SEO Ranking Factors

I was asked recently “Why are the results for my site so inconsistent?” Good question, because it has a big answer. Google’s search ranking factors are extensive (over 200 known factors) and complex, but here are the major categories and 48 of the larger known items that significantly impact search rankings:

1. Content Quality and Relevance

  • Keyword Relevance: Keywords and phrases match the user’s search intent.
  • Freshness: Recently updated or published content is often prioritized.
  • Content Depth: Comprehensive, in-depth content that fully covers a topic.
  • Originality: Unique content without plagiarism or duplication.
  • Content Structure: Proper use of headings (H1, H2, etc.), paragraphs, and bulleted lists improves readability.
  • Semantic Keywords: Related terms and entities that help define the content’s subject and depth.
  • Page Length: Longer content tends to rank higher if it’s relevant and not filler.
  • E-A-T: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, particularly crucial in YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) content.

2. User Experience (UX)

  • Page Load Speed: Faster-loading pages are favored in search rankings.
  • Mobile Friendliness: Mobile-optimized sites rank higher, especially for mobile searches.
  • Core Web Vitals: Metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
  • SSL Certificate (HTTPS): Sites with SSL (HTTPS) are prioritized over non-secure sites (HTTP).
  • Bounce Rate: High bounce rates may indicate poor user experience.
  • Dwell Time: How long a user stays on a page after clicking from search results.
  • User Engagement Signals: Interaction patterns (e.g., time spent, scrolling) can signal content relevance.

3. Backlinks and Authority

  • Quality of Backlinks: Links from reputable, authoritative sites weigh heavily.
  • Quantity of Backlinks: A higher number of unique domains linking to a page generally boosts authority.
  • Anchor Text: The clickable text of a backlink, when relevant, can influence ranking.
  • Domain Authority and Page Authority: The overall strength of the website and specific pages.
  • No-Follow and Do-Follow Links: Do-follow links carry more weight, but no-follow links can still contribute indirectly.

4. On-Page SEO

  • Meta Title: The primary title for search engines; must include target keywords.
  • Meta Description: The description under the title in search results. Not a ranking factor directly but can influence CTR.
  • Header Tags: Structured use of H1, H2, H3 tags to improve content readability.
  • Image Alt Text: Optimized descriptions of images improve accessibility and image search ranking.
  • Internal Linking: Links to other pages within the site that help structure content hierarchy and distribute link authority.

5. Technical SEO

  • Crawlability: The ease with which search engines can access and crawl content.
  • XML Sitemap: Helps Google index all the pages on the site.
  • Robots.txt: Specifies which parts of the site search engines should ignore or index.
  • Structured Data/Schema Markup: Helps search engines understand and display rich snippets.
  • Canonicalization: Using canonical tags to prevent duplicate content issues.
  • AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages): AMP-optimized pages can load faster on mobile and improve user experience.

6. User Intent and Behavior

  • Search Intent Alignment: The content must align with the type of query (informational, navigational, transactional, commercial).
  • Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of people who click on the search result. Higher CTR can be an indicator of relevance.
  • Historical User Behavior: Users’ search behavior and engagement with a site over time.
  • Search Location and Personalization: Google may tailor results based on a user’s location and past searches.

7. Local SEO (for local searches)

  • Google Business Profile: Optimized and active Google Business Profiles are crucial for local searches.
  • NAP Consistency: Name, Address, and Phone number consistency across the web.
  • Local Citations: References to the business’s name, address, and phone number across relevant directories.
  • Reviews and Ratings: Positive reviews and higher ratings help boost visibility.
  • Local Keywords: Targeting geographic-specific keywords.

8. Social Signals

  • Social Engagement: Shares, likes, and comments can indicate content popularity, though social links are typically no-follow.
  • Brand Mentions: Unlinked mentions of the brand across the web may indirectly affect visibility.

9. Domain Factors

  • Domain Age: Older domains can carry a slight authority advantage, but one shouldn’t let this drive .
  • Keyword in Domain: Having the main keyword in the domain may still provide a minor relevance boost.
  • Domain History: Clean history without penalties; a domain that has been penalized in the past may struggle to rank.
  • TLD Relevance: Country-specific TLDs (like .uk or .ca) might rank better within that country.

10. Content Update Frequency

  • Recency of Updates: Regular updates on a page signal relevance, especially for time-sensitive topics.
  • Content Refresh: Older content can perform better after periodic refreshes and optimizations.

These factors contribute to Google’s complex ranking system, and they are not all weighted equally. Google’s algorithms constantly evolve, so adapting SEO practices to align with these core areas helps improve rankings over time. So if you are wondering why search results aren’t consistent, here are 48 reasons why out of hundreds.