Boost Your Traffic Today: Top Google Ranking Factors You Can Control

Are you wondering why your intensive SEO efforts do nothing to improve your Google search ranking? This is usually because Google ranking factors are constantly changing and updating. So, even if you had gained a higher rank on Google years ago, you might not be there today. 

Fortunately, in this article, we’ll be exploring effective strategies to help you not only gain a higher rank on Google but also maintain it over time.

Understanding the Importance of Google Rankings

Google ranking refers to a website’s position on search engine result pages (SERPs) for a specific search query. Google evaluates and ranks numerous websites to display the most relevant and valuable results at the top of the SERPs.

But how do Google ranks apply to you? How can your website benefit from optimising its ranking on Google SERPs? To explain why, here are a few reasons why your website’s ranking is important:

1. A higher-ranking website on SERPs is more likely to be seen and clicked by users, thus garnering more traffic.
2. Users often perceive websites that rank high as more credible and authoritative than the rest.
3. Emerging at the top of search results helps create brand recognition among users.
4. Higher rankings can provide a competitive advantage since users are more tempted to visit your site rather than your competitors.
5. High-ranking websites receive more customer engagement, such as comments, shares, and likes, which can further increase their visibility.

Search Engine Ranking Factors

Here are some Google search ranking factors you can implement into your SEO ranking strategy:

On-Page Ranking Factors

On-page ranking factors are the things that can be optimised directly on your website to improve its visibility on SERPs. Here are some fundamental on-page SEO factors to focus on:

• Keyword Optimisation

Keyword optimisation involves incorporating relevant keywords your target audience would search for into your website content. With some research, you can look for keywords that fit your content with high search volumes and less competition. Then, place these keywords strategically in titles, headings, and throughout the text to improve your Google search ranking. 

• Quality Content

For a higher Google search ranking, your website’s content should be informative, valuable, and relevant to the user’s search. So, the content you put out should thoroughly cover the topic and be well-researched and engaging to keep readers interested. Also, focus on keeping your content original and unique. Cases of duplication or plagiarism can significantly reduce the credibility of your website.

• Internal and External Links

Internal linking is about creating links to other pages within the same domain. On the other hand, external linking reaches out to separate but relevant domains. Both play a significant role in improving user experience, fostering engagement, and helping Google evaluate your site more effectively.  

Off-Page Ranking Factors

Off-page ranking factors are methods performed outside of your website to improve its Google search ranking. Here are a few vital off-page SEO factors:

• Backlinks

Backlinks are links from separate websites that lead users to your site. The more backlinks you earn from reputable websites, the more authoritative and credible your site seems to Google. You can usually obtain high-quality backlinks by creating informative content, building relationships with other industry leaders, or finding broken links on other websites and leveraging them.

• Brand Mentions

Brand mentions are basically references to your brand or business name on external websites and social media platforms. Google considers these brand mentions as measures of your business’s quality and popularity. 

So, the more your business is mentioned on different platforms, the more positively your ranking is impacted. You can obtain brand mentions through customer reviews, blog posts, social media shares, etc. Enterprise SEO can become powerful with these strategies. 

Technical SEO Factors

Technical SEO is about refining the build and foundation of your website to make it easier for websites to find and improve user experience. Here are some factors of technical SEO that can help your Google search ranking: 

• Page Load Speed

Your website’s speed is vital for both user experience and SEO ranking. The seamless interaction of fast-loading websites keeps users engaged and suggests reliability and professionalism on your part. Furthermore, Google considers website speed a ranking factor, so quicker sites are likely to have a better ranking. 

To optimise your website’s speed, you need to compress images, use Content Delivery Networks, and reduce the number of HTTP requests. 

• Mobile Optimisation

Google now uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it prioritises mobile versions of sites when crawling and ranking. So, make sure your website performs well on mobile devices. Furthermore, since global users spend 60% of web browsing on their mobile phones, you’re more likely to garner organic traffic and engagement in this way.

• URL Structure

Keep your website’s URL structure short, clean, and easy to read. Your URL should include only relevant keywords and hyphens to separate every other word. Avoiding long, complex, and cluttered URLs makes it manageable for search engines to crawl through your site. 

User Experience Signals

User experience signals basically measure a user’s behavioural pattern when browsing a website. Google uses these signals to establish the rankings of a website in the search results. So, if you’re looking to improve your website’s Google search ranking, your strategy must contribute to the following: 

• Bounce Rate: Your bounce rate is determined by how many users visiting your site exit after viewing only one page. This is usually because your website didn’t give users what they were looking for and gave them no reason to click through other pages.

• Click-Through Rates: Click-through rates are estimated by the number of people clicking on your result in Google SERPs. This can be because users find the website snippet appealing or it appears high enough in the search results. Either way, Google will always opt for a high CTR website in the higher rankings.