Search engine optimization (SEO) is constantly evolving, and it can be challenging to keep up with the latest ranking factors that Google uses to determine search engine results page (SERP) rankings. In this ultimate guide to ranking factors for 2023, we'll explore the major categories of ranking factors and provide educational tips and strategies for each category that you can use to improve your own SEO strategy.
Be sure to download the free SEO checklist to make this work for your website or digital marketing agency to ensure maximum SEO success.
Technical SEO ranking factors include elements of your website's structure, coding, and performance that affect search engine crawling and indexing. Here are some key technical SEO ranking factors to consider:
Site speed is a critical technical SEO ranking factor that affects user experience, bounce rates, and search engine crawling and indexing. To improve your site speed, consider optimizing your images, using a content delivery network (CDN), and minimizing HTTP requests. Explore website metrics in more depth here.
After all, people are 5x more likely to leave a mobile website that loads slowly and isn’t mobile-friendly. Check the speed of your mobile page with the PageSpeed Insights tool, or run a quick RunningSEO audit which includes PageSpeed and more.
Mobile-friendliness, the precursor to mobile-first, is another important technical SEO ranking factor, as more and more users are accessing the web on mobile devices. To ensure that your website is mobile-friendly, consider using responsive design, optimizing your font sizes and buttons for mobile screens, and avoiding pop-ups or interstitials that can interrupt the user experience.
Looking for more tips and insights on ways to create a stronger mobile experience? Explore tips from Think With Google.
Site architecture refers to the organization and structure of your website's pages and content. A clear and logical site architecture can improve user experience and make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your site. To improve your site architecture, consider using a clear hierarchy of pages, creating a sitemap, and using internal linking to connect related pages.
Content ranking factors include the quality, relevance, and uniqueness of your website's content. Here are some key content ranking factors to consider:
Quality content is one of the most important content ranking factors. Google's E-A-T guidelines were updated in late 2022 to include emphasis on "experience" turning it into E-E-A-T. Along with experience, the importance of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness in creating high-quality content is critical to the searcher journey. To improve your content quality, consider using reliable sources, providing original insights and analysis, and using clear and concise language.
Explore Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines: An Overview here or see the full guidelines here.
Relevance is another important content ranking factor, as search engines strive to provide users with the most relevant and useful results for their queries. To ensure that your content is relevant, consider using target keywords and phrases, creating content that aligns with your audience's interests and needs, and using internal linking to connect related content.
User engagement is a content ranking factor that measures how users interact with your website's content. Metrics like bounce rate, time on page, and click-through rate can indicate whether your content is engaging and valuable to users. To improve user engagement, consider using multimedia elements like images and videos, including calls to action and interactive elements, and analyzing user behavior to identify areas for improvement.
Backlink ranking factors include the quantity, quality, and relevance of external links pointing to your website. Here are some key backlink ranking factors to consider:
The quality and relevance of backlinks are critical backlink ranking factors. Backlinks from authoritative and relevant websites can signal to search engines that your website is a valuable and trustworthy source of information. To improve the quality and relevance of your backlinks, consider reaching out to relevant websites and asking for links, creating high-quality content that other websites will want to link to, and avoiding paid or spammy backlinks.
Anchor text refers to the clickable text that appears in a hyperlink. Anchor text can signal to search engines the relevance and importance of the linked page. To optimize your anchor text, consider using descriptive and relevant phrases, avoiding keyword stuffing or exact-match anchor text, and using a mix of branded and non-branded anchor text.
The diversity of backlinks is another important backlink ranking factor. A diverse range of links from different types of websites can indicate to search engines that your website is a valuable and authoritative source of information. To improve the diversity of your backlinks, consider reaching out to a variety of websites and sources, creating content that appeals to different types of audiences and interests, and avoiding relying on a single source of backlinks.
Local SEO ranking factors are particularly important for businesses that rely on local customers or foot traffic. Here are some key local SEO ranking factors to consider:
Your Google My Business listing is a critical local SEO ranking factor, as it provides key information about your business to potential customers and signals to search engines that your business is relevant and trustworthy. To optimize your Google My Business listing, consider providing accurate and up-to-date information, using relevant categories and keywords, and encouraging customer reviews and feedback.
Local keywords are another important local SEO ranking factor, as they signal to search engines that your website and business are relevant to local searches. To optimize your local keywords, consider using location-specific phrases and keywords, creating content that addresses local interests and needs, and using local events and news to generate backlinks and social media engagement.
Behavioral signals like website traffic, engagement, and social media activity can also influence local SEO rankings. To improve your behavioral signals, consider creating high-quality and engaging content, using social media to connect with your audience and promote your content, and using local events and promotions to drive traffic and engagement.
SEO is complex and constantly evolving, but understanding the major ranking factors and implementing strategies to improve them can help you achieve higher search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your website. By optimizing your technical SEO, creating high-quality and relevant content, building high-quality backlinks, and focusing on local SEO, you can position your website for success in 2023 and beyond.
Need help? Find an expert SEO company to do the work for you →
Designing and having your website built can sometimes be overwhelming. Especially if you are not tech-savvy and hear a lot of web development and design lingo flying around.
You may be asking yourself about specific editions to your website, and how important they really are. If “link title attribute” is one of those, then you are in the right place. We are going to talk a little bit about link title attributes; what they are, and how you use them.
The short answer is that when a web user is about to click on a link, they can hover over it with their mouse, and it pops up a short explanation about what the link is. Basically, a preview of the content that is on the page they are about to click through to.
The long answer is a little more involved. Not everyone feels comfortable clicking on a link to go to a webpage, or they don’t want to waste their time going to a page and only to find that the information doesn’t pertain to what they need. What’s more, not only do link title attributes help users to navigate your web site, but they also help you.
The goal of any site is to keep users navigating it as long as possible. If users are confused or feel that the site is challenging to search and find information, their chances of leaving increase.
If they can hover over a link before clicking to the page and see a quick preview of the page content, it helps for two reasons. One, users can learn more about where they are going, which reduces disorientation, and two, it helps them to save time and not click on links that don’t have the information that they are looking for.
While link title attributes may not be helping your SEO, they are still doing a lot for your site. Giving your users accessibility is key to any website. By creating the best user experience possible, you are optimizing your site in a way that even keywords can’t. You are making it easy for your users to read, search, and navigate, which is excellent.
When you are having your website built, you want to look for a company, such as Key Medium/Running SEO, that understands the importance of accessibility and strives to include it in every aspect of their web design.
There are two SEO techniques that you will probably have heard of: one is ‘on-page SEO’ and the other is ‘off-page SEO.’ Together they are a way of optimizing your website for search and improving your organic search engine ranking. Of course, SEO improvements
In a nutshell, on-page SEO looks at what your actual website (or an individual page) is about whilst off-page SEO ranks how authoritative and popular your website (or each individual page is)--sometimes known as ‘domain authority.’
Let’s get into further detail of off-page SEO vs on-page SEO.
Off-page SEO is quite self-explanatory as it’s work done outside of your website. Off-page SEO is all about promoting and branding, creating the right brand for your website so that it can travel further than what’s on-site.
Your SEO agency might employ any of the following techniques to improve off-page SEO. However, off-page SEO is the most difficult element to get right.
You can ask your SEO agency what strategies they’re employing to improve your website’s domain authority.
On-page, again, is all about what you can do to improve organic search by implementing best practices on your website. On-page SEO is the easiest to navigate because there are technical fixes and structures that are included in your website’s design so that search engines can correctly crawl and index the pages on your website. Some elements of on-page SEO are created on the back-end and some rely on your site’s content.
Your SEO agency will employ the following techniques to improve on-page SEO.
Your SEO agency will most-likely employ all of the above strategies to improve your on-page SEO. You can ask them specifically what strategies they’re employing to improve your on-page organic search chances.
You wouldn’t choose between having an engine or wheels for your car so you can’t really choose between off-page vs on-page SEO. Both are important; both solutions are needed to create the best organic search results.
However, the first step for your SEO agency will most likely be to correct the on-page SEO elements and then discuss with you the strategy to focus on your off-page SEO. There’s no point working on outreach (off-page) if you haven’t corrected all of your on-page elements. Ask your SEO agency for an SEO audit to help you determine where you should begin.
If you’d like a free consultation about your on-page and off-page SEO strategy, get in touch with Key Medium today.
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A UK-based professional editor, freelance writer, and former marketing agency content writer where she wrote articles for disparate clients using SEO best practice. She enjoys reading, writing, walking in the countryside, checking images for alt text, spending time with other people’s cats, and going for afternoon tea.
