what are all the Google ranking factors you keep an eye on while trying to rank your website.