2. Quick Guide to Google's Ranking Factors
Google's Frisks your Content on the
Following Factors
Ever wonder how does Google rank your website ? Google displays a website
on its first page by crawling the website's content and its relevance to the
user's search volume. Businesses and marketing professionals conduct
scores of A/B tests that involves tons of research.
Businesses may pay for displaying their website on the first page. However
organic ranking on Google carry's more weight than paid promotions. There are
200 Google's algorithms or technical logic on which your website is ranked.
However, Google doesn't strictly follow all the 200 algorithms for ranking
websites.
Domain Page-level Factor Site-level Factor Backlink User Interaction (ui)
| | | |
Google's Algorithm Rulebook Brand Signals On-site Webspam Factors O -
| | |
site Webspam Factors
Let's get on the Google ranking wagon to
understand the above factors
The Domain Tale
Domain life : Here we refer to the age of the domain. Whether your domain is
six months old or one year old, it matters.
1.
3. Having a top- level keyword in your domain name
Top level keyword in Domain :
will not have a huge impact on your discoverability. It will act as a relevant
keyword perhaps in just come cases.
If your domain has the keyword of the
First Keyword Makes a Di erence :
product or service that you are o ering then chances are people will search for
you. Hence, having the major keyword in your first word in the domain will surely
help you become visible on the internet.
Domain Registration Pattern : According to Google, the legitimacy of aa domain
will have a direct e ect on the web tra c on your website. If your domain is
illegitimate chances are you won't run it for long and it will eventually get lost
from the internet.
Sub-domain keyword : This has been a debatable topic amongst SEO experts,
however having a keyword in sub-domain still works.
This may sound Greek. Basically, how the domain has
Domain History :
performed in the past and whether it was dropped several times from the
internet. And if the domain has been inconsistent then Google resets the site
history. In some cases, the domain with inconsistent performance may even get
split. Hence, always do your research while buying a fresh or pre-owned domain.
Exact Match Domain : Exact Match Domain is a Google filter that keeps poor
performing domains from ranking well.
Private V/s Public WHOIS : Keeping the WHOIS
privacy turned on for your domain will need your
visitors to request to access your website. This
has a direct impact on your ranking.
WHOIS scans domain owners : If Google
examines a domain owner’s behavioral pattern as
“fake” or spammer, it will scan all domains owned
by the person.
2.
4. Country TLD extension : This works out if your service is limited to that
country of province. The di erence in having a country code extension is
that your website will not be discoverable globally but only to people
residing in the country. Choosing a TLD extension may or may not be
beneficial.
Page Level Factors
Title Tag keyword : Inserting a relevant keyword in the title tag can act as an
on-page SEO signal.
Description Tag : Your description tag will not be a direct ranking signal but
can certainly improve click through rate.
H1 Keyword Tag : The H1 tag is the second title tag. Google responds to
your H1 tag after your title tag. H1 tag acts as a secondary signal for
optimization.
It means Term Frequency – inverse document frequency. This is a
TF -IDF :
text analysis method used by Google to crawl the keywords that are
repeatedly used on the website that gives Google a clue about your content.
So, next time your SEO manager asks you to use a certain keyword atleast 5-
6 times you know it is for securing a better Google ranking.
Content length equilibrium : Longer content pieces are preferred over small
content pieces for a simple reason that long content pieces cover the length
and breadth of the topic or subject and intuen does well on the algorithm
too.
A list of contents : Remember, how we would
buy a book depending upon the table of
content. We would skim through
it to understand the book well.
In the same way making a
table of contents for your
website will help Google
understand your content
better. It also results in site
3.
5. links. Voila, that’s a good way to get discovered by your potential audience.
Keyword Density : Not crucial though, keyword density helps Google
determine the topic or theme of your website. Make sure to not overdo it as it
may appear as spammy.
LSI Keyword Latent Semantic Indexing : LSI helps in collating the logic and
meaning behind your content. Words used in the website or domain may
have various meanings. For example, Indian Terrain may refer to
geographical area of India or Indian Terrain apparels. With LSI keywords like
Fashions, gadgets etc adds a signifier for better searchability and tra c.
Topic In-depth page cover : This is a no-brainer. In-depth coverage of topic
directly impacts your site’s ability to rank well. So, updating complete
information on your site will get your domain on top!
Page speed matters: Browsing engines like Google and Bing uses page
speed factor as a determiner for ranking. Search engine spiders picks up
your HTML code estimate for ranking purposes.
Page- Loading speed on Chrome : Google uses Google Chrome user data to
analyze the time a page takes to load for understanding the impact on UI.
Entity Match analysis : If the page’s content matches the keyword the users
are searching for chances are your website will get a boost on the ranking
track.
Google Hummingbird : This algorithm has boosted the way Google’s ranking
and search works. This update has improved the way Google reads your
content for in-depth understanding of the content you o er.
Say no to repeated content : Google detests duplicate or repeated content.
Along with it any plagiarized content can significantly decrease your ranking
and web tra c too.
Rel-Canonical : Rel Canonical is an HTML element used to prevent
duplication of your content and help your site from being penalized.
4.
6. Image Optimization : This is a child’s play. When you set or update an image
on your site make sure to set relevant image name, alt text, title, description
of the image and caption for Google to be able to crawl relevant keywords
for the users searching for your content.
Recency of content : The search Index Ca eine By Google prefers websites
that have recently updated their content. This is preferred for time- sensitive
content.
Content updation : A change in images or major edits in the content is picked
as fresh content.
History of page updates : Frequency of your content updates plays a vital
role in your page ranking. Website owners who frequently update their
website have an edge over people who don’t.
Keyword visibility : Adding keywords relevant to your users keywords in the
first 100 words on your page can instantly bolt up your site.
H2, H3 keywords : These are header tags. Adding subsequent relevant
keywords linking to your main keywords can help Google understand your
website’s content.
Outbound links : In a recent study, SEO experts believe adding outbound
links that directs the users to di erent websites altogether strengthens the
authenticity factor of your website. This acts as a trust instilling trait for
Google.
Outbound link theme : While updating outbound links on your website make
sure to correctly link your content to the outbound link for better relevancy
level. For example, if your website is about movies and your outbound link is
to IMDB chances are your website will have better rankings.
Google is a grammar-nazi : No kidding, correct use of language can enhance
your ranking owing to quality of it.
5.
7. Published content originality : If your content is a work of cut copy paste,
your page wont rank well and chances are it won’t even get indexed at all
owing to plagiarism factors.
Device friendly optimization : It is the era of smartphones. Most of your users
are browsing your website on their phones. Hence, a mobile optimized
website can be more rewarding as Google will push your website to its users.
Hidden content and Indexing: Your hidden content on mobile will not get
Indexed if it isn’t visible. Visible content on your mobile phone is vital for
indexing purposes.
Supplementary content is an add on : As per Google Rater Guidelines
document, supplementary content in relevance to your website’s o ering
improves the quality of your website. For example, your website is about
apparels. You add a size chart for customers to find the right product can
instantly enhance the quality of your website as it is useful for your customer
too.
Hidden content behind tabs : If your users need to click on tabs to check your
content, its is because your content hasn’t been indexed due to quality
issues.
Maintain a balance in outbound links : Too many outbound links on your
page can harm your Google ranking.
Images talk : Adding images, videos and other visuals relevant to your
content o ering can boost your tra c and ranking.
Internal links boost : Having a decent amount of internal links that point to
other relative crucial pages can add more weight to your quality.
Quality of internal links : Internal links posed by main links have a vital impact
on quality of your page compared to websites with zero or low page ranks.
Broken links : Having too many broken links will bring lower your website
quality rank as it is an indication of neglected website.
6.
8. Readable level : Your website will also be analyzed on the comprehensi-
veness and the legibility of the content you post or update.
A liate Sites : Having a balanced amount of a liate sites will help maintain
the quality signals. Too many a liate sites will harm the sites overall
performance.
HTML Errors : It is important to have a website that is programmed well.
Having errors in HTML code can reduce the quality of the website.
Authority of Domain : A page with more authority over the domain will help
your website rank well.
Page Rank : A website with generous authority over the link will overpass the
websites which don’t have much authority over the links of the page.
URL link length : It is frustrating for users to handle long URL. Many sources
have confirmed that long URLs tend to fail on the SEO high ranking tracks.
Hence there are URL shortners like bit.ly.
URL Path : Having a page that directs you to the homepage directly will have
an edge as it boosts authority compared to pages that are not well
structured.
Influence the SERP : Sources have revealed that Google has a system that
allows a human to nudge SERPS.
Page category : Having a page category closely linked to the content you
o er on your website can help Google crawl your content well as the
category will be linked to the user’s search.
Wordpress Tags : According to Wordpress’s Yoast having tags relevant to
your content adds to your quality ranking.
URL Keyword : Having a keyword in the URL enhances the searchability.
7.
9. URL String : The URL string scans the thematic content of your website.
Citing References : Adding references or sources to your site may sound odd
but definitely refurbishes your website as ‘trustworthy’.
Structured Content : Adding bulleted or numbered points makes your
content look well structured and readable. Google prefers to rank websites
that are written well.
Sitemap Page Priority : Sitemap.xml file gives priority a page can help better
your site ranking.
Ux Signals From Relevant Keywords : These keywords come from users
themselves. Such an amalgamation of keywords tends to send a signal of
quality to Google.
Page Age : Di erent from domain age. An old page that regularly publishes
content is ranked well. Oftentimes it may even outperform a new page
owing to credibility.
User-Friendly Design : A page with a user centric design automatically ranks
well on the quality parameter.
Well Curated Content : Backlinko pointed out that Google identifies content
as either useful content or quality content.
Site-Level Factors
Useful content is the key : Google claimed that they
would penalize sites that do not have any utility
centric content to o er.
Contact information boost : The Google Quality
Document has mentioned that they prefer
websites which have their contact information
updated. It is important that your website’s
contact information matches the WHOIS.
8.
10. Rank of Trust : SEO experts believe the trust rank shoots your rank up on
Google and this has been confirmed by a Google patron.
Site Architecture : An architecture like Silo helps to organize your content
well for Google systems like Googlebot to scan your website well and index
it’s pages.
Site Updates : Not mandatory for ranking, but consistent updates on website
can amp up the freshness element in your website.
Sitemap for better crawling : A sitemap is a place where you store the data of
all your pages information on videos, images or any written or visual content.
Google crawls the sitemap to make your website more discoverable.
Downtime : If your site goes down due to any technical issues’ chances are it
will fluctuate your ranking on Google.
Location of the Server : This is directly connected to the audience who will
see your website. Especially websites that are geo-specific in nature. ‘
SSL Certificate : Use of HTTPS is a factor to consider for ranking as
confirmed by Google.
Privacy page’s terms and conditions : This set of pages indicate that your
site can be trusted by Google. This also helps enhance the e-a-t ("Expertise,
Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness"
Duplicate meta-description : Whether duplicate meta description is
deliberately used or not this will reduce your page’s overall visibility.
Breadcrumb Navigation : Breadcrumb navigation is a User friendly
graphical control element that helps users navigate through your website. It
acts as a trajectory path for users to determine where they are on the
website.
For example : Home > apparels > Women apparels > casual wear >Formal
Shirts
9.
11. Mobile Optimization : Most of the website searches happen on mobile
phones. Google determines whether your site is mobile optimized or no. And
if it isn’t Google penalizes these sites for not being user friendly!
YouTube Fun Fact : Websites that have YouTube videos linked into their
websites gain more web tra c.
User Centric Site : Make sure your website is easy to understand and friendly
to navigate. Also make sure the loading time and bounce rate is relatively low
to prevent poor ranking.
Google Analytics and Google Search Console : SEO experts believe that
installing Google analytics and Google search console can influence ranking
by providing Google accurate tra c information.
User feedback feeds Google : A user’s feedback based on their experience
on reputed sites can add value to the website.
Backlink Factors
Linking Domain Age : Domains that have backlinks belonging to older
domains perform better.
Referring domain : Referring domains showcase the location of your
backlinks that direct to your page. It is one of the most crucial elements in
the ranking segment.
Separate C- Class IP # Links : Hosting your site with C- Class IP links
distributes your website to various IP (INTERNET PROTOCOL) addresses.
Indexing backlinks that come from a variety if IPs have a natural ripple
e ect that has a colossal e ect on your
ranking.
Number of page links : The amount
of page links can help your website
ranking even if it comes from one
single domain.
10.
12. Backlink Anchor Text : A backlink anchor text is the text used by other
websites that act as a keyword that is present on your website. This will make
your website gain more relevancy for bringing in more web tra c.
ALT Text : An alt text is the anchor text used in images in HTML format that
will help users understand the content of your image.
.edu Or . Gov Link : SEO experts believe external text in the domain like .edu
or .gov has a special place in the ranking parameter. However, Google denies
this as a myth!
Authority of Linking Page : Having more authority of the page links will help
your site gain more trust on Google ranking or SERPS in general.
Authority of Linking Domain : The domain you refer to can add more value
to your site. Domain authority also known as DA can be checked on Moz's
Link Explorer, the MozBar (Moz's free SEO toolbar), and in SERP Analysis
section of Keyword Explorer.
Competitors Links : Links from other sites that rank in the same SERP-
Search Engine Results with similar keywords can help your site rank better.
Links From Established Sites : Believe it or not, having your site mentioned in
established repositories or websites will help your site rank well in SERPS.
Unwanted Mention In Neighbourhood : Site mentions on spammy sites can
hurt your ranking drastically!
Guest Posts/ Mentions : Being mentioned in guest posts can add value if
done in a balanced manner. Too many mentions can also hurt your site value.
Links by ads: Site links in ads can get taken down by Google.
Home Page Link Authority : If you have authority of the homepage of the site
you have referred to your site will have more mileage in terms of trust of the
search engine.
11.
13. No Follow Links are a Big No: HTML links that have the word =nofollow get
ignored by search engines. A large number of no follow links can determine
whether your site link is natural or unnatural.
Diverse Link Types : Links from one single source can be considered as a
spam on your site. It is better to have links mentioned from various sites for
your site to appear original.
Sponsored & Ugc Tags : Google prefers users to see rel=UGC links that
means: marking user- generated content. While rel= sponsored links are
part of advertisements.
Contextual Links : Links that are mentioned (embedded) in content are
contextual links. These links being mentioned in content is more powerful
when it comes to ranking in search engines.
301 Redirects Can Harm Your Site : Too many 301 redirects can reduce your
site performance thereby bringing your page rank down.
Internal Link Anchor Text : Having internal links in your anchor text can help
search engines understand your content. It has a medium level of relevancy
signal.
Country TLD Code : Acquiring the TLD code of a particular country like .uk,
.ru can help you rank better for that country’s users. Here is the link to
country TLD codes: https://www.worldstandards.eu/other/tlds/
Link Placement in Content : Links that are placed in the beginning of your
content carries more weightage as Google crawls them faster.
Link Location on Page : The placement of links play a vital role in getting
more eyeballs on your site. Links place in the content works better than links
placed in focused areas like header or footer.
Domain Link Relevancy : Having links that match your website content’s
niche can amp up your content game.
12.
14. Page-relevant links : Links of pages that are relevant to your site can help
boost site visits and ranking.
Title consisting of keywords : Absolutely no brainer! It is vital to add
keywords that are relevant to your o ering and what the users are searching
for.
+ Link Velocity : Linked to analytics, positive link velocity does well on
SERPS.
- Link velocity : Negative link velocity as the term suggests reduce your site
rankings on SERPS.
Hub mentions : It’s all about the huge label! Getting links from established
resources a.k.a Hubs are received well by search engines.
Wikipedia Page : Though a nofollow page, some SEO experts believe having
a Wikipedia page can get your site some amount of internet exposure.
Co-Occurrences : Co-occurrences was introduced by Google Ca eine.
These Co-occurrences are the keywords that indicates the frequency and
proximity of relevant keywords that are inter-connected but not same. For
example: Smooth shave, Gillete razor, precision shave can be cited as Co-
occurrences.
Backlink Age : Just like old domain an old backlink have more power of
ranking compared to new ones.
Splog V/s Real Site : Sites that update their information or content manually
are preferred over splogs – sites that generate automated content for
commercial purposes.
Natural Link : A natural profile link without any spammy content or bugs
tend to rank better than sites that are developed using cyber tricks. Natural
links are generally more reliable.
13.
15. Reciprocal Links Damage : Sharing excessive links can damage your ranking.
User Generated Content Links : Internet is all about the users. Google can
distinguish between your original content on the o cial site and content
that is published on fake or spammed sites.
301 Link : links that route through 301 may lose on the quality of ranking,
sometimes.
Schema.org Usage : Websites that are formatted using schema- a
community that structures your data for the search engine can instantly
boost your site ranking. SERPS catch sites quicker that have micro-
formatting.
Trust rank for better visibility : The trust rank given to you by search engines
depends upon your overall performance and not to forget the authority
domain acquired. You can check your site’s trust rank on sites like website
authority checker.
No. of Outbound links : Page rank is limited. Hence, overcrowding your site
with outbound links will decrease your visibility and rank.
Forum links : Forum links are community links for people to participate.
These forum links are often spammed by outsiders which can lead to a
decrease in the ranking. Very less forum links has been able to stay in the
limelight.
Word count of content : A link of a blog with 1000 words will garner more
visibility than a blog or site with just few words. A good number of words
adds substance to the site.
Quality of content from links : Adding links of sites with poorly crafted
content won’t give you the juice your site needs to rank well.
Sitewide links : Adding your site on others as sitewide links which appear on
the header or footer doesn’t help your site. This on the contrary appears as
14.
16. unnatural.
RankBrain : RankBrain is Google’s machine learning and AI empowered
algorithm that scans for content to match user experience expectancy.
Organic click through rate with keyword : It’s simple sites that get a high CTR
for a particular keyword get an instant spike on the ranking tracker.
Complete CTR for all keywords : A site that gets total CTR for prominent
keywords through user experience and interaction is seen as a sign of
qualitative performance.
Bounce Rate : Bounce rate just like your bounce cheque has an adverse
e ect on your ranking. The user experience turns down with bounce rate
causing a decline in ranking.
Direct Rate : Incoming of direct tra c is a sign of good quality site.
SEMrush’s recent study revealed that direct tra c and Google ranking have
a direct link.
Repeat Tra c : Sites that get users repeatedly tend to get a boost in their
ranking.
Pogosticking : It di ers from bounce rate. It is deemed as bad if users click on
other search results after being unable to find and answer to their query on
your site.
Blocked Sites : This is variably used as a quality determiner. If a site shows
signs of spammy nature of suspicious web tra c such a site is blocked by
search engines.
Chrome Bookmarks : When users bookmark your site, Google Chrome
provides this data to Google which adds up to your site’s ranking factor.
Comments : Pages that garner comments from users show a sign of User
Interaction and determines the user experience. This is seen as a sign of
15.
17. quality driven site.
Dwell Time : Dwell time is the amount of time a user spends on your site. (This
can be tracked through analytics) The time spent by user is often
distinguished as short clicks and long clicks.
Special Google Algorithm Rules
Query gets freshness : Google adds a factor of freshness with every new
query or search made that directs to your page.
Diverse Queries : When users make vague searches, Google adds these
newer words to SERPS for developing user experience on the search engine.
User browsing history: When you visit a site frequently, SERPS instantly
boosts the site.
User Search History : Search engines pick your latest search and adds it to
SERPS. For example, if you search for Tablet and then search for calculator.
Google search engine will perhaps give calculator a boost in the SERP.
Featured Snippets : Google scans for snippets that are featured keeping in
mind the formatting style, length of content, level of authority and HTTPs
use.
Geo Targeting : Google gives prefers websites linked to a local server IP and
domain that has an country-specific extension like, .uk. in etc
Safe Search : Systems that have safe search turned on wont be able to see
sites with cuss words or any censored content.
Google + Circles : Google shows better ranks
for websites that have added them to their
Google Plus circles.
“YMYL’’ Keywords : Google ranks sites high
which contain keywords like “Your Money,
Your Life”.
16.
18. DMCA Complaint : Stands for Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If a site has
published plagiarized content or copyrighted content Google takes the
page or site down.
Bigfoot Update : It added more domains in SERPS for better variety in
domain search or content specific search.
Transaction Related Searches : Google may give di erent search results for
service specific search like hotel bookings, movie shows etc.
Local Searches : While searching for a local term/ service / shop etc, Google
will place local results on top compared to organic SERPs.
Top Stories Box : Words that appear in the Top stories also known as News
box are added to SERPS for its gained popularity on the internet.
Big Brands References : Google often gives keywords a boost that come
from well- established brands and companies.
Consumer Shopping Behaviour : Google’s shopping results come from
organic SERPS as a result of constant monitoring of what users buy online.
Easter Egg Results : Interestingly, Easter Eggs are hidden meanings of
surprise for the user who is searching for a certain keyword. This helps to
build creator community. Google highly supports such activities on the web.
For example, if you search the word pacman, you will get an image graphic of
a game names pacman.
Single Site for Brands : When looking for a brand often Google will direct you
to the brand sites directly. Some brands even have microsites for a certain
category of their product.
For example: https://www.fabelle.in/
Pay Day Loan Updates : Google has a special algorithm to get your system
rid of spammy mails by suspicious sources. The update can help your site/
system stay protected.
17.
19. Brand Signals
Brand Name Anchor Text : The appearance of brand’s name the hyperlink
text is brand name anchor text. For example, SEM rush linked to a blog link
becomes a branded anchor text.
Branded Searches : Simple, people who are aware of your brand, search for
your site with the brand name. Frequent searches for your brand site help
you get better at ranking.
Brand and Keyword : As we all know it, when people search something online
with your brand name and keyword, Google ranks this in SERPS. So, when
users search for a keyword linked to your brand Google gives your site a
boost.
Facebook Engagement : The number of impressions, likes and comments on
your o cial facebook page can have an impact on your overall ranking.
Twitterati Adds Ranking : Twitter handles with a good number of followers
can boost ranking and escalate signal of quality.
O cial LinkedIn Pages: Many brands or companies have their o cial
LinkedIn page.
Verified Authorship : Pages and sites that have their links and profiles linked
to authentic source of the author have an edge over sites without the real
source of the author.
Top Stories Mention : Having your brand or site mentioned in top stories can
help your site rank better.
Brick and Mortar Business : A real business has
a real location. Google verifies this to make sure
users get the right information.
18.
20. On-Site Webspam
Panda Penalty : Sites that have poor quality content lose their especially
after a panda penalty.
Redirects are Bad : Redirects indicate a poorly developed site. The site may
get penalized and even de-indexed fir it.
Pop-Ups : We too know how pop-ups can diminish our experience as a user
on a site. Google agrees that pop-ups can reduce your ranking owing to bad
user experience. Hence, say no to spam.
Over Optimising : Even Seo experts believe, overcrowding your site with
content, excessive keywords in header can be bad. Google penalizes such
sites.
Gibberish Content : Content is meant for your users. If your site has such
incomprehensive auto generated content, chances are your site will hit a low
rank or perhaps gets deindexed.
Doorway Pages : If a page redirects the user to another it becomes a a
“Doorway Page. Undoubtedly, Google won’t approve of it.
Too Many Ads : Sites that stu too many ads get a lower ranking.
Fred : A system by Google that scans for sites that provide low quality
content which is of no use to a visitor who visits the site.
Excess Page Ranking : While trying to get more users with excessive
outbound links, it may signal Google of the
phishing more users in a hacking manner.
IP Address Spammed : If your IP address is
spammed it will notify Google.
Meta Tag Spamming : Keyword may also
get too stu ed in the meta tag. Your site may get penalized for this as well.
19.
21. Off-Site Webspam Factors
Hacked Site : If your site gets hacked, it will be taken down by Google and
deindexed for security.
Links from Unrelated Websites : Backlinks from irrelevant sites can get your
site penalized.
Low-Quality Directory Link : Backlinks from bad quality directories can hit
your site with penalty.
Poison Anchor Text : Having the term “poison” anchor text (pharmacy
keywords) indicates a hacked site. It will drastically damage your site
ranking.
Links from Articles and Press Releases : Article, directories & press release
mentions has been overused so much that Google takes this as a bad
strategy for ranking well.
Google Sandbox : New sites that get a sudden flow of visitors or users are
kept in Google Sandbox for limiting visibility.
Disavow Tool : The tool can help remove a manual or algorithmic penalty for
a site penalized for negative SEO.
Reconsideration Request: SEO experts can try to lift penalties by a
reconsideration request.
To conclude, SEO is here to stay and will
evolve with time. Stay updated with
SEO to keep your digital game up and
running.
20.
