Website Ranking Factors: 50 Important Factors to rank your website higher

Website Ranking Factors: 50 Important Factors to rank your website higher

Here in this guide, I am going to tell you about Google’s 50 most important website ranking factors which are very important for all those bloggers/webmasters who want to boost the ranking of their websites in Google Search Results.

You will be aware that Google uses more than two hundred (200+) ranking factors for ranking websites in search result page. All of these factors are important for ranking your website on first result page but here I have shortlisted the 50 most important ranking factors which you should know if you want to see your website’s results in the first page of Google search result page.
Before we start I want to clear you something which I know so first here is a question;

Does Google really use 200 ranking factors?

Yes, Google uses many ranking factors but not sure for 200. Some SEO experts have created those ranking factors themselves and title them Google’s 200 ranking factors when other webmasters saw their post they also write these factors for their blog and this news become viral and now it is considered as a real information, I am saying all of this because Google never tells that which factors they use because if Google reveals these secret spammers can optimize their websites according to these factors and resultantly Google will only show their pages on the top of search engine result page.

Then how the story of 200 ranking factors gets started?

The story of Google’s 200 ranking factors get started on May 10, 2006, when in a press Google declared that it is using more than 200 ranking factors for ranking the websites, but Google have never revealed these factors (I have already described the reason above).

So, it looks that now you are clear about the reality of Google’s 200 ranking factors then what are the 50 most important ranking factors.

As I said some SEO experts analyzed the top websites which occurs in the top search results and created their 200 ranking factors all of the factors are not supposed some of them are real and have been cleared by Matt Cutts at Google. So I will describe only those factors which are important and you should follow if you want to see your website in the top search results.

Website Ranking Factors: 50 Important Factors to rank your website higher

Here are the 50 most important ranking factors of Google which Google uses for ranking websites and I am sure if you follow these factors then you will definitely see your site on the first page of Google search result page.

Website Ranking Factors Related to Domain

• Top Level Domain: About all search engines uses the top level domain to rank websites, especially if you want to rank in Google’s search result page then you must have a top-level domain such as .com, .net or .org.You can also choose some other top level domains based on country basis but above described domains are best for ranking higher in search results page. You can find more top level domains at Country code top level domains list of Wikipedia.
• Country Level Domain: Country level domain is also considered as a ranking factor because it clears Google that you want to serve your website for a specific country and your services or products are also available for only that country. For example, if you are from the USA and want to sell shoes then you must buy a .us domain instead of .com because .us domain will be listed in search engine result page when any search related to shoes will be made from the USA.
• Domain Authority: Most of the people are not aware of domain authority (In short DA) but it is an important factor for the ranking of websites. Domain authority is scaled between 1 and 100 and it varies with different factors higher the domain authority more ranking in search results. Normally the domain authority of new blogs, websites in 1 or 2 but if you work hard for your blog then you can reach up to 10-30 within a year (It need much hard word). You can also find your blog’s domain authority at Moz Open Site Explorer
• Domain Age: Yes, your domain’s age plays a vital role in the ranking of your website and Google takes this point much seriously, for example your website is 6 months old but your competitor’s website is 2 years old and both of you are working equally (I mean publishing one post daily) then your page’s will be lower in search result page then that of your competitors. This factor is not 100 sure but it is important for new blogs so new blogs should post at least 2 posts a day.

• Domain History: Domains also have a history do you know this? Most of bloggers are not aware of the domain history and this is also considered as an important ranking factor of websites. It means what was the activities of this domain in past times, if your domain had bad activities I mean copied contents were published here then it can affect your ranking very much.

Website Ranking Factors Related to Keywords

• Keywords in Beginning of Title Tags: Google takes your web page more seriously if it found keywords in the beginning of your post’s title tags, that’s why using keywords in the beginning of title tag is an important ranking factor. For example, if you want to rank your keywords “weight loss tips” then which of the following term is good?

1. 1. Weight loss tips: Best 5 tips to lose your weight
   2. How to lose 5 pounds of weight by these weight loss tips

I am sure you will go for first because it is more user-friendly and also describing the post clearly so it’s better to choose those title tags for your posts which are starting with keywords.

• Keywords in Headings: Headings in the post are always given value. Google itself uses heading in their all post with a clear big and attractive font so that readers can understand where a topic closes and a new one starts, having keywords in headings is also important factor because Google looks at headings and especially H1 tags that’s why I have added the keyword “website ranking” in my every heading.
• Keywords in URL: Keywords in URLs are also very important this is the sentence with is always in a doubt as some bloggers and SEO experts say it is important to add some keywords in URLs while some say it does not mean that you add keywords in URL or not, but keywords affect your posts ranking and this thing has been cleared by itself Google in their eBook  so it is a good practice to add keywords in your post’s URLs but you should not stuff your URLs with keywords you can add one or two keywords in your URL so that your URL cannot become too much lengthy.

• Keywords in first 100 words of your post: Which platform do you use for managing your blogs? If you are on WordPress then you will be aware that WordPress puts a colored dot in front of your post’s titles when you are in dashboard that dot indicates the optimization of your blog posts, if you have used your keywords in first 100 words then that dot will be green which mean your post is SEO friendly and have keywords in first 100 words but if you don’t have keywords in first 100 words then that point will be red. Unfortunately, most of the bloggers who use Blogger.com are not aware of this ranking factor that’s why it was important to mention this factor in this list.
• Keywords in Meta Description: This is most common factor of ranking in Google and about every blogger is aware of this, you should add your keywords in the meta description tags of your posts so that search engines (like Google) can easily understand what you are writing about and ultimately if they understand it they will show it in their result page when any query related to your keywords will be made. Remember always keep your Meta description tags within 150 Characters.
• Keyword Stuffing: Keywords stuffing means inserting keywords in your blog posts without any need, for example some bloggers lists some keywords at the end of their blog posts so that search engines can understand that you have written in depth because stuffing keywords increase the length of your articles and crawlers can see more keywords on your pages but now Google is discovering such sites and removing them from top search results.

Website Ranking Factors Related to your pages

• Length of your posts: Although there are not any standards for the post length but you should have at least 500 words in your post but these digits are not sure because they vary with your niche, for example, if you are writing about technology news then 300-500 words are enough but if you are writing about Blogging then you must have at least 2000 words. If you are not satisfied with this point then search the Google with a term link How to blog or anything like this you will see first 10 results having at least 2000 words. If you are still in a doubt then read Neil Patel’s post on How Content Length Affects Rankings and Conversions
• Page Loading Speed: Page loading speed is also a very important factor for the ranking of websites, as Google wants to display perfect websites in top search results so your pages should load faster so that if a user having low internet connection open your pages from search engines can see your stuff easily, instead, it take minutes in just loading of your page. If you want to check your website’s page loading speed then you can use Google’s free page loading speed checker tool.
• Page Loading Speed in Google Chrome: You will be aware that Google Chrome is powered by Google and is the most used browser in the world that’s why page loading speed of Chrome is also considered as a ranking factor for your blog (Mostly SEO experts are not aware of this factor) because Google can easily track your pages in Chrome then that of any other browser, so you should optimize your pages for fast loading in Chrome.
• Copyright material: Copyright material is the most dangerous factors which can decrease your search engine ranking quickly either you have copied other’s contents or others have copied your contents, it’s your duty to protect your contents from content thieves. You can check your contents using plag tracker this is number one plagiarism I also use this tool for checking my contents if you found that someone has copied your contents then immediately report Google about that you can read Google article Legal Removal Requests
• Duplicate Meta Description: Duplicate Meta description is same as copyright material but the difference is just there you or someone copies the whole blog post but here only a few lines but these lines are very important are copied. Meta description is the most important part of your post after the meta title tags that’s why you should insert it properly some newbies find themselves in a fix when writing meta description tags, so they search the Google with their similar contents and copy the description paste in the description fields this make also display your contents as copied and you ranking is decreased. If you don’t want to write Meta description then just leave it Google will do this itself, I am not saying this was said my Google watch below the video.

• Grammar Mistakes: No one likes grammar mistakes do you like, what happens when you read a blog and their author has write held instead of help, does not it irritate you, yes grammar mistakes irritate everyone, so Google also hates grammar mistakes and when Google’s algorithms find too much grammar mistakes in your blog post your ranking is decreased. There are a number of tools available for removing grammar mistakes from your contents the number one is Grammarly.com.
• Images: Images help your readers to understand what you are saying that’s why it is also considered as a ranking factor you can hardly find an article on the internet which have not at least one image. You know a single image speaks 100 words itself, if you optimize your images according to search engines then it is plus point because you will also start getting traffic from Google images. So always use ALT (alternate) tag for your images.
• Multimedia in your posts: Multimedia is also an important factor as a single image can speak 100 words and a video can cover your whole article so including images, videos, infographics and other media of this kind in your blog posts can increase your ranking faster, if you use videos from YouTube then it is plus point as YouTube is powered by Google.
• Content Updates: Updating your contents with new information is very useful both for your readers, Google and SEO of your site that’s why it is considered as an important ranking factor. Many popular bloggers like Harsh Agrawal also use this technique they update their contents regularly and resultantly their site is displayed in top search results.
• Mobile Friendly pages/site: Mobile friendly sites are have also start getting better ranking than that of those sites which are not mobile friendly, in fact, Google have cleared this itself that that site which are mobile friendly will be ranked better than that of those sites which are not. Making your site mobile-friendly is not an issue you can use a responsive template for your blog.
• Bullet and Numbered Lists: Google wants to display a well-arranged data to its uses bullets and numbered lists are the best methods for doing so you just need to divide your data using bullet and number lists in a beautiful manner so that reads can easily understand what you are describing this will affect the ranking of your pages.
• A Contact Us Page: Contact us page is very useful for your visitors because they can contact you when they need it. Google also recommend you to have a contact us page where your readers can contact you and you can reply their question that’s why Google gives higher ranking to sites which have a contact us page, look I have created a contact us and a help forum page.
• User-friendly layout: Design of your website is also considered as an important ranking factor so you should use such a theme for your blog that is user-friendly and responsive. Google also considers such sites good which has user-friendly designing.
• Breadcrumb Navigation: Breadcrumb navigation describes the visitors where they are on your site that’s why it is very useful for visitors as well as for SEO of your website. It is also considered as an important factor to rank websites.

Website Ranking Factors Related to Links

• URL Length: Length of your post URLs is also an important factor for the ranking of your pages, according to a experts if your URL is between 50 to 60 characters then you don’t need to update it with a shorter version but if it exceeds more than 100 characters then you must think for its shorter version, Google or any other search engine has no problem with long URLs they can handle them very easily it is just because shorter URLs provide more user engagement as they are easier read, copy, page, understand and share. For more information about this, you can read Neil’s article on Does URL Structure Even Matter? A Data Driven Answer
• Internal Linking of Pages: Internal linking of your pages is very useful as it helps you to get more page views, more time of readers on your blog, and ultimately more revenue, besides these if your some pages are not indexed in Google they are also indexed when Google crawl your pages as Google look at each and every link which is present in your posts.
• Linking to High Authority sites: Linking to high authority site is most important ranking factor, you will be aware that Google wants to serve the best results to its users, if you link your pages to such sites which have already good ranking and provide real and rich information then you can definitely rank your pages to higher and higher in search results. But remember never link to any site without any relation of your and their contents and never link to low authority sites.
• Affiliate Links in your contents: If you have affiliate links in your contents then these are very dangerous for your pages as most of the affiliates write post just for increasing their revenue and the information they display is just for satisfying the readers that’s why Google hates affiliate links, so you should avoid affiliate links you can use up to 2 links on your particular pages.
• Broken Links: Broken links are the links which either give a 404 error or display a forbidden page, these links can decrease your ranking very quickly this has happened with me and my ranking has become zero just because of a high number of broken links on my site, you should avoid broken links. If you want to check broken links on your site then you must use Dead Link Checker tool
• Selling Links: Many new bloggers who have a good number of visitors but they do not get AdSense account approve start selling links on their sites, many bloggers especially event bloggers contact them and pay a little amount of money and they set their links on sidebar or on the top of their blogs for a specific timing this produce a bad impact on your ranking and resultantly your lost your ranking.
• HTTPS: This has been cleared by Google that now they are using HTTPS as a ranking signal all those sites who have and HTTPS have an edge over non-HTTP sites.
• SSL Certificate: SSL certificate means that your site and all of its contents are secured that’s why secure sites have a higher ranking. If you can manage an SSL certificate for your blog then you should do this because it has become an important factor for ranking of your website.

Website Ranking Factors Related to Backlinks

Backlinks are the links which you get from other sites; for example, when other bloggers put your URLs in their posts these are called backlinks. There is much kind of backlinks and about all have effects on the ranking of your site.

• Do-Follow Backlinks: Do-Follow backlinks are the most powerful backlinks which can boost your ranking much faster if your site has 10 do follow backlinks from high authority sites then your pages will be in top search results. But getting do follow backlinks is not so easy.
• No-Follow backlinks: No-Follow backlinks are not as much powerful as do-follow but they are also important they affect your domain’s authority and domain’s authority affects your ranking, but boosting of ranking through no-follow backlinks in not as fast as through do-follow backlinks.
• Guest Posts: Guest posting is the best way to get do follow backlinks from other high authority sites, you just need to write a content for other’s blog and submit that content on their blog if they approve it they will link back to your blog either with a do follow back link or with a no-follow backlink. Most of the sites give do follow backlinks on guest posting.
• Backlinks from competitors: If you can get backlinks from your competitors then this is the best thing believe me your website will start boosting and you will see changes in your page views. SO you can say backlinks from competitors is also an important ranking factor.
• Backlink Domain age: Yes age your domain which is giving your site backlinks is also a factor for ranking your site, if you get a backlink from an old site then it is much good for you because old sites are more trustful and have good information.
• Backlinks from bad neighbors: You cannot stop backlinks of bad neighbors but they affect your site’s ranking.
• Backlinks Domain Age: Domain age of the site which is giving you a backlink is also an important factor and can affect the ranking of your website, if you are getting backlinks from old and popular sites then these backlinks are much more powerful than that of those sites which are new and are not much popular.
• Domain Authority of Backlink’s Site: Domain authority is not a too much important factor but it is good practice to get backlinks from those sites which have good domain authority as domain authority affects the ranking of the site so if you get backlinks from a site that has domain authority more than 20 then it is good.

Some Other Website Ranking Factors

• Social Signal: Recently social signals have also become a ranking factor for websites. Google had cleared that they use Facebook, Google +, Twitter and other social sites signals as a ranking factor, although these sites give no-follow backlinks but they are still important and this has been cleared by Matt Cutts in his YouTube video.

• Fresh Information: Yes everybody likes fresh and new information as technology is increasing so information is becoming old and new information about technology is required. Google also looks for free contents from websites and always shows those sites in top search results which have fresh contents. So you should create and update your contents regularly with new information so that your website ranking does not affect with this factor.
• Returning Visitors: If you have a good percentage of returning visitors then this is also in important signal for higher ranking of your website because visitors will return to only those sites which have good contents. You can find your returning visitors in Google analytics if you have more than 40 returning visitors than your pages will be displayed in 1 result page.
• Chrome Bookmarks: I have already revealed that Chrome is the most used browser in the world and it is managed and owned by Google so Google has all the information about Chrome users. If users bookmark your pages on their Chrome browser then it is also considered as a good ranking factor because Google syncs the bookmarks and displays these links in good position on search result page.
• Google’s +1: Yes Google also uses +1 as a ranking factor, if you have a good number of +1 on your posts then your posts will be ranked higher than that of any other pages because any user only presses this button when he finds good information on your pages.
• Use of Google Analytics and Search Console: Analytics and search console are used to give more information about your site to Google such as indexing of your contents, crawling of your contents, determining your visitors etc. thus these tools also affect the overall ranking of your websites and it can be cleared with a simple example, if you have just written a nice piece of content and get that indexed immediately the Google can process it more quickly and resultantly your pages can be displayed in search results quickly.
• Site’s Uptime: If you have 9.99% uptime on your site then its good but if your servers often display errors just because of Uptime then your ranking will be decreased so try to choose such a hosting which gives 9.99% of uptime.
• DMOZ: DMOZ is a Google’s partner site and many SEO experts think that if your site is accepted via DMOZ then your ranking will be good, I am not sure about this but it may be a ranking signal because Google also gives importance to its partner sites.
• Direct Traffic: Google uses data from Google chrome and it has been confirmed, so if your site receives direct traffic then it is also a good factor for ranking of your website. The best method to receive direct traffic is to make your visitors bookmark your pages.

Final Words

Many newbies don’t know much about SEO or Google’s ranking factors and they want to know about it. But they can’t find they authentic source which can explain them all tactics at once and to the point. Therefore we decided to write a guide about Google’ ranking factors and they are enough for a newbie. Because we have covered all the major and main things in this one guide and this will definitely helps you to understand about Google algorithm. But the problem is, people don’t take these factors seriously and in the end, they got nothing. So, it will be best for you to read this whole guide twice and carefully. I am sure that you’ll understand it and will ready to start your career with Google.

We covered each and everything in this guide that will be enough to be implemented. I am sure your site will definitely boost up if you apply the above techniques on your blog. All experts do the same and they got results. After you rank your 2-3 sites, i am sure you’ll know more about Google’s 200 factors easily. But this will only work if you read it carefully and with full passion. You can rank you client’s site also, by implementing the above tactics to their sites.

So, this was our guide about Google’s website ranking factors. We hope you’ll definitely like them and appreciate us. It will be valuable for us if you share this post with your friends and colleagues. I know you have many questions left in your mind after reading this post. Don’t worry you can ask from us in the comment section. Our team will try to answer your questions as soon as possible. So, good luck with your career and focus only in white hat because black hat techniques won’t help you to rank better in SEO field.

Faizan Gul

Hi. This is Faizan Gul. I am an Engineering Student and tech enthusiast. I love to practice new things and then write about them. In this blog, i would be writing about how to tech guides, tricks and tips and Tech Gadgets Reviews.