Top SEO Ranking Factors

The majority of SERP ranking criteria listings are very long. Instead of focusing on the factors that actually matter, they mention everything under the sun. Here they are, in no particular order:

• Backlinks

• Relevancy

• Authority

• Freshness

• Search intent

• Content Style

• Page speed

• HTTPS

• Mobile-friendliness

• User experience

Backlinks - Backlinks are, without a doubt, the most significant ranking factor. What evidence do we have? PageRank, which is the core of Google's ranking system, is built on backlinks. Backlinks and organic traffic are linked, according to independent studies. However, not all backlinks are made equal. Relevance and authority are the two most significant criteria that contribute to a backlink's potential to move the needle. 

Relevancy - Assume you're on the hunt for the best Italian restaurant in town. You seek the advice of two pals. The one is a chef, while the other is a veterinarian. Whom do you rely on for advice? Most likely the chef, given they are familiar with Italian cuisine. The opposite is true if you're seeking dog food ideas. On the internet, the same concept is applied. The most valuable links come from relevant websites and pages. 

Authority - Backlinks from high-quality pages on high-quality websites are the most effective. The Domain Rating and URL Rating of a linked domain and web page can be used to determine their relative strength. Hire a professional digital marketing agency in uk to take care of your local seo and to get qualified backlinks for your website.

Freshness - Freshness is a query-dependent ranking factor, which means that it matters more for some queries than for others. Assess the value of freshness for your target keywords by looking at the search results.

Search Intent - For each query, search engines do not rank the same type of content. Someone searching for "purchase dresses online" is in the buying phase, for example. They want to see what they can purchase. It's for this reason why search engines display ecommerce category pages. A person looking for “how to tie a tie,” on the other hand, is in the process of learning. They'd rather learn how to tie one than buy one. It is for this reason that Google displays blog entries. 

Content Style - The prevalent content style in the search results is content style. It's usually always online pages, although it's also videos on occasion. Take, for example, the query "iPhone X unpacking." It would be nearly impossible to rank a web page for this query on the first page. You'll need to make and optimise a video if you want to rank.

Page Speed - Since 2010, when it affected one per cent of desktop search searches, page speed has been a ranking consideration. In 2018, Google expanded the ranking criteria to include mobile searches. However, the element only affects "a small number of inquiries" right now, and it's mostly a concern for pages that "provide the slowest experience to visitors”. That is a crucial point. The game isn't about beating competitors by a few milliseconds. It's more about ensuring that your site is fast enough to avoid negatively impacting users.

HTTPS - By encrypting data between the browser and the server, HTTPS improves visitor security. Google released HTTPS as a very light signal in 2014, affecting less than 1% of worldwide requests. Google has since increased its commitment to HTTPS, and Chrome now displays a “Not secure” warning when you visit an unencrypted page.

Mobile Friendliness - When Google switched to mobile-first indexing in July 2019, they added it as a ranking component for desktop searches as well. How can you tell if your site is mobile-friendly? In Google Search Console, look at the "Mobile Usability" report. This report will notify you if any of your pages aren't mobile-friendly. If you are not confident in optimizing your website yourself for mobile, hire a professional seo agency in watford 

User Experience - Google prefers to rank content that provides a favourable user experience. Not only is this self-evident, but Google's actions over the years support it. Google, for example, announced in 2016 that pages with invasive interstitial adverts (i.e., pop-ups) may not rank as well as pages with a better user experience. In the SEO field, there is a lot of discussion regarding how Google might assess customer satisfaction. Metrics like clickthrough rate (CTR), dwell time, time on page, and bounce rate is common beliefs.

Conclusions: Google ranking is rarely about the most up-to-date tips, tricks, and buzzwords. It's all about putting in the effort to generate material that searchers want, offering a positive user experience, and demonstrating to Google that your site is the best result for the query.