A link pointing directly to a page will help that page rank better. Fortunately, Google has created a nifty free tool called the “Mobile-Friendly Test”. Finally, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and YouTube for more helpful reviews, tutorials, and Google Analytics tips.

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In a 2022 poll by Marie Haynes, 44% of SEOs pros who responded thought that link building was less effective now compared to a few years ago. With all that said, here are the fundamental ranking factors that should all be considered for SERP visibility. This is an issue for Google and for the SEO industry at large, because SEO pros are often looking way too deeply at the wrong thing and losing focus on what really matters.

Content Relevance

Relevant, keyword-rich anchor text can help with SEO, while over-optimization or irrelevant anchor text can be detrimental. Proper keyword optimization will help ensure your content is appropriate for users’ search queries. This includes strategic placement of primary and related keywords in titles, headers, and body text to enhance relevance without overstuffing the content. Content architecture refers to the structure of your website and how the pages interlink with one another.

Google’s official word is that social shares are not a direct SEO ranking factors. Links from Twitter or Facebook aren’t counted the same as links from other authoritative websites. Page speed has been cited as one of the leading SEO ranking factors for years. Google wants to improve users’ web experience, and fast-loading web pages will do that. Therefore, this guide shares the most essential and updated SEO ranking factors for thriving in organic search results.

Meta directives (or “meta tags”) are instructions you can give to search engines regarding how you want your web page to be treated. Thankfully, there is a way to tell both searchers and search engines that your page has moved — the 301 (permanent) redirect. How does Google know which version of the URL to serve to searchers?

In addition to the NAP and primary category, the description of your business in the profile plays a vital role in boosting local search rankings. It’s here that you can, and should, weave relevant keywords naturally. This can significantly help Google understand your business better and match it to relevant local searches.

Domain age, or how old your website is, is often considered a ranking factor. While Google doesn’t clearly state SEO Anomaly this as one of its SEO ranking factors, research has found that older domains tend to rank better. That’s why SEO companies like safaridigital SEO insist on crawlability as being such an important SEO ranking factor.

• When ChatGPT and other generative AI tools burst on the scene in late 2023, many predicted that the death of SEO was imminent.
• Our initial research found a strong correlation between SearchGPT’s and Bing’s search results, which suggests that SEO is important.
• You can do this through Google Alerts, which tracks mentions of your business.
• John Mueller explains that no follow links aren’t included in the algorithm.
• Achieving a high website ranking involves a multifaceted approach.

Step 2: Keyword Research

By “page size,” we mean all of the bytes that were downloaded to fully render the page, including all the images, ads, third party widgets, and fonts. We would expect this graph to have a clear “up and to the right” trend, as highly ranked pages should have a lower document complete or fully rendered time. Indeed, page rendering has a proven link to user satisfaction and sales conversions (we’ll get into that later), but surprisingly we could not find a clear correlation to ranking in this case. Engaged audiences are more likely to interact with your content, share it, and return to your site, all of which positively impact rankings. Effective keyword integration is extremely essential for optimized content. Intrusive interstitials, such as pop-ups that obscure the main content or demand immediate action, can severely disrupt the user experience.

Again, please consult the raw performance data if you wish to examine it for additional factors. Readable content enhances user experience, encouraging visitors to stay longer on your site, which reduces bounce rates and signals to Google that your content is valuable. By focusing on what the audience is searching for and providing comprehensive, relevant information, you increase the likelihood that search engines will rank your content higher. Instead of using generic file names like IMG1234.jpg, using descriptive names helps search engines understand and rank the image appropriately. Alt text (alternative text) provides a textual description of images, which is essential for search engines to understand the content and context of the image.