Google ranking signals are factors that google uses to rank web pages. These are factors that the google search algorithms use to determine how and where to rank pages in the SERPs. Google does not disclose the search ranking signals information publicly. However, these are the most commonly acknowledged ranking signals.
1. High-Quality Content.
We could easily say that high-quality content is the most important ranking signal. Without good content on your website it is very difficult to rank on google. Google really values content on your website because it believes that’s what the people want. Thus if you want to rank high on google, you need to write and publish great content. Remember to optimize your content with keywords that you are targeting.
Some of the key features of high-quality content include:
- Relevance.
- Depth. The content needs to have depth, you know well researched and informative.
- Originality.
- Use related keywords.
- Use natural language.
- E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.
2. Backlinks.
Backlinks are links from other websites linking to your websites. The backlinks are very important when it comes to google’s ranking signals. The more high quality backlinks you have the better for your website. Take note of high quality. The quality of the backlinks is very important. You could have millions of backlinks but because they are low quality, it ends up being for nothing. You could actually beat another website that has way more backlinks than you just because your quality is higher than theirs.
Some of the things that determine the weight of the backlinks include:
- The number and quality of the backlinks pointing to your website.
- Domain authority of the linking sites. Higher domain authority transfers higher weight to your site.
- Diversity of link sources. Thus do not get them from a PBN.
- Anchor text relevance. Hence make sure that the achor texts to your site are relevant.
- Dofollow or no-follow. Dofollow links transfer the link juice while nofollow do not.
3. Page Experience (UX).
The user experience of your website must be top notch. You must make sure that the page experience of your website is good. Do not have pages that cannot load or cannot load properly. Make sure that the pages display properly. In addition to that, make sure that the scripts and codes are running properly woithout hanging or other problems. Moreover, make sure that your pages are error free in general. The CSS must be working properly.
Some other factors you need to consider for UX are:
- Core Web Vitals (loading speed, interactivity, visual stability).
- Mobile-friendliness.
- HTTPS security.
- No intrusive interstitials.
4. Search Intent & Relevance.
You must make sure that your content and website aligns with the search intent of the people. Thus your website must meet the desire of the people searching on google. Hence you need to know what the users are actually looking for and provide for them.
Some of the things you need to optimize for search intent and relevance include:
- Title.
- Meta Description.
- Make your Headings match the search terms.
5. Crawlability & Indexability.
Crawlability is the ease of your website to be read by google. Hence google needs to be able to crawl your website. How can google rank your website if it doesn’t know what your website is all about? The only way for google to know what your website is all about is through crawling it.
Indexability is the ability of your website content to be indexed by google. I know by now you are wondering whats the difference? How is this an issue. The reason this matters is because not all the content on your website can be indexed. For example, all the content that you mark as noindex will not be indexed.
Some of the things you need to optimize for crawlability and indexability are:
- Clean URL structure.
- Internal linking.
- Sitemap and robots.txt configuration.
6. Site Architecture.
Another ranking signal that google considers is the site architecture. Those who are new to this need to understand that the structure of your website matters. Your website must have a clear hierarchy. In addition to that, the website needs to have a clear navigation. This navigation helps the users move around your website.
7. Structured Data (Schema Markup).
Schema markup data is very useful to google. This is because it helps google understand your website better. This includes letting google know even more detailed information about your website. For example, if you post jobs on your pages, you can use structured data to let google know that there are jobs on that page. In the structured data, you can inform google even more critical information that you couldn’t put on your pages.
8. On-Page SEO Signals.
When it comes to on-page seo signals, there are so many things that google considers. So as not to make this article too long, we will just list them with small description of each.
- Title Tag & Meta Description. The titles of your pages must be optimized for keywords. Also the meta description must be optimized for good SERPs snippets.
- Headings (H1, H2, etc.). Your pages must have good headings hierarchy. With a H1, H2 all the way down.
- Image Optimization. The images of your website must be optimized to load fast and modern types like .webp.
- Keyword Optimization. Your web pages need to be optimized with keywords in order to rank on google.
9. User Engagement Signals (Behavioral).
When it comes to user engagement signals, there are so many things that google considers. Some of these signals include:
- Click-Through Rate (CTR). The ratio of those who see your webpage and click vs those who see and don’t click.
- Dwell Time. The amount of time that people spend on your website.
- Bounce Rate. Bounce rate is the measure of the people who do land on your website and then just leave. It indicates that the people are not interested.
- Pogo-sticking. (users clicking a result and quickly returning to SERPs).
10. Local SEO Signals (for local intent).
Google also considers local SEO when it comes to ranking. Usually this matters for geographic location based websites. For example a restaurant needs to be ranked for restaurant searches nearby. Some of the local SEO signals that google considers include:
- Google Business Profile (GBP).
- NAP Consistency (Name, Address, Phone).
- Local Citations.
- Reviews and Ratings.
- Proximity to Searcher.
11. AI & Machine Learning-Based Signals.
When it comes to AI and machine learning-based signals, you need to consider the following:
- RankBrain. Google’s AI system that helps understand queries and user intent.
- BERT / MUM. Helps Google understand natural language and context in search queries.
12. Freshness.
Your content needs to be fresh. Google loves websites that keep updating their content. Not just posting new content but also updating the already existing content. Do not have webpages that are years old without updates. Keep updating and refreshing your website and its content.
Conclusion.
Now you know some of the top ranking signals for google. Therefore, if you want your website to rank top on google, you need to optimize on the signals we have discussed above. From here at MediaGeneous, we wish you all the best in your SEO career.
