Google ranking factors 2024 + optimisation tips

 

Anyone who has ever dealt with the SEO optimisation of their website for Google knows that there is a lot to consider. In technical jargon: the Google ranking factors.

What are the Google ranking factors?

The Google ranking factors are the criteria that Google uses to decide which pages appear at the top of the search results and which do not. They can be divided into the following categories:

1. Technical ranking factors
2. Content-related factors
3. Backlinks and authority factors
4. User experience (UX) and usability factors
5. Brand and reputation factors

The challenge

The challenge is that Google is constantly changing and adapting its algorithm. What is important today may be less important tomorrow. And what didn't matter yesterday can suddenly be decisive today.

The solution

It is crucial to understand the latest SEO trends and implement them effectively in order to stay high in Google's search results. Our article can serve as a useful guide, which is regularly updated to cover the latest changes in Google's algorithm.

Nobody can say with certainty which of the more than 200 criteria actually make the difference.

Even John Mueller (Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google) remains cryptic with his answer to the question of what the main factor is for a website to rank in the top results for a particular keyword.

His answer: "awesomeness".

He does not say what this means or how to achieve this greatness. That is up to the website operator.

At our search engine optimisation (SEO) agency in Vienna, we deal with SEO on a daily basis. That's why we know exactly what will be important today and in the future to optimise your website's position in Google. Here is our list of 2024 ranking factors and tips for optimisation sorted into categories:

Technical Ranking Factors

Core web vitals and loading time

Let's start with one of the most important ranking factors, core web vitals and load time. Google has placed a clear focus on the user experience and the Core Web Vitals are an essential part of this. They measure how quickly and smoothly your website loads and interacts. The loading time (Largest Contentful Paint, LCP), interactivity (First Input Delay, FID) and visual stability (Cumulative Layout Shift, CLS) of a website are considered.

Loading time: You probably know this from your own experience: You click on a link and nothing happens. Or the page loads very slowly. This is frustrating and many users then leave the site again. This is why Google rates pages that load quickly favourably.

You can take various measures to optimise the loading time of your website. These include compressing images, minimising CSS and JavaScript, using browser caching and reducing redirects.

Interactivity: In addition to loading time, interactivity is also an important factor. This refers to how quickly a page responds to user input. For example, how quickly a menu opens when you move the mouse over it or how quickly a form reacts when you enter something.

To improve the interactivity of your website, you should make sure that all elements on your page respond quickly and smoothly. You can achieve this, for example, by optimising the code of your website and removing unnecessary code.

Visual stability: Visual stability refers to the appearance of your page during loading. If elements on the page change position during loading, this can be confusing for users and lead to incorrect interactions.

To improve visual stability, you should make sure that elements on your page do not jump or change position during loading. You can achieve this, for example, by specifying sizes for images and videos and incorporating dynamic content in such a way that it does not change the layout of the page.

HTTPS as a ranking factor

HTTPS stands for "Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure" and is the secure version of the HTTP protocol used to transfer data between your web browser and the website you are visiting. The key difference is the "S" at the end, which stands for "Secure". Websites that use HTTPS have a secure, encrypted connection that prevents third parties from intercepting or manipulating the transmitted data.

Google considers HTTPS to be an important ranking factor as it increases security and trust in a website. Websites that use HTTPS are favoured in search results.

5 steps to optimise your website for HTTPS

1. Install an SSL certificate: To use HTTPS, you need an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate for your website. This certificate confirms the identity of your website and enables secure data transmission. There are many providers where you can purchase an SSL certificate, and some hosting companies even offer them for free.
2. Update your website to HTTPS: Once you have installed the SSL certificate, you need to switch your website to HTTPS. This means that all URLs on your website must be changed from "http://" to "https://". Make sure that all internal and external links are also converted to HTTPS.
3. Set 301 redirects: To ensure that visitors and search engines can find your new HTTPS website, you should set up 301 redirects from your old HTTP URLs to the new HTTPS URLs.
4. Update your sitemap and robots.txt: Don't forget to update your sitemap and robots.txt file to reflect the new HTTPS URLs.
5. Monitor your website: After switching to HTTPS, you should carefully monitor your website to make sure everything is working as expected. Use tools like Google Search Console to detect and fix errors.

Crawlability - technical readability

Crawlability or technical readability refers to how well Google and other search engines can crawl and index your website. Put simply, Google must be able to "understand" your website in order to categorise it correctly and display it in the search results.

Various factors play a role here. Firstly, there is the structure of your website. Is it organised logically? Are all pages easily accessible and linked to each other? Are there no dead links or error pages?

Secondly, there is the technical structure. Are all pages correctly coded? Is the correct format used? Is there no hidden content or manipulation?

Good technical readability is therefore the basic prerequisite for Google to be able to display your website in the search results at all. It is the foundation of your SEO strategy, so to speak.

Tips for optimising technical readability

• Clean structure: Make sure that your website has a clear and logical structure. Each page should be accessible via one or more paths. Use menus, breadcrumbs and internal links to make navigation easier.
• Error-free code: Check the code of your pages for errors and correctness. Use the W3C Validator, for example.
• No dead links: Dead links lead to non-existent pages (404 errors) and are annoying for both users and search engines. Check your website regularly for dead links and correct them.
• Fast loading times: Long loading times can cause Google to rank your pages lower. Use tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights to check and improve the loading times of your pages.
• Mobile optimisation: More and more people are using the internet on mobile devices. Make sure that your website also looks good and works smoothly on smartphones and tablets.

Internal and external linking

Internal linking

Internal linking is an essential part of on-page optimisation and can help both Google and users understand your website better.

Internal links are references from one page of your website to another page of the same website. They can help users to orientate themselves on your website and find relevant information more easily. They are a guide for Google to understand the content and structure of your website.

Tips for optimising internal linking

• Structure and logic: Internal links should have a logical and clear structure. The links should help users to find their way around the website and find relevant information quickly.
• Relevance and context: Only link to relevant pages that offer added value for users. The context of the linked pages should match the content of the source page.
• Anchor texts: The anchor texts (i.e. the visible text of a link) should be meaningful and descriptive. They should give an indication of what users can expect on the linked page.

External links

External linking is also an important ranking factor. It refers to the links that lead from your website to other websites. They can help to supplement and underpin the content of your page.

Tips for optimising external links

• Quality and trustworthiness: Only link to high-quality and trustworthy websites. The linked pages should offer added value for users and strengthen trust in your website.
• Relevance: The linked pages should be thematically relevant to the content of your site. They should complement and deepen the content of your site.
• Natural link building: The external links should appear natural and not forced. Avoid an excessive density of external links and distribute them sensibly throughout the text.

Responsive design and mobile-friendliness

The responsive design and mobile-friendliness of your website has become increasingly important since Google's Mobile First update, as more and more people are using the internet via mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Responsive design refers to a website design that ensures that your website looks good and is easy to use on all devices - from desktop PCs to smartphones. The layout automatically adapts to the screen size of the respective device.

Mobile-friendliness is a sub-aspect of responsive design and refers specifically to the user experience on mobile devices. The aim here is to ensure that navigation is simple, loading times are short and font sizes and buttons are easy to read and use on the smaller display.

Google prefers websites that are optimised for mobile devices and can adapt to different screen sizes. So if your website is not mobile-friendly, it could be ranked lower in the search results.

Tips for optimising for mobile friendliness

1. Check the mobile friendliness of your website: Google offers a mobile friendliness checker tool that you can use to see if your website meets Google's requirements. Use this tool to find out if there are any issues you should fix.
2. Choose a responsive design: When creating or updating your website, you should opt for a responsive design. Many content management systems and website builders already offer responsive themes or templates.
3. Pay attention to loading times: Fast loading times are particularly important on mobile devices, as the internet connection is often slower here. Use tools such as PageSpeed Insights from Google to check the loading times of your website and receive optimisation suggestions.
4. Simplify navigation: On smaller screens, complex navigation can quickly become overwhelming. Therefore, try to make your navigation as simple and intuitive as possible.
5. Optimise font size and buttons: Make sure that text is easy to read on smaller screens and buttons are large enough to be easy to use on a touchscreen.

Structured data and rich snippets

Structured data helps Google and other search engines to understand what is on your website and how they should interpret this content. It can help your website to stand out more in search results through rich snippets and therefore potentially achieve higher click-through rates.

Structured data

Structured data is code that you can add to your website to provide search engines with more accurate information about the nature of your content. For example, you can use structured data to inform Google that a certain text is a product name, another text is a review and a third text is the price.

To add structured data to your website, you generally use the Schema.org vocabulary, which is a joint project of Google, Bing and other search engines.

Rich snippets

Rich snippets are enhanced snippets that provide more information than the typical blue links in Google search results. They can contain images, reviews, product prices and other details. Rich snippets are created by using structured data.

Optimising your site for structured data and rich snippets

1. Identify relevant types of structured data: There are many different types of structured data you can use, depending on the nature of your content. For example, you could use product information, reviews, event details, recipes and much more.
2. Add structured data to your page: You can insert structured data directly into the HTML code of your page or use special plugins or tools that do this for you.
3. Test your structured data: Schema.org offers a structured data validation tool that you can use to make sure your structured data is implemented correctly and can be read by Google.
4. Monitor the results: After you've added structured data, keep an eye on your website stats and search engine rankings to see if there are any improvements.

Page depth and its importance for Google ranking

Page depth is a factor that refers to how many clicks away from the homepage a particular page on your website is. In general, Google favours pages that are closer to the surface of your website - that is, they are fewer clicks away from the homepage.

Why is page depth important?

Page depth is important for two main reasons. Firstly, it helps Google understand the structure of your website and determine which pages are most important. Secondly, page depth has an impact on the user experience. Pages that are further away from the homepage can be harder for users to find, which can lead to a poorer user experience.

Optimisation tips for page depth

There are several strategies you can use to optimise your website in terms of page depth:

• Structure your website logically: your website should have a clear and logical structure, with main categories and subcategories that make it easier to find pages.
• Use breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs are a type of secondary navigation system that shows users where they are on your website. They can also help reduce page depth by providing direct links to higher levels of the website.
• Create an XML sitemap: An XML sitemap is a list of all the pages on your website. It helps Google crawl and understand your website and can help ensure that all your pages are indexed, regardless of their depth.
• Avoid deep link structures: Wherever possible, try to organise your pages so that they are no more than 3-4 clicks away from the homepage. Deeper pages can be difficult for users to find and may not be ranked as highly by Google.

Content-related ranking factors

Content quality and search intent

One of the most important factors of all is the quality and relevance of your content. Google attaches great importance to providing its users with informative, well-structured and helpful content. This means that websites that offer just such content are favoured in the search results.

Optimisation tips for increasing content quality

• Informative content: Make sure your content provides valuable information that is of interest to your users. Answer questions your users may have and offer solutions to their problems.
• Well-structured content: Your content should be easy to read and understand. Use headings and subheadings to structure your content and make sure your sentences and paragraphs are not too long.
• Helpful content: Your content should not only be informative, but also helpful. Offer practical tips, instructions or advice that offer your users added value.

But it's not just about the quality of your content, it's also about the search intent. Search intent refers to what users are actually looking for or want to achieve when they enter a specific search query. It is important that your content matches this search intent.

Example: If someone searches for "best hiking boots", then this person probably wants to compare different models, read test reports or perhaps even buy hiking boots online. So if you have an article about the manufacture of hiking boots, this probably doesn't match the user's search intent - even if the article itself is very informative and well written.

In order to meet the search intent of your users, you need to understand what they are actually looking for.

Tips for optimising content for search intent

• Keyword research: Use keyword tools to find out what your target group is searching for. Don't just look at the keywords, but also the questions and topics associated with them.
• Understand users: Put yourself in your users' shoes. What might they be looking for? What do they want to know? What do they want to achieve?
• Competitor analysis: Look at what other websites offer on your topic. What do they do well? Where do you see potential for improvement?

Keywords - the basis of your SEO strategy

Keywords are a decisive factor that is always at the centre of attention. Keywords are the words and phrases that users enter into the search engine to find specific content.

Google uses these keywords to decide which websites are most relevant to the search query in question. It is therefore important that you use these keywords specifically in your content.

But beware: Google doesn't like a mere stringing together of keywords without them forming a meaningful context (keyword stuffing) and this can even have a negative impact on your ranking.

Tips for researching and using keywords

1. Understand your target group: What are your potential visitors looking for? What questions do they have? What words and phrases do they use to search for information?
2. Use keyword tools: There are many tools that can help you find suitable keywords. Popular tools include the Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest or Ahrefs.
3. Select relevant keywords: Not every keyword is equally relevant for your website. Choose the keywords that best match your content and that are actually searched for by your target group.
4. Use the keywords in the right places: The keywords should not only appear in the text of your website, but also in headings, meta descriptions, alt texts of images and in the URLs of your pages.
5. Keep an eye on keyword density: It is important that your keywords are in an appropriate ratio to the rest of the text. Too high a keyword density can be seen as spam by Google.
6. Don't forget the long-tail keywords: Long-tail keywords are longer and more specific phrases that often have less search volume, but also less competition. They can help you to cover more specific search queries and reach exactly the users who are looking for your content.

Up-to-date website content

In the ever-changing digital world, freshness is a crucial element. And this definitely applies to the content on your website. Google favours up-to-date website content as it is often more relevant and useful to users.

Why is up-to-date content an important ranking factor?

Current content reflects the latest information, trends or developments in your field. It signals to Google that your website is being actively maintained and that you are endeavouring to provide users with the most up-to-date and relevant information.

How to optimise your site for up-to-date content

There are several ways you can keep your website full of up-to-date content:

1. Regular updates: try to update your website regularly with new content. This can be blog posts, articles, videos, podcasts, infographics or other formats. The important thing is that they offer added value for your users and are relevant to your topic.
2. Revise old content: Do you have old content on your website that is no longer up to date? Then revise it! Update the information, add new findings or trends and adapt it to current SEO standards.
3. Pick up on current topics: Make sure that you also address current topics or trends in your field in your content. This shows Google that you have your finger on the pulse and are providing your users with the latest information.
4. Show the date of the last update: Display the date of the last update on your website. This is not only interesting for your users, but also an indicator for Google that your content is up to date.

E-A-T: Expertise, authority and trustworthiness

 

 

A key concept you need to understand in relation to Google ranking factors is E-A-T, which stands for Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness. Google highly values websites that can demonstrate these three characteristics.

• Expertise: You should be able to show that you are an expert in the field you are working in. Whether this is through qualified authors, thorough and in-depth content or other evidence of your expertise depends on your specific context.
• Authority: Your website should be a recognised authority in its field. This can be through things like quality backlinks, positive user reviews and other signals of recognition in your industry.
• Trustworthiness: Finally, your website should be reliable and secure. This means, for example, that you should use HTTPS and that you should be transparent and honest about your business practices and privacy policies.

The extension to E-E-A-T: Adding experience

In December 2022, Google expanded the concept of E-A-T to include another "E" - Experience. Google wants to use this additional factor to evaluate the quality and relevance of content even better. So it's not just about demonstrating your expertise, authority and trustworthiness in your field, but also your experience with the topic you're writing or talking about.

Therefore, it is important to show your readers why you are qualified to inform on the topic and how you have gained or applied your experience. This could be done, for example, through case studies, testimonials or demonstrations of your skills in practical videos.

Content length: a ranking factor with flexibility

You may have heard that "content is king", and this is true in many cases. However, it's not just about having more content, but the right content. This is where content length plays a crucial role.

There is no single answer to the question of how long content should be in order to achieve a good Google ranking. This is because the optimal length depends heavily on the user's search intention. The key is that the content should be detailed enough to answer all of the user's questions in detail.

If someone is looking for a quick answer, for example "When was the Berlin Wall built?", short and concise content is optimal. A long article about the entire history of the Berlin Wall would not meet user expectations in this case.

On the other hand, if someone searches for "Causes and consequences of the Second World War", they probably expect a detailed and extensive article. In this case, a short paragraph would not be enough to fully answer the question.

Tips for optimising content length

1. Understand the search intention: Before you start writing, you should take the time to understand the intention behind the search. What does the user really want to know? What type of content would best answer their questions?
2. Be comprehensive but precise: Regardless of length, your content should contain all the relevant information to answer the user's questions. But be careful not to fall into the trap of artificially inflating content. Unnecessarily long text can be off-putting and detract from the user experience.
3. Use relevant keywords: Keywords help Google understand what your content is about. Make sure you include relevant keywords naturally in your content without repeating them too much.
4. Keep the content up-to-date: Timeliness is an important aspect of relevance. Make sure your content is up to date and contains all the latest information.

Optimised SERP snippets

SERP snippets are short snippets of your website that are displayed in Google's search results. They usually consist of the title of your page, the URL and a short description, known as a meta description. Optimised snippets can help increase the click-through rate (CTR) of your website in the search results, which in turn sends a signal to Google that your page is relevant and useful.

How to optimise your SERP snippets

1. Make the title meaningful: The title of your page should clearly convey what the page is about. It should contain the main keyword and be no longer than 60-70 characters to avoid being cut off.
2. Use the meta description: The meta description is a great opportunity to further explain the content of your page and entice users to click. It should contain the main keyword and relevant additional information and be no longer than 160 characters.
3. Use structured data: Structured data is an advanced way to give Google more information about your page. It can help Google display enhanced snippets, such as reviews, prices or publication dates.
4. Ensure a clear URL structure: Your URL should be structured to reflect the content of the page. This usually involves using the main keyword in the URL and keeping it as short and clear as possible.

Backlinks and authority factors

Backlinks

Backlinks, also known as inbound links, are links that point to your website from another website. They are one of the most important Google ranking factors, as they are seen as recommendations or references from other websites.

Why are backlinks important?

Backlinks are an indicator for Google of the popularity and authority of your website. If many other trustworthy and high-quality websites link to your website, Google assumes that your content is valuable and relevant. This can positively influence your position in the search results.

Tips for optimising your website for backlinks

• Create high quality and unique content: The best way to get backlinks is still to create high-quality and unique content that others will want to link to. This can be blog articles, infographics, studies, tutorials or other content that is of value to your audience.
• Use guest posts: Another way to get backlinks is to write guest posts for other blogs or websites in your industry. You can usually include one or more links to your own website in your guest post.
• Engage in active link building: You can also contact other websites directly and ask for a backlink. This can be particularly effective if you have an article or resource on your website that is relevant to the other website.
• Use social media: Although the links on social media are usually "nofollow" and therefore not directly taken into account by Google, they can still help to increase the visibility and popularity of your website and thus indirectly generate more backlinks.
• Monitor your backlinks: It is important to monitor your backlinks regularly to ensure that they are still active and come from trusted websites. There are various tools, such as Google Search Console or special backlink checkers, that can help you with this.

Domain authority

Domain Authority (DA) is a score developed by Moz that indicates how well a website ranks in Google search results on a scale of 1 to 100. Although it is not a direct Google ranking factor, it is a useful metric to assess the overall "status" of a website in terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

The DA score system takes into account several factors such as the number of inbound links (backlinks), the quality of these links, the structure of your website and other technical aspects. It is important to note that a higher DA does not automatically lead to higher rankings, but it is a good indicator of the overall SEO health of your website.

Optimising your website for higher domain authority

Now that you know what domain authority is, how can you optimise your website to improve it? Here are some tips:

• Quality over quantity for backlinks: It's better to have a few high-quality backlinks than many low-quality ones. Focus on getting links from websites that have a high DA themselves and are thematically relevant to your site.
• Content quality: Make sure your website offers high-quality, original content that is useful and relevant to your target audience. This increases the likelihood that other websites will link to you and boost your DA.
• Technical SEO: Pay attention to technical aspects such as the loading speed of your website, mobile-friendliness, the use of HTTPS and a clean, SEO-friendly structure.
• Social media presence: A strong social media presence can also help increase your DA as it drives more traffic to your website and increases the likelihood of other websites linking to you.

User experience (UX) and usability ranking factors

User friendliness and user experience

The terms usability and user experience (UX) refer to the overall experience a user has when visiting your website. This includes aspects such as the speed of the site, ease of navigation, readability of the content and ease of interaction with the site.

Google has placed a clear focus on UX, as a good user experience helps visitors stay on your website longer, visit more pages and are more likely to become customers.

How can you optimise your website for better usability and UX?

Here are a few tips on how you can make your website more user-friendly and improve the user experience:

• Fast loading times: Nobody likes slow websites. Make sure your site loads quickly to avoid frustrating users and discouraging them from leaving your site.
• Mobile optimisation: More and more people are using their mobile devices to browse the internet. Make sure your website works and looks as good on mobile devices as it does on a desktop.
• Easy navigation: Your users should be able to navigate your website with ease. A clear, intuitive menu and a well thought-out structure will help users find what they are looking for.
• High-quality content: Make sure your content is relevant, interesting and easy to understand. Long paragraphs and complex sentences can be off-putting.
• Interactive elements: Interactive elements such as forms, buttons or videos can improve the user experience and encourage users to stay on your site for longer.

User signals as a ranking factor

In the world of SEO, user signals are crucial. They provide information about how visitors interact with your website. Google takes these signals very seriously as they directly indicate how useful and user-friendly your website actually is.

There are different types of user signals that you should be aware of:

• Click-through rate(CTR): Click-through rate indicates how often users click on your website after it appears in search results. A high click-through rate can be a strong signal that your website is relevant for certain search queries.
• Dwell time: Dwell time indicates how long a user stays on your website before returning to the search results. A longer dwell time can indicate that users find your content helpful and appealing.
• Bounce rate: The bounce rate measures the percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate can indicate that your content or site design is not appealing.

To improve your user signals, you can consider the following steps:

Improve your meta titles and descriptions

The meta titles and descriptions of your pages appear in search results and are often the first thing users see. Make sure they are accurate, engaging and relevant to the search query to increase your click-through rate.

Provide high-quality and relevant content

The quality and relevance of your content will influence how long users stay on your site. Make sure your content is well-researched, well-written and tailored to the needs of your target audience.

Optimise your page speed and page layout

The speed at which your page loads and the general layout can have a big impact on the bounce rate. A slow loading speed or a cluttered layout can cause users to leave your site quickly.

Brand and reputation factors

Brand awareness

Another important consideration when it comes to Google ranking factors is brand awareness. It is often overlooked but has a significant impact on the ranking of your website. Google considers well-known brands to be more trustworthy and reliable. Therefore, websites with strong brand awareness tend to have a better chance of ranking higher in search results.

How do you optimise your website for brand awareness?

Here are some steps you can follow to increase your website's brand awareness:

1. Consistent branding efforts: Make sure your branding is consistent across all channels - from your website to social media to emails and physical products. A consistent look and feel will help users recognise and remember your brand.
2. Content marketing: Create and share high-quality and unique content that is relevant and useful to your target audience. This allows you to establish yourself as an authority in your field and increase brand awareness at the same time.
3. Social media: Use social media to engage with your audience and raise awareness of your brand. Active and strategic social media management can help raise awareness of your brand and strengthen your relationship with your audience.
4. Search Engine Advertising (SEA): Utilise paid search advertising such as Google Ads to increase your visibility and boost your brand awareness. SEA can be an effective way to get your brand in front of a larger audience.
5. Search engine optimisation (SEO): Optimise your website and content for relevant keywords to improve your visibility in search results. This can help more people become aware of your brand and visit your website. Here are 31 tips on how to improve your ranking https://www.madmen-onlinemarketing.de/google-ranking-verbessern/.
6. Online reputation management: Actively monitor and manage what is being said about your brand online. Positive reviews and mentions can strengthen trust in your brand and increase awareness of it.

Topical authority

Another important Google ranking factor is the so-called topical authority. This means that your website is recognised as an authority in a specific subject area. This involves in-depth expertise in a specific area that goes beyond simply collecting keywords. This can have a positive impact on Google rankings as it is a strong signal of the quality and relevance of your content.

How do I optimise my site for Topical Authority?

Optimising your website for Topical Authority requires a strategic and thoughtful approach. Here are some tips that can help you:

1. Focus on a specific topic: instead of writing about a wide range of topics, concentrate on a specific area in which you have expertise. This will help Google understand the focus of your website and index it accordingly.
2. Create in-depth and high-quality content: The deeper and more detailed your content is, the better. Google values high-quality content that provides comprehensive and accurate information. It's not just about the length of the texts, but about their information content and relevance for the user.
3. Build a content cluster structure: A content cluster strategy can help to increase your topical authority. This involves creating a central "pillar content" that deals comprehensively with a specific topic. Building on this, you then write several "cluster contents" that highlight sub-aspects of this topic in detail. Each of these cluster contents links to the pillar content and vice versa, which creates a thematic structure and connection.
4. Update your content regularly: Google favours up-to-date and relevant content. Make sure your content is always up to date and update it regularly to ensure its relevance and accuracy.

Reputation management and its influence on Google ranking

Reputation management is another important aspect that should be considered in relation to Google ranking factors. It refers to the practices used to build and maintain a positive online image.

The role of reputation management

Good online reputation management can help increase user trust and satisfaction, which in turn has a positive impact on Google rankings. Google considers reviews, testimonials and other forms of user feedback as indicators of the quality and credibility of a website.

Tips for optimising your website

• Collect and present customer reviews: Customer reviews are an excellent way to build trust and authority. Use tools to ask customers for a review after their purchase or experience on your website. Then present these reviews visibly on your website.
• Respond to feedback: It's important to respond to all types of feedback, be it positive or negative. For positive reviews, you can say thank you and confirm the customer's satisfaction. In the case of negative feedback, you should respond professionally, acknowledge the problem and offer solutions. This shows that you take the customer seriously and endeavour to offer a high quality of service.
• Be active on social media: Social media is a great tool to engage with your audience and maintain your online reputation. You can use it to spread positive messages, answer customer questions and recognise and address potential issues before they become bigger problems.
• Publish high quality content: Quality content helps to demonstrate your expertise and credibility, which in turn boosts your online reputation. Invest time and effort into creating content that is useful, informative and engaging for your audience.

Future developments and trends

Artificial intelligence and machine learning

In the coming years, Google will continue to move towards Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). This means that algorithms will become better and better at making human-like decisions and understanding human behaviour.

How does AI influence Google rankings?

Google is already using AI in the form of RankBrain to better understand search queries and provide more relevant search results. AI helps Google to better understand the context and intent behind a search query, especially for complex or very specific search queries.

How can you optimise your site for AI and ML?

There are a few strategies you can follow to ensure your website is optimised for these AI-driven algorithms.

• Understand the search intent: Try to understand the purpose or intent behind the search queries that lead to your website. What do users really want to know or achieve? Your content should aim to fulfil these needs.
• Write for humans, not machines: AI and ML are designed to understand human-like behaviour. Therefore, you should create high-quality content that is useful and understandable for humans. Avoid keyword stuffing or other "black hat" SEO techniques that aim to "trick" the search engines.
• Use structured data: Structured data helps search engines to better understand the content of your website. It can help your website appear better in the SERPs (search engine results pages) by enabling rich snippets, breadcrumbs and other visual enhancements.
• Provide an excellent user experience: Google is paying increasing attention to the user experience on websites. This means that things like page load time, mobile-friendliness and the user-friendliness of your website are important ranking factors.

Video content: A key to the future of SEO

In the world of SEO, video content is a rising star. As the internet continues to evolve, video is becoming an increasingly important part of the content mix. In fact, Google has been integrating more and more videos into search results in recent years, emphasising their importance to rankings.

Why are videos important?

Videos can be an effective way to convey complex information in an easy-to-understand and engaging way. They can help increase dwell time on your website, which Google can take as a sign that your website offers valuable content. In addition, a well-made video can also help to increase the number of shares and backlinks, which also has a positive impact on your ranking.

Tips for optimising your website for video content

To get the most out of your video content, you should follow some best practices:

• Video quality: make sure your videos are of good quality, both in terms of image and audio quality. A professional-looking video can help increase user trust in your website.
• Relevant and helpful content: Your videos should be informative and useful for your target audience. Remember that content is always king, no matter what format it's presented in.
• SEO for videos: Don't forget to apply SEO practices to your videos as well. This includes using keywords in the titles and descriptions, adding transcripts and embedding videos on relevant pages of your website.
• Video hosting: Think about where you want to host your videos. YouTube is a popular option, but there are other platforms that may suit your needs better.

Voice search: the voice of the future

With the rise of digital assistants such as Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa, voice search is an increasingly important factor for Google rankings. More and more people are using their voice to search the internet, which presents new challenges and opportunities for SEO.

Voice search queries tend to be longer and more conversational than text-based searches. They are often in the form of questions and contain more detail. Therefore, it's important that your content can respond to these types of queries.

How do you optimise your site for voice search?

1. Use natural language: Try to design your content to use natural language and complete sentences. Remember that people speak how they would normally speak, not how they would type.
2. Answer questions: Many voice search queries are questions. Think about what questions your target audience might ask and make sure your content answers those questions.
3. Local optimisation: Voice search is often used for local queries, such as "Where is the nearest Italian restaurant?". Make sure your website is optimised for local search queries by including relevant local information and keywords.
4. Fast loading times: Voice search is often used on mobile devices. Therefore, it is important that your site loads quickly to provide a good user experience.
5. Use structured data: Structured data allows Google to better understand your site and extract the relevant information for voice search.

Ok. That's the Google ranking factors for 2023. Now we'll list the more than 200 ranking factors we know for the Google search engine in various categories.

Overview of all ranking factors:

1. Everything to do with the domain
2. Everything about the content
3. Everything about the website itself
4. Backlinks
5. Visitor interactions
6. Special rules of the algorithm
7. Social media signals
8. Brand signals
9. On-site WebSpam factors
10. Off-site WebSpam factors

The order of this list does not reflect the priority or importance of the Google ranking factors.

---

Google ranking factors: Everything about the domain

1.Age of the domain

The age of a domain is a ranking factor for Google. However, it is not a very important criterion. For Google, it is much more important when the domain was indexed for the first time or when the first links came to the domain.

2. Keyword in the domain name

The keyword in the domain name (keyword domains) is no longer quite as important a factor as it used to be. However, a well-optimised website with the keyword in the domain name is still difficult to overtake in Google positioning today. However, keyword domains are no guarantee for a good ranking.

3. Keyword at the beginning of a domain

Having the relevant keyword at the beginning of the domain name brings SEO benefits. More so than if the keyword is in the middle or at the end of the name.

4. Expiry date of a domain

Valuable domains are often paid for several years in advance. Normal domains are rarely bought for longer than 1 year. For Google, this factor is a sign of quality and therefore an important Google ranking factor.

5. Keyword in the subdomain

Moz.com has discovered that a keyword in a subdomain can have a positive influence on the ranking. This means that a subdomain can be actively used for a ranking boost.

6. Exact domain name - exact match domain

If the domain consists of only one keyword, this helps the ranking. This is known as an exact match domain. However, this is no guarantee of success for a good ranking. The quality of the content and other factors also play an important role.

Search Engine Land wrote the following after Google published the EMD update:

"The EMD update - for "Exact Match Domain" - is a filter Google introduced in September 2012 to prevent high-quality websites from ranking well simply because they contain words that match the search terms in their domain names."

In the example below, I searched for "breast augmentation" on Google. This was in 2017 and an exact match domain was listed on page 1, but it had already been overtaken by another domain.

In 2019, I started the search again. The same website was now only in 11th place.

Apparently, the competitors have done their homework in terms of quality.

This shows that the exact match domain factor has lost a lot of weight compared to the quality of the content.

7. Domain history

The history of a domain is very important. This data is available on the web. How often has a domain been registered and cancelled? What did the previous owner do with it?

In certain cases, a penalised domain can transfer the penalty to the new owner.

In such a case, you can ask Google to "reset" the history of the website and discard links pointing to the domain.

To query all previous owners, you can use the website https://who.is/. Simply enter the domain and then click on the "History" tab.

It is also interesting to see what Matt Cutts (formerly Google) says about this topic in a Google Webmaster video:

Video: How can I research a domain that I may want to purchase?

Disclaimer: With the entry into force of the European General Data Protection Regulation, it is no longer possible to query personal data without further ado.

8. Public and private WHOIS information

Domains with protected Whois information send a negative signal to Google. "There is something to hide here" is the message and therefore has a negative impact on the ranking.

If you have activated a Whois Privacy Protection Service for your domain, the current owner of the domain (and other information) will not be displayed. You could protect your data with namecheap.com. However, as already mentioned, this has disadvantages in the ranking.

9. Penalised domain owners

If a domain owner has already been penalised by Google, this will also affect other domains in their possession.

10. Country-specific domain extensions

Country-specific domains improve the ranking in the respective country. With a country-specific domain, the country abbreviations such as .at, .de or .ch can be found in the country-specific top-level domain (ccTLD) of a URL.

Example: www.beispiel.de

.de is the abbreviation for Germany. A .de domain receives a higher rating for search queries in Germany than for search queries in Austria or Switzerland.

However, they reduce the chances of obtaining global rankings. For multilingual websites, we recommend generic top-level domains (gTLD) such as .net or .com.

For example, our old domain ithelps.at had advantages to be found in google.at (Austria), but disadvantages to be well positioned in other countries. (e.g.: Germany, Switzerland etc.).

We have changed this by now using the domain ithelps-digital.com.

---

Google ranking factors: Everything about the content

11. Keyword in the title tag

An important ranking factor is the keyword in the title tag. Even if it is no longer as important as it used to be. This is because Google can now interpret synonyms and semantic words very well.

Here are two examples that demonstrate this fact very well.

This article ranks 2nd with the exact match keyword "Google ranking factors".

If you search for "Google ranking criteria", i.e. a synonym, the article even ranks 1st.

If you want to be on the safe side, put the exact match keyword in the title tag.

12. Title tag starts with the desired keyword

If the title tag starts with a keyword, this increases the chances of being found better.

Good: Online marketing agency in Vienna

Worse: ithelps - online marketing agency in Vienna

13. Keyword in the meta description

If the keyword appears in the meta description, this increases the chance of a better ranking.

It is not a primary criterion, as Google explains: "...we do sometimes use the "description" meta tag as the text for our search results snippets."

But: The keywords in the SERP snippet are highlighted in bold. This increases the click-through rate, which in turn sends a positive signal to Google.

14. Keyword in the H1 heading

If the keyword appears in the H1 heading (H1 tag), this is another positive Google ranking factor. Please note that only one H1 heading should be used per website.

15. Keyword in the text

If a certain keyword or keyword phrase appears frequently on a page, this has a positive effect on the ranking. It should be the keyword or keyword phrase that occurs most frequently in the text.

16. Length of the content

The content length on a page should be at least 500 words. The more (quality) content, the better. Content with more words can cover a topic in more detail and is likely to be favoured in the algorithm compared to shorter, superficial articles.

SERPIQ has an interesting chart showing how many words web pages have on average in each Google rank.

Search results at position 1 on Google have an average of 2450 words.

17. Table of contents

With the help of a linked table of contents, Google can better understand the content of your page. This can also lead to sitelinks:

 

 

Tables of contents also improve usability and user-friendliness for extensive content with numerous subheadings. This is another positive ranking signal for Google.

18. Keyword density on the page

Keyword density was often misused in the past. It still plays a role in the ranking, albeit a subordinate one. However, keyword density should not exceed a natural level.

In my opinion, the optimum keyword density is around 2.5 %. This can be taken as a guideline.

19. LSI - Latent Semantic Indexing Keywords on the page

LSI keywords are to be understood as topic-relevant word groups. They help Google to recognise the correct one for words with several meanings. For example, the English word "Apple" can be assigned to the computer company or fruit. This means that the other words in the content are also very important.

So if you want to be found well with the word "Apple" in the sense of apple (fruit), other terms from the "fruit word group" must appear.

Furthermore, the use of LSI keywords indicates that a topic is dealt with comprehensively.

20. LSI keywords in the title tag and meta description

If suitable LSI keywords appear in the title tag and meta description, this is likely to have a positive effect on the ranking. It can also act as a signal for relevance.

21. Depth of topic coverage

There is a correlation between depth of topic coverage and Google rankings. Therefore, pages that cover every area of a topic are likely to have an advantage over pages that only partially cover a topic.

22. Loading speed of the website

The loading speed of a website is a particularly important ranking factor for Google. Especially since the Core Web Vitals of the Page Experience Update have been used as ranking criteria.

A reference value here is a website loading time of around 1.5 seconds. Anything longer has a negative impact. If this is the case, you should optimise the page speed of your website.

You can measure the loading speed of your website with PageSpeed Insights.

23. Loading speed with Google Chrome

Google also uses data from Google Chrome users. This is mainly about page loading problems and speed. Here, too, you can use PageSpeed Ins ights to keep an eye on the values of the mobile and desktop versions of your website.

24. Use of AMP

Although it is not a direct Google ranking factor, AMP can be a prerequisite for ranking in the mobile version of the Google News carousel.

25. Search intent

If the content of a page matches the "searcher's intent", this page can receive a ranking boost for this keyword.

26. Google Hummingbird

This "algorithm change" to its search engine algorithm helped Google to go beyond keywords. Thanks to Hummingbird, Google can now better understand the topic of a website. This factor corresponds very strongly with point 21 of this list - depth of topic coverage.

27. Duplicate content - duplicate content

Having the same or too similar content on a website reduces its visibility on Google.

You can use tools such as Siteliner.com to find duplicate content on your site.

Here's what you can do about duplicate content .

28. Use of canonical links

If duplicate content cannot be avoided, so-called canonical links(canonical URLs) should be used.

If a page is marked with the tag -> link rel="canonical", Google is told that this may be duplicate content and at the same time refers to the original content.

Shop systems in particular need this. If you have a blue and a red T-shirt in your shop and describe them in the same way, then the description of these products would be duplicate content. You can find more information about canonical tags in this article.

29. Optimisation of images

The correct optimisation of images brings good SEO results. In addition to the right size and integration, certain meta data is important for Google. Filename, alt text, title, description.

30. Timeliness of the content - date of creation

The Google Caffeine Update favours recently published or updated content, especially for time-critical searches. To emphasise the importance of this factor, Google displays the date a page was last updated for certain pages:

 

31. Regularity of updates

How often content is updated is a ranking factor. Updating the most important content should therefore be the focus of every checklist. However, Google also recognises how extensive or serious the update was. Moving a few words will not be rated as positively as adding or removing entire chapters.

32. Frequency of updates

How often a website is updated plays a role. Daily, weekly updates or once every 5 years? Google loves fresh content!

33. Keyword prominence

If a keyword is in the first 100 words of a piece of content, this increases the chances of a good ranking.

34. Keyword in H2 and H3 tags

If your main keyword (focus keyword) appears in H2 or H3 subheadings, this can be another weak relevance signal. Google's John Mueller says: "These heading tags in HTML help us understand the structure of the page."

35. Quality of outbound links

Outbound links to high-quality websites (e.g. Wikipedia) send good signals to Google. Whether this actually influences the ranking is controversial.

What is undisputed is that links to high-quality, relevant external content mean added value for the user.

36. The topic of outbound links

Google looks at the topic of the linked website for outbound links. The Hillop algorithm allows Google to use the content of the linked pages as a relevance signal.

This allows you to give Google targeted signals. If we write an article about"tools" and link it to a collection of software programmes (tools), our article will be assigned a different topic than if we link to tool pages (hammer, drill, etc.).

37. Grammar and spelling

Yes, Google rates grammar and spelling. It is a quality feature.

The starting guide to search engine optimisation (Google Search Central) contains the following advice in this regard: "Avoid unprofessional texts with many spelling and grammatical errors."

38. Syndicated content

Often also referred to as duplicate content. If the content is also available on other websites, you run the risk of being removed from the Google index and therefore no longer being found.

39. Mobile-friendly update

This update, often referred to as"Mobilegeddon", rewarded sites that were optimised for mobile devices. You can test your site here https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly to see if it is mobile friendly.

40. Mobile usability

Websites that can be easily used by mobile users may have an advantage in Google'smobile-first index.

41. "Hidden" content on mobile devices

Hidden content on mobile devices may not be indexed or may not be weighted as heavily as fully visible content.

42. Helpful website tools

Helpful website tools such as: Currency converter, VAT calculator etc. are a sign of a valuable website for Google. If you have something like this in use, you get plus points.

the ithelps SERP snippet generator

43. Content hidden behind the tabs

Google has said: "If the user has to click on a tab to view some content on your site, that content "may not be indexed."

44. Number of outbound links

The number of outbound "DoFollow" links is assessed. If this is too high, it can reduce the value of a website. This criterion has arisen due to link farms (one website links thousands of others with DoFollow links.

45. Multimedia and correct use

Multimedia such as photos, videos and infographics are a signal for the quality of a page. If a certain keyword is used repeatedly in the name and alt tags of these media, this also has a favourable effect.

46. Internal links

Internal links (internal linking) on your own website signal to Google which page must be important.

For example: If we link to the SEO - search engine optimisation page from every relevant blog article on our blog, we give Google the signal: the "search engine optimisation" page is important. At least more important than the other pages.

Well thought-out internal link building is therefore of great importance. Of course, this can be focussed on several main pages.

47. Quality of internal links

If website A links to website B, then the quality of website A is important. The higher the quality of website A, the greater the effect of the link for website B.

48. Non-functioning links / broken links:

If you have internal or outgoing links on your website, it is important that the link target is also present. Over time, a website or article may be deleted. If a link from your website points to a non-existent page, this will have a negative effect on your website.

Too many broken links on a page can be a sign of a neglected or abandoned page. According to the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (10.2 Ratings for Pages with Error Messages or No MC), broken links are used to evaluate the quality of a website.

The free online tool Broken Link Check analyses your website for "dead links".

49. Reading level

Google once categorised website visitors into 3 classes: Beginner, Advanced, Professional. How did Google know this? Google analysed a person's search behaviour and made segmentations.

Rumour has it that content for "beginners" ranks better than content for advanced and professional users. Our interpretation: Basic knowledge and introductions to a topic should always be available on a valuable website.

50. Affiliate links

Affiliate links can have a negative impact on the ranking. However, the number is decisive here. If a website consists of 95% affiliate links, this is a sign of an inferior website for Google. Affiliate links should be used with moderation and purpose.

51. HTML errors and W3C validation

HTML errors on a website have a negative effect on the ranking. To avoid this, there is the W3C Validator, which recognises an error on the website and issues warnings about it. These warnings should be taken seriously and the errors corrected immediately.

52. Domain authority

The general domain authority of a website influences the ranking of individual pages(What is a domain authority). For example: If Wikipedia creates a page about online marketing, it will naturally receive more plus points than if SEO agency creates a website on the same topic.

You can determine your own domain authority with this tool , for example.

53. PageRank of a website

The PageRank of a website influences the ranking. However, the public PageRank is no longer updated by Google. At the end of 2015, Google filed a patent for the Google PageRank algorithm.(Source: Xovi)

At that time, PageRank evaluated incoming backlinks and rated them on a scale of 1-10 (10 = best result).

54. URL length

URLs that are too long have a negative effect on the ranking. Pay attention to short links.

Research by ahrefs.com seems to prove this, as the graphic shows:

55. URL path

How far is the website from the homepage? Do I first have to click through three submenus to get to the target page or is the link located directly on the homepage?

The lower the hierarchy of a page, the lower its ranking.

A page that is closer to the home page may get a slight boost in rankings compared to pages that are buried deep within a site's architecture.

56. People as editors

This has never been confirmed. But manual intervention in the rankings of a website is certainly intended.

Large companies have their own Google Agents that help to increase the value of the website free of charge. Nothing would be more embarrassing for Google than if large companies were not found due to inferior content and websites. (e.g. McDonalds).

57. Topic categories of a website

Every website is assigned to one or more topic categories. These are included in several ranking criteria. For example, a backlink from a website with a similar topic is rated higher than one from a non-topic website. (e.g.: Farm - Space)

58. The WordPress cloud

Grouping content such as blog articles into categories or tags has a positive influence on the ranking. In WordPress, this is the famous term cloud (a function in WordPress; in Joomla to be solved with tags).

59. Search term in the URL

In a Google Hangout at 17:50 minutes, John Mueller from Google said that keywords in the URL are a "very small ranking factor".

From our perspective and experience, this is an important criterion. And for the following reason: Not only is it a weak ranking signal for Google, it is also relevant from the user's point of view.

If the search term appears in the link, i.e. in the URL, the relevance is more obvious to the user. They are more inclined to consume and share the content.

60. URL / link relevance

The entire URL is also important. It usually contains hidden categories or other clues for Google. This example link - https://www.ithelps-digital.com/de/content-marketing-agentur- contains some information that helps Google to evaluate the page thematically.

61. Citing references and sources

Citing or quoting external references and sources such as studies or case studies can be a sign of quality. However, Google has made it clear that external links have no direct influence on the value of your own website.

62. List postings and elements

Bullet points or numbered bullet points (this blog article is also a large list) help the reader to read content more easily. These articles appear better structured. Google likes everything that is good for the website visitor. This point therefore has an influence on the Google ranking. Our tip: Use list elements.

63. Priority on the sitemap

Priorities on a sitemap are taken into account and evaluated by Google. For example, we have prioritised our homepage and our services in the ithelps sitemap.

64. Easteregg

This is a typical easteregg or gag. I'm curious to see how many people discover it.

65. Number of keywords already ranking

If a single page is already found with several different search terms, this is a quality signal for Google. This brings further plus points.

66. Age of a page

When a particular page was created or updated is relevant for the Google ranking. After all, we don't want to find a computer from 1998 under the term "best computer" on Google, but an up-to-date page.

Topicality is a criterion. However, just because an article is up to date does not mean that it will always receive good rankings. Otherwise, news portals with 5000 postings per day would always be ahead.

67. User-friendly layout

Admittedly, this is a very vague point. It means: Good design should emphasise or support good content.

When comparing two websites with the same quality of content, the site with the better design wins. This point should therefore not be ignored.

68. Parked domains

A parked domain is a domain with content such as "Site under construction" or "This site can be purchased". Sometimes adverts or affiliate links are also placed here. These parked domains without real content have lost a lot of visibility due to a Google algorithm update in December 2011.

69. Helpful content

Yes, there is a difference between qualitative and helpful content: Qualitative content can be a large directory with many interesting articles. These may be scientifically structured and have a lot of content, but these articles do not always have to be helpful.

The main criterion for Google to fulfil here is what the website visitor wants: What does the website visitor want? And how quickly does the user get the information they are looking for?

This is a difficult issue, but one that is becoming increasingly important. Methods for measuring the popularity of content are used to assess this ranking factor.

Google ranking factors: Everything about the website itself

70. Valuable, unique content

Google wants websites to display unique content. . A website without added value for the visitor, without depth of content or with content that is too similar to other websites will lose visibility on Google. Affiliate niche sites are particularly affected here.

71. Contact page

If your contact details are easy to find on the website and they also match the WHOIS information of your website, this gives you plus points.

If you don't do this, you have something to hide. Don't you?

72. Domain Trust / TrustRank:

There is a calculated value, the Trust Rank. This is similar to PageRank and is intended to indicate how many trustworthy pages link to your own website. Here is a short Wikipedia article on this algorithm.

Many SEOs believe that "TrustRank" is a very important ranking factor. And a recently filed Google patent entitled "Search result ranking based on trust" seems to confirm this.

The TrustRank of a website has become increasingly important since the introduction of E-A-T.

73. Site architecture

The page architecture is important. This is where the so-called silo architecture comes into play. Similar content is grouped into topics. This is usually not a major issue for small website projects, but for large websites with more than 500 pages, it can be quite a challenge to structure the content properly.

74. Updates to a page

When was the content of an individual page last updated?

The more often an individual page is updated, the more points it scores with Google. However, you should not try to outsmart Google here. Google naturally recognises how much new content has been added. Replacing or rephrasing a sentence does not have the same effect as adding a new chapter.

75. Number of pages

The number of pages on a website is a small signal for Google. More content = more pages = should be better quality.

76. Presence of a sitemap

A sitemap is a list of every subpage of a website. If you have such a sitemap in your directory, you help the Google bot to scan the content of the website better. This in turn scores points in the ranking and ensures that all content can be found.

Many CMS systems offer free sitemap tools. Here is a web-based option for generating a sitemap.

77. Site downtime

How often does your website go down and cannot be accessed? If you have a poor hoster and this happens frequently, then this is not necessarily a sign of quality. In this case, you should switch to a high-quality hoster. For WordPress and Joomla, we recommend Siteground.

78. Server location

In certain cases, the server location influences where your website ranks in different geographical regions. This is particularly important for geo-specific search queries.

See the following sources:

• Google Search Central video (2009)
• For International SEO: Google Says Server Location Almost Irrelevant (seroundtable.com) (2013)

79. SSL certificate

Since 2015, the SSL certificate has been a feature for the quality of a website and therefore a ranking criterion. Google confirmed this on its Webmaster Central blog on 6 August 2014.

And in a new publication in February 2019, they wrote the following: "Beginning in July 2019 with the release of Chrome 68, Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as "not secure".

If your website can be accessed with https://, you have a certificate installed. This gives you advantages over equivalent sites without an SSL certificate.

80. Terms and conditions and imprint page

A terms and conditions page (general terms and conditions) and imprint page will give you extra points in terms of visibility on Google. It is again a sign of quality and a trust factor.

81. Duplicate meta descriptions

If several pages have the same meta description, this has a negative effect on the visibility of your website on Google. You can use the free tool seorch.eu to scan your site for duplicate meta descriptions.

According to Matt Cutts, it is better to have no meta description than one that is already in use.

Source: Is it necessary for every page to have a meta description? - YouTube

82. Breadcrumb navigation

Breadcrumbnavigation helps visitors and Google bots to orientate themselves as to where they are currently located. Here is a brief explanation of how to activate breadcrumb navigation in Joomla.

83. Optimisation for mobile devices

The number of website visitors via mobile devices is growing all the time. How well your website works on mobile devices such as smartphones has been a ranking factor for Google since the mobile-friendly update.

For more than half of all search queries from mobile devices, Google wants to see that a website is optimised for mobile users.

84. YouTube

Following the Google Panda update of the Google algorithm, YouTube videos are much more visible in the search results. By integrating YouTube videos into your texts and content, you can generate higher visibility for certain search terms.

85. Page usability

How easy and clear is a page to use? How does Google measure this? Google uses SEO metrics such as "bounce rate", "duration of visit" and "number of pages visited" for this purpose. This is made possible by Rank Brain.

86. Google Analytics and Google Search Console

Some experts believe that integrating these two programmes on your website helps with your ranking. Google has more data available about a website as a result.

87. Reviews and review portals

Good reviews on review portals are important for people, but also for Google. Google uses reviews from large portals such as ProvenExpert to rate a website/brand/company. It is therefore an advantage to have many positive reviews on large review portals.

---

Google ranking factors: Backlinks

This point is particularly important to us in our daily work as a search engine optimisation agency in Vienna.

88. Age of the linking domain

Links from older domains (long existence) influence the ranking more than links from young domains.

89. Number of linking domains

The number of linking domains is still one of the most important ranking criteria. In an analysis by moz.com, the websites with the most links always end up in first and second place in the Google search results. However, the number of main domains is always counted here, regardless of how often a domain is linked.

90. Links from different class C IP addresses

Sounds technical, and it is. Domain hosters are given some public IP addresses to use and host the websites.

With low-cost domain hosters, several websites are located on one IP address. If you go for high-priced hosting, you will eventually come across the issue of dedicated IP addresses (1 IP address for 1 customer).

If you now receive a link from another class C IP address (on another hoster), then this has a higher value.

91. Number of linking pages

The number of linking pages is another ranking criterion. Even if the links come from the same domain.

92. Alt tags for image links

If an image is used as a link, the ALT tag of the image is relevant and can be equated with the anchor text of a text link.

93. Links from .edu and .gov domains

Some SEO experts believe that there are special rankings for links from .edu and .gov domains. This is perhaps comparable to a follow backlink from https://www.wien.gv.at

94. PageRank or page authority of the linking page

The PageRank of a linking page plays a major role in its value. Although PageRank is no longer officially updated, Google still evaluates it internally and updates it regularly.

You can test the value of a page with PageAuthority. This is a scale from 0-100, with 100 being the best value(MozToolbar or SiteExplorer)

The higher the page authority of the page linking to your website, the more valuable the link.

95. Domain authority of the linking domain

Similar to page authority, domain authority also plays a role in assessing the value of a link. The higher the value of the domain authority, the higher the value of the link.

96. Links from competitors

Links from websites that appear in the same search results are rated higher.

97. Links from "Expected" websites

Although speculative, some SEOs believe that Google will not fully trust your website until you are linked to by a number of "expected" websites in your industry.

98. Bad neighbour links

Links from the so-called bad neighbourhood bring clear disadvantages and should be cleaned up. How to recognise links from bad neighbourhoods.

99. Guest posts

Although links from guest posts still have value, they're probably not as valuable as real editorial links (plus, "large-scale" guest posting campaigns can get your site in trouble).

100. Links to the homepage

We suspect that links to the homepage of a site are valued differently: So internal links to the home page are rated a little higher. Links to the homepage of external websites are rated a little lower.

101. NoFollow links

A very controversial topic. The official statement from Google:

"In general, we don't follow them."

NoFollow links are therefore not completely irrelevant for search engine optimisation. If you are interested in more information about no-follow links, we recommend this article.

102. Frequency of links from a source

If the number of links from a domain is exceptionally high, they will be devalued. Good link building consists of different links from different websites / sources.

103. Sponsored links

The anchor text of a link is very relevant. Suspicious terms such as "sponsored link" or "sponsored article" have a negative effect on the positive weighting of the link.

104. Content-related links

Contextual or editorial links that are embedded in a text are considered more valuable than if the link is positioned somewhere on its own. (Example: "HyperSuggest")

105.301 redirects

Links that come via 301 redirects weaken the value of the link enormously. Here is an interesting video from the Google Webmaster channel on YouTube.

106. Anchor text of the link

The anchor text is one of the most important criteria for the value of a link. Google says: "The anchor text of a link usually says more than the content of the website itself".

107. Anchor text of internal links

The anchor text of internal links is also used as an evaluation criterion. Weaker than that of external links, but it is not irrelevant.

108. Link title/hover text:

The link title (the text that is displayed when you move the mouse pointer over a link) is also used as a weak signal by Google for the evaluation. Here is an example:

109. Backlinks from country-specific domains

Backlinks from country-specific domains, such as: .at ; .de help to be found better in a certain country. Assumption: If several .at websites link to your domain, you will be found better on www.google.at (Austria).

110. Position of a link in the content

If a link is placed high up in the text, it has a higher value (source: moz.com) than if it is placed at the end. The weighting for this criterion is estimated to be low.

Nevertheless, bloggers in particular should try to include a backlink at the beginning of guest articles.

111. Link location on the page

Where a link appears on a page is important. In general, a link that is embedded in the content of a page is more relevant than a link in the footer or sidebar area.

112. Links from related domains

A link from a related domain will rank much higher than a link from an unrelated domain. Backlink building should therefore be strongly focussed on links from related websites.

113. Links from related sites

If you receive a backlink from a related page with similar content, this has a positive effect on the weighting of the link. This is analysed using the Hilltop algorithm. So: Not only the domain (ranking factor 104), but also the page and the content count.

114. Text around a backlink

If the text around your link contains negative content, this will have a negative effect on the ranking of your website. Bad reviews or negative articles should therefore be avoided.

115. Keyword in the title

Google loves backlinks where the keyword also appears in the title (title tag) of the linked page. This is an interesting and extremely important criterion.

116. Positive link building

Websites that regularly receive backlinks receive plus points, which are important for the ranking.

117. Negative link building

If you have a declining link building, then you lose plus points and it has a negative effect on the ranking.

118. Links from top sites

A link from a very successful, high-ranking, topic-specific page brings a lot for your own page.

119. Links from top websites

Links from large and very valuable pages from a specific subject area bring a lot of plus points.

120. Link as a Wikipedia source

At the end of every Wikipedia article there is a source reference. If your own website is cited as the source for a term, this will boost the ranking of your own page. Getting links from Wikipedia.org is another SEO method in its own right.

121. Words around a link

The words and phrases around a link are also a clue for Google. A list of several links one below the other is therefore evaluated differently than a well-placed link in a text. (Well-placed links in blog articles are perfect).

122. Backlink age

According to a Google patent, older links have a higher ranking than newly placed backlinks.

123. Links from real websites vs. blog networks

Due to the prevalence of blog networks, Google probably gives more weight to links from "real sites" than from "fake" blogs. Google likely uses brand and user interaction signals to differentiate between the two.

124. Natural link profile

A site with a "natural" link profile will rank higher and be more resistant to updates than one that has obviously used black hat strategies to build links.

125. Reciprocal links

The typical link exchange (both websites link to each other) has little effect. Google says that this should even be avoided.

126. User-generated content links (UGC links)

User-generated content links (from website visitors) are rated less highly than links from website owners. Examples of this would be links from members in a forum. These naturally have a different value than a link from the forum owner on a subpage of the forum (e.g. "about us")

127. Links from 301 redirects

Links that point to a 301 redirect lose a little link juice (link value). Redirects with the introduction of an SSL certificate are not or only slightly affected by this (switch from http to https).

128. Schema.org formats

Websites that use microformats are rated higher than websites without them. This may have a direct correlation, but may also be due to the fact that these pages have a higher click-through rate (CTR) in the SERPs.

129. TrustRank of linking pages

The higher the TrustRank of a website is rated by Google, the higher the quality of outgoing backlinks. You can display the TrustRank here.

130. Number of backlinks

A link from a page with a large number of outbound links is rated less highly than a website with very few outbound links.

131. Links from forums

Due to the high level of abuse at the time, backlinks from forums were significantly devalued. Technical link building from forums now makes very little sense.

132. Number of words on a linking page

The number of words on a page is relevant for the value of the link. A link from a 1000-word article is therefore worth much more than one from a 25-word page.

133. Links from high-quality pages

Links from pages with very high-quality content are rated higher. High-quality pages are characterised by many criteria. An article with a high word count, embedded images, videos and other media, etc., is rated as a "high-quality" article.

134. Global / central links on a website

A link in a sidebar that is displayed on many pages and subpages is summarised as 1 link. Let's think of a blog in which a link appears in the sidebar. This sidebar looks the same in every blog article. These links are meant here.

---

Google ranking factors: Visitor interactions

135. RankBrain

RankBrain is Google's AI (artificial intelligence) algorithm. Many believe that its main purpose is to measure how users interact with search results (and rank the results accordingly).

136. Organic click-through rate

How often the website is displayed in Google for a specific keyword and is clicked on. The higher the famous click through rate (CTR for short), the higher the website is ranked. Important criteria for this are title, meta description and link.

137. Organic click-through rate in general

How high is the general click-through rate for a website. This also has an influence on the ranking and the position in the Google search.

 

138. Bounce Rate

Die Bounce Rate (Absprungrate) ist die Rate, welche anzeigt, wie viele Personen die Webseite nach der ersten Seite wieder verlassen. Also klickt die Person danach weiter, oder verlässt sie die Seite? Eine aktuelle Studie von SEMRush fand eine Korrelation zwischen Absprungrate und Google-Ranking.

 

139. Direct traffic

Google rates websites with high direct traffic as higher quality. How high the traffic is can be analysed in Google Analytics, for example. Here is the overview from ithelps.at

140. Returning website visitors

If people regularly visit your website, then it must be of a higher quality. This is also a Google ranking criterion and can determine whether the website is found on the first page of Google. Tools such as calculators (e.g. VAT calculator), collections or other helpful content are useful here.

141. Blocked pages

Google Chrome has the option of blocking websites. These are then no longer displayed in Google searches. Google takes this as a sign of quality if a website is blocked too often.

142. Google Chrome favourites

Here too, Google uses the user data of Google Chrome users. The more often a website is saved in the user's favourites, the higher the value of this website for Google.

143. Google Toolbar

The Google Toolbar also collects data for Google. This data is then used to evaluate websites.

144. Number of comments

Pages with many comments are rated higher than pages with few comments. This is particularly interesting for bloggers.

145. Dwell Time

How long a visitor stays on your website after clicking on it from a Google search. What counts here is the duration, not necessarily the number of web pages accessed. It is important for bloggers to offer other interesting articles for further reading (internal link building).

---

Google ranking factors: Special rules of the algorithm

146. "New page boost"

New pages (fresh content) gain an advantage and become highly visible on Google in the short term. Bloggers know this phenomenon very well. When a blog article is published, it is found on page 1. After a few days or weeks, however, it is no longer.

147. Special search terms

Google deals with certain terms separately. Most searches here are for major brands or events. ("derStandard", "EM (= European Championship), "WWF" etc.)

148. Frequently visited websites

People who are registered with Google and often visit a certain website unconsciously give Google a hint. This increases the visibility of a website for that person's search.

149. Search results based on the search history

Google tries to display "more appropriate" results based on the history of a Google search. So if you search for microwave and then for "review" or "test", you will see results such as "microwave reviews".

150. Dedicated server

Google favours websites that are hosted on a dedicated server with its own IP address.

151. Safe Search

If the "Safe Search" function is activated, inappropriate or offensive search results will not be displayed on Google.

152. DMCA Takedown

A DMCA takedown is a request to remove content from a website. This can be requested if third-party content has been published on a website without authorisation and is to be removed again. You can request this if your own content is published on other websites. Google devalues websites with many DMCA takedown requests.

153. Domain diversity in SERPs

Google has expanded the variety of different search results per search.

154. Transaction-related enquiries

Sometimes Google changes the search results, for example when displaying departure times for an airport.

155. Local search

Google sometimes also displays another view of results "in the neighbourhood" separately.

156. Google News Box

Google also sometimes displays a special box before the actual search results for news topics.

157. Major brands

After the Vince update, large brands/companies are rated higher by Google.

158. Shopping results

For product-specific search terms, Google sometimes also displays shopping results in the search results.

159. Image results

For some search terms, the results of the Google image search are also displayed at the top.

160. Easter Egg results

Google is also always hiding so-called Easter Egg results. Why not enter "Atari Breakout" in the Google image search and have fun playing.

161. Large brands / Multiple search results

With large brands, it can happen that the same website appears several times in the search results.

---

Google ranking factors: social media signals

162. Number of tweets

There is no certainty about this, but many SEO experts assume that this is the case. The more links from Twitter (so-called tweets) point to the website and users click on them, the better for the ranking. It would fit in well with Google's logic.

163. Authority on Twitter

Authority on Twitter is also measured and evaluated. If Katy Perry tweeted a link from your website, it would have a higher weighting.

164. Number of Facebook likes

Google cannot always recognise the number of Facebook likes. Nevertheless, there is reason to suspect that the number of likes on a company's fan page has an influence on the ranking of a website.

165. Number of Facebook shares

The number of Facebook shares of an article is a ranking signal for Google. In the narrowest sense, these are to be understood as backlinks.

166. Authority on the Facebook page

As with the previous Twitter rule, a post from a huge Facebook page with several thousand likes is rated differently to a Facebook page with 100 fans.

167. Pinterest Pins

Pinterest also plays a role in the ranking of your own website. Postings on Pinterest (so-called pins) with website links are evaluated and recognised by Google as a social media signal.

168. Voting on other social media platforms

Platforms such as Reddit, feedly & Co could play a role in the ranking. Especially articles or websites that receive a lot of votes, comments or likes.

169. Well-known authorities on the web

Well-known authorities and their content are rated higher than that of other people. This used to be controlled via the Google+ markup, but according to the official statement, this no longer has any influence.

170. Social media relevance

 

Here too, Google could take a closer look at the information surrounding a link. For example, it will take a closer look at the text in a Facebook post. Namely, whether the referenced content is meaningful and relevant to the topic.

171. Cross-website signals

Cross-site social media signals (main domain) could have an impact on the visibility of each individual subpage.

 

---

Google ranking factors: Brand signals

172. Brand name as anchor text:

Many links pointing to your website with the brand name as anchor text are a simple way to increase the basic visibility of your website.

173. Brand names Google search

If you search Google for "ithelps Google ranking factors", Google loves to use the brand "ithelps" and displays matching results from ithelps-digital.com.

174. Facebook page has many likes

Google tries to find the right Facebook page for every website or brand. It also tries to determine the number of likes.

175. Brand has a Twitter account and followers

Similar to the Facebook page, Google also searches for a suitable Twitter account. You can analyse your website for free at www.woorank.com. It will show you whether you can find a matching social media account.

176. Official LinkedIn page

Reputable companies should have a company page on LinkedIn. Google supposedly sees it that way too.

177. Employees on LinkedIn

Some famous SEO experts believe that the number of employees who have entered their company name on LinkedIn is perceived by Google as a positive signal.

178. Activity on social media platforms

An account on a social media channel with 10,000 followers and 2 posts is evaluated very differently to an account with 10,000 followers and a lot of interactions.

179. Brands in Google News

Very large brands display their own Google News entries in the search results.

180. Brand mentions without links

If a brand is mentioned often, even without a link, this is recorded and evaluated by Google.

181. Number of RSS subscribers

RSS is not dead at all. For Google, the number of RSS subscribers is a ranking signal.

182. Google Business Profile

A reputable company has an office. This address should be entered in Google Business Profile. This is thought to be another Google ranking factor.

183. Website has a tax number

There are tests by moz.com (well-known SEO experts) that suggest a Google ranking factor around the tax number. A website from an official company and registered tax number could be ranked higher.

---

Google Ranking Factors: On-Site WebSpam Factors

184. Panda Bestrafung

The first Google Panda update was in February 2011 and websites with little content lost visibility. Google Panda update rewards websites with high-quality content.

185. Links to the Bad Neighbourhood

If a link points to a "bad" or "penalised" website, this can be bad for both websites. Bad neighbourhood websites are websites with a lot of links or very little content. SEO agencies see potential dangers in the tools. If there is any suspicion, the link to the page should be removed. Incoming links should be submitted for removal via the Google Search Console.

186. Hidden redirects

Hidden redirects are prohibited according to Google guidelines. Promising the user something different in the Google search results or forcing them to see other content via Flash or images is prohibited. Such websites will be penalised and removed from the index.

187. Websites with adverts and pop-ups

Websites with annoying adverts and pop-ups are rated as inferior. This is stated in the Google Rater Guideline Document.

188. Website over-optimisation

Any unnatural extreme is bad for Google visibility. Exaggeration in the placement of keywords, massive link building etc. have a very negative effect on the ranking of the website.

189. Page over-optimisation

Even individual and targeted pages on a website are often penalised when unnatural anomalies are detected by Google.

190. Advertising in the field of vision

If a website displays a lot of advertising (banners, Google AdSense), especially in the upper visible area (above the fold), it will be penalised. Too much advertising, placed too prominently on the page, is therefore bad for visibility.

191. Hidden affiliate links

If hidden affiliate links are discovered on a website, these websites will be penalised. In particular, hidden redirects from affiliate adverts should be avoided.

192. Websites with affiliate links

Google does not particularly like websites with affiliate links. Some SEO experts believe that the visibility of these websites suffers as a result.

193. Automatically generated content

Google does not like automatically generated content. Google even goes so far as to remove websites with such content from the Google index.

194. PageRank Sculpting

Exaggerating the SEO PageRank Sculpting method can have a negative impact on the positioning and visibility of the website.

195. Server SPAM IP address

If the IP address of your server or hoster is noted as a SPAM IP address, this will damage all websites with this IP address.

196. Meta Tag Spamming

If your website is suspected of meta tag spamming, it will be penalised. You should therefore not try to write the same keyword in the meta description again.

---

Google ranking factors: Off Page WebSpam factors

197. Excessive link building

A rapid growth in DoFollow links has a negative effect on the ranking.

198. Penalised Penguin websites

Websites that were affected by the Penguin update tended to be less visible.

199. Websites with a high number of low-quality links

If your website has a high number of DoFollow backlinks with low quality (link farms, etc.), this has a negative effect on the ranking.

200. Links from non-topic relevant pages

If the website has a high number of non-topically relevant web pages, this has a negative effect. A basketball site and a dog site are not related to the topic. Too many such links (DoFollow) are not an advantage.

201. Unnatural link growth

Too rapid link growth has a negative effect on the ranking. Google informs the website's Google Webmaster account if there is any suspicion.

202. Links from the same IP address

If you have an unusually high number of links from websites with the same IP address (host), this will have a negative effect on your ranking.

203. Anchor text with specific keywords

A large number of links with critical search terms such as pharmaceuticals, sex, Viagra etc. are a sign of a spam website (or hacked pages).

204. Manual punishments

Google also has the option of penalising websites manually.

205. Sold links

Receiving money for links is prohibited according to Google guidelines. If this is discovered, you can expect to be penalised. Sponsored links in blogs are particularly critical.

206. Google Sandbox

Very new websites are placed in the Google Sandbox. These are only given limited visibility.

207. Google Dance

The Google Dance process can sometimes temporarily change the visibility of certain pages.

208. Google Disavow Tool

You can use the Google Disavow tool to remove links that refer to your own website. This way you can avoid penalties and warnings.

209. Re-examination

Re-checking pages that have already been indexed can change the ranking in Google.

Conclusion: Overview of the most important ranking factors

 

My dear Swan, this is a list.

This conglomeration of Google ranking factors determines which websites are displayed in the search results for which search term.

You don't even know where to start. Right?

To make it a little easier for you to get started, here is an overview of the most important Google ranking factors in 2024:

• Mobile First
• The search intent of Google users
• SERP snippet optimisation
• Structured data
• UX - user experience
• Loading speed
• Index control
• Internal link building
• Backlinks
• Become an authority in your industry

Plus excellent, unique content.

Are you overwhelmed by the demands Google places on you as a website operator? Or would you like support from experienced SEO experts to achieve better rankings?

Then simply get in touch with us. Send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. call us on +43 1 353 2 353 or send us your enquiry using our contact form.

 

 

Frequently asked questions

What are Google ranking factors?

 

Google ranking factors are various elements and aspects of a website that Google uses to determine the relevance and quality of a page in relation to a specific search query. These factors can include both on-page elements (such as keywords, title tags and meta descriptions) and off-page elements (such as backlinks and social media signals).

What ranking factors are there?

There are many ranking factors that Google takes into account when evaluating websites. Some important factors are the quality and relevance of the content, the user experience on the website, the number and quality of backlinks, the loading time of the page, mobile-friendliness and the use of keywords in titles, headings and content.

 

How does the Google ranking work?

Google uses a complex algorithm based on a variety of ranking factors to evaluate and rank websites. When a search query is made, Google searches its index of billions of websites and tries to deliver the most relevant and highest quality results. This relevance and quality is determined by evaluating the page based on the ranking factors.

How do you increase your Google ranking?

To rise in the Google rankings, it is important to have a well-designed, user-friendly website with high-quality, relevant content. Optimising keywords and improving backlinks can also be helpful. In addition, the website should load quickly and be mobile-friendly. It is important to note that changes may not lead to an immediate improvement in rankings, as Google needs time to recognise and evaluate the changes.

How many ranking factors does Google have?

 

It is difficult to determine the exact number of Google ranking factors as Google is constantly updating and adapting its algorithms. However, it is widely believed that there are over 200 different factors that can influence Google rankings. It is important to note that not all factors are weighted equally and some have more influence on rankings than others.