04/04/2023
What Does SEO Stand For? part-2
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Why is SEO important for your business?
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Your website content could be competing with millions of other businesses. So, when your content ranks high on Google, the more likely people will click on the website. Ranking on page one significantly increases click-through rates. For instance, typically, on Google's first page, the number one listed organic result averages a 34.2% click-through rate. The second position is 17%, and the third has an 11% click-through rate.
Organic traffic is the optimum source of attracting customers to your website. Firstly, it's cost-effective, with no need for expensive paid ads. Secondly, it can result in high conversion rates because it generates highly qualified leads. Finally, as customer intent drives user searches, you can tailor content to address your ideal customers.
How does SEO work?
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Search engines use several hundred factors to generate search results. Google uses over 200, so if you optimize your website for the essential factors, Google robots will crawl and index your site. If your website is not indexed, it will not feature in search results.
Google's 200+ ranking factors
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DOMAIN FACTORS
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Domain Age: A brand new site is unlikely to rank for several months
Domain History: Check the domain history for a track record in case Google has previously penalized the domain
Keyword is in the Top-level Domain: It's more challenging to rank this way now, but it still signals relevancy to search engines
Public vs Private WhoIs: You have the option to protect your privacy by not having your details on the public WhoIs register. Whatever you choose does not impact search engine ranking
PAGE-LEVEL FACTORS
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Keyword in Title Tag: Adding a keyword to your title is not essential, but it helps on-page SEO
Table of Contents: Helps Google identify page content, and builds internal links
Content Length: As Google crawls websites for the highest value content, aim for a minimum article length of around 1500 words
In-depth Content: Check the top-ranking websites in your industry and observe that in-depth topic undoubtedly ranks higher on Google
Page Loading Speed via HTML: Google uses Chrome user data to assess page loading speed. Optimize your site for fast loading for mobile and desktop
SITE-LEVEL FACTORS
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Good Value Content: Create valuable content with unique insights
Site Architecture: Helps the Google bots to crawl your site and index site content
Site Updates: Aim for consistency in adding content
SSL Certificate: Secure your site with HTTPS as it can help site ranking
Site Map: Create and submit to Google to help search engines index pages
OFF-PAGE FACTORS
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Linking Domain Age: It is preferable to get backlinks from aged domains and ideally with a high domain authority (DA)
Number of Linking Pages: Building backlinks can impact page ranking
Linked Page Authority: An essential ranking factor. Choose top-ranking pages for backlinks
Linking Root Domains: Increasing the number of referring domains is a priority factor for ranking your website.
Referring Domains: Aim for links from a broad range of sites with separate IP addresses
USER INTERACTION
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Organic Click-through Rate (CTR): Specifically for a keyword, a good page CTR can help boost the SERPs
Bounce Rate: According to SEMrush, pages with a high bounce rate may not rank as high as sites with a low bounce rate.
Direct Traffic: Google analyses Google Chrome data to determine site visit numbers and frequency. A site with a lot of direct traffic may rank higher
Repeat Traffic: A site with repeat visitors may get a boost in Google ranking
Bookmarked Pages: When users bookmark a page in Google Chrome, it may create a boost in ranking
SPECIAL GOOGLE ALGORITHM RULES
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User Browsing History: When users visit a site frequently, it gets a SERPs boost
User Search History: Search chains influence future search results. For instance, if users search for "reviews" and "web hosting", Google may rank web hosting review sites higher in the SERPs
Featured Snippets: A SEMRush study revealed that Google selects Featured Snippets based on several factors like formatting, content length, page authority, and HTTPS usage
Geo-Targeting: Sites with a country-specific domain name extension and a local server IP address may get preference from Google
Safe Search: If users have "Safe Search" switched on, sites with adult content or swear words will not appear in searches
BRAND SIGNALS
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Branded Searches: If users search for your brand, Google recognizes the validity of your brand
Active Social Media Pages: Notably, a page and Twitter profile with lots of engagement and likes.
Official LinkedIn Company Page: Helps to showcase your brand
Brand Mentions on Top Stories: Top story sites mention big brands regularly
Unlinked Brand mentions: Even if a brand is mentioned online without a hyperlink, Google still regards it as a brand signal
ON-SITE WEBSPAM FACTORS
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Links to Bad Neighborhoods: Don't link to sites considered "spammy"
Panda Penalty: Google issues a Panda Penalty to reduce visibility to sites with low-quality content, such as content mills
Distracting Adverts orPopups: Google may de-index a website as it considers these distractions to signal a low-quality site
Site Over-Optimization: Excessive use of keywords is a big "no-no", and a site doing so risks de-indexing
Hiding Affiliate Links: You risk a penalty by cloaking affiliate links. Add a disclaimer so that users are aware of affiliate status. Google will evaluate an affiliate site negatively if it fails to provide value
OFF-SITE WEBSPAM FACTORS
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Hacked Website: Your site can disappear from search results if it gets hacked. It could even be de-indexed
Sudden Influx of Links: Never buy backlinks. A sudden influx of links is a red flag to Google
Link Profile with Multiple Low-quality Links: Avoid black hat SEO (backlinking low-quality links – like forum profiles and blog comments – to get a higher ranking that goes against search engine guidelines)
Links from Unrelated Websites: Build backlinks with relevant sites, or you could risk a Google penalty
Widget Links: Google does not like automatically generated links created by embedding a "widget" on a website
We've covered a cross-section of Google ranking factors in this guide. To discover over 200 ranking factors with explanations,read Brian Dean's article on the subject.
