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 →
Every online business needs an effective SEO strategy to help ensure its success.
What is SEO you ask?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a process implemented by businesses to ensure their websites rank high in search engine results.
It all boils down to outranking your competitors, which may seem difficult for those working within a smaller budget.
But don’t let this discourage you!
There are many ways to achieve that page one ranking, you just have to know your way around SEO mechanics.
To help in your quest to outrank your competitors, here are ten ways to fix your SEO strategy – while remaining within your budget.
When working within a small budget, it’s important to understand what you can and can’t do. Oftentimes, compromises must be made.
If you’re limited on:
Taking the time to build your online reputation may be a tedious task, but it can save you significant amounts of money.
You can increase authority and awareness in your industry by becoming a recognized content publisher.
By integrating a blog into your website, you can produce trustworthy and reliable content that can ultimately affect your SEO ranking.
Establish a name for yourself in your niche and deliver content that prompts readers to comment, like, or share.
Comments add to the overall length of a post…and longer posts essentially increase the chances of higher SEO ranking.
When dealing with SEO logistics, knowing which optimizations to prioritize first is crucial.
We live in a digital world, where everything is accessible through our mobile devices. More than half of all searches are made via mobile devices. And the numbers will only continue to rise.
Chances are if someone visits your website and has difficulty navigating it…they will exit the session and leave it at that.
Your website’s loading speed is critical when it comes to SEO. Mainly because Google recognizes slow loading speed, which ultimately harms your ranking.
Additionally, a reported 40% of visitors will leave your site if it takes more than three seconds to load. And a whopping 80% will never return.
You can use free online services like Pingdom to test your website’s speed.
SEO rankings boast immense amounts of competition. Though this may seem intimidating, you can actually use it to your advantage.
You can save a lot of resources and time by observing your competition.
By implementing reverse engineering, you can analyze your competitors’ success strategies and incorporate them into your website. However, this doesn’t imply that you need to blindly copy what everyone else is doing.
Utilize free services like Link Explorer, as well as our SEO Audit Tool to help simplify the process.
Though having a small budget may seem like a disadvantage, you must have some successful elements to bring to the table.
Figure out what is available to you and utilize the resources, skills, and knowledge that you have access to.
If you are limited on resources, consider reaching out to local businesses or other members of your community…chances are they will need something that you can provide.
Don’t limit yourself to your immediate team, instead, consider seeking out support from outside sources.
Having set SEO expectations is essential to every successful SEO strategy.
By analyzing your website’s current organic traffic baseline, you can implement a predictive model and ultimately establish the estimated growth in organic traffic.
Just because some SEO tactics are out of reach right now…doesn’t mean it’s unattainable in the future.
Having a website that is fundamentally flawed is a surefire way to set yourself up for failure.
Performing an SEO audit can reveal these flaws in your website’s structure. Though the process may be time-consuming, it can pinpoint errors, bugs, slow load time, broken pages…the list goes on.
It may be more beneficial to assess and resolve any current issues before moving forward with your website. You may be surprised at what some cleaning up can do for your SEO ranking.
When it comes to your website’s content, you may have heard that more is better.
And if all your content is high-quality – then you’d be spot on.
On the contrary, if you’re producing tons of low-to-mid-quality content, this doesn’t actually help with your SEO ranking.
You want to be sure to produce content that proves to be both valuable to your site and useful to your target audience.
Keep your content up to date and relevant to your niche to ensure your visitors come back for more.
Blogging can be an extremely efficient tool for your business. Not only does it generate leads, but it also improves your SEO ranking.
A high-quality blog can incorporate many SEO elements such as:
A successful blog can generate tons of organic traffic to your site. By producing up-to-date and relevant content, you can establish a faithful audience full of readers who will frequent your site on a daily basis.
Keywords and keyword phrases are essential to every SEO strategy.
For those who are working with a small SEO budget, using long-tail keywords or phrases can be very beneficial. Due to the substantial amount of competition, it’s imperative to research keywords before running with them.
Try to be relevant without being too specific with your keywords or phrases. Also, be sure to avoid oversaturating your website with keywords because it can have adverse effects on your SEO ranking.
There are countless alternatives and methods for creating a successful SEO strategy – while remaining within a small budget.
Remember these key takeaways:
Sources:
It’s no secret that SEO is a hot topic right now. In fact, many people feel that it is the key to creating a strong online presence and increasing website traffic (and therefore, sales).
Since SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is basically a mix of popular, often searched for keywords placed throughout your web content, it is possible to apply your own SEO.
However, if you are really serious about SEO, it’s more than just that. While SEO does use keywords, that is in the fundamental sense, since other factors come into play as well.
Here are 20 of the top SEO tricks that you should know, and should be using if you want to call yourself an SEO specialist.
If you are implementing these 20 actionable things into your SEO, then you are on the right path. It’s safe to say that you are well on your way to being an SEO expert as well as having a Search Engine Optimized business!
