With the growing importance of online presence, search engine optimization has become fundamental to the success of any website on the internet. Within this SEO strategy, Google’s ranking factors are crucial for your page to appear in the top positions of search results. After all, being at the top of Google results means greater visibility and, consequently, more organic traffic for your website.
In this article, we will present a complete list of factors that directly influence Google rankings, so that you can optimize your SEO strategy and increase your company’s online presence. Check out!
1. Produce quality content
Google’s goal is to provide search results that are relevant and useful to users, and content is one of the main ways to achieve this goal. It is important to produce original, high-quality content with useful information for the target audience. Additionally, content should be updated regularly to maintain relevance and attract repeat visits.
2. Be careful when choosing keywords
It’s important to choose keywords that are relevant to your website’s content and include them in strategic places, such as in the page title, header tags, text, and images. However, it is important to pay attention to keyword density, as excessive keyword density may be interpreted by Google as spam.
3. Develop your pages using the Mobile-first concept
As most people access the internet using mobile devices to access it, Google has placed increasing importance on the user experience on smaller screens. Therefore, it is essential that your website is optimized for mobile devices and offers a good browsing experience, focusing on this type of user.
4. Work to reinforce your site’s authority
Authority is measured by the quality and quantity of backlinks — external links that point to your website. They are important for SEO, as they tell Google that other sites find your content relevant and useful. However, these links must come from sites that are trustworthy and relevant to the content on your site.
5. Be careful with your title and description tags
Title and description tags are important elements for SEO, as they are displayed in search results. The title tag should include the main keyword and be catchy enough to make users click on the link. The description should provide a brief description of the page’s content and encourage users to visit the site.
It is important to be aware of clickbait – a sensationalist technique that seeks to attract the user’s attention to click on a link. Although it can generate traffic to the website, it is not advisable for SEO ranking, as the traffic is not of quality and can harm the website’s reputation.
6. Create good visual content
Visual content, like images and videos, is also important for SEO. They can help improve the user experience and increase the time spent on the site, which can improve your ranking on Google. Additionally, it is important to optimize images with alternative text (alt text) and relevant descriptions.
7. Strengthen website security
Website security is an important factor for Google, as one of the ranking criteria is to ensure that users are safe when using its search engine. Therefore, it is essential that your website has an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate and is accessed via HTTPS. This ensures that users’ data is protected by end-to-end encryption.
Additionally, Google’s Chrome browser displays a “Not Secure” warning for all sites that do not have HTTPS/SSL. If you don’t want the first thing users see on your website is a red screen with a security alert, adopting a security certificate is essential.
8. Check WhoIs History
Whois history is another crucial tool for ranking on Google. This is because the website owner’s history can indicate whether they have had issues with spam or have been penalized by Google.
Therefore, if you are purchasing an old domain, it is essential to check its Whois history to ensure it does not cause problems for your new website.
9. Periodically check for broken links
Broken links or non-existent pages are a common problem on many websites that can seriously harm the user’s browsing experience and, consequently, their ranking on Google. Therefore, it is important to regularly check for broken links and fix them as soon as possible.
10. Hierarchize intertitles
Optimizing headers, that is, titles and subtitles, is another crucial ranking factor for Google. This is because the header structure — using the H2, H3 tags, and so on — helps the search engine understand the organization and hierarchy of the content on the page.
Proper use of headers not only helps Google understand the relevance of the content but also helps the user get an overview of what will be covered on the page. By using headers, you can create a clear and organized structure for your content, making it easier to read and increasing user engagement.
11. Analyze Core Web Vitals metrics
The set of metrics called Core Web Vitals is made up of three main indicators. LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) is a metric that evaluates the time needed to load the main content of a page. FID (First Input Delay) measures the page’s responsiveness to user commands. CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) evaluates the visual stability of the page during loading.
These metrics are considered essential for ranking on Google, as website loading speed and stability are essential for providing a good user experience.
12. Be careful when choosing your hosting provider
If loading speed and stability are important for search engine rankings, we can say that choosing a good hosting provider is a critical factor in the success of a website’s SEO.
Only a quality hosting provider can ensure that your website is always available and loads quickly. Additionally, hosting providers like ValueHost often offer extra features that can help with SEO, such as SSL certificate support, which is an important factor for user security and trust.
These are some of the main Google ranking factors that directly influence your website’s organic traffic. It is important to remember that SEO is ongoing work and that you need to invest time and effort to obtain significant results. However, by following these tips, you can improve your website’s positioning in search results and consistently increase organic traffic.
Did you like the post? So don’t stop here! Continue on our blog to understand even more about the importance of responsiveness for SEO. Discover how a responsive website can improve your Google rankings and provide an exceptional user experience on all devices.
