{"id":6354,"date":"2021-04-28T15:11:22","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T15:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/?p=6354"},"modified":"2024-01-30T11:32:12","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T11:32:12","slug":"ranking-factors-for-a-better-position-of-your-site-on-search-engines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/ranking-factors-for-a-better-position-of-your-site-on-search-engines\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking Factors for a Better Position of Your Site on Search Engines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Internet search engines have the task of delivering quality and relevant results to users, and the best ones do it in less than half a second, taking into account the user\u2019s intention, location, language, search history, a device used, and dozens of other variables.<\/p>\n

Google, as the largest and highest quality search engine, is constantly circulating the Internet, listing content, storing it in its database, and – when the time comes – displaying it in search results. It\u2019s no coincidence that some site is in the first place some other is on the fifth page in search results. This is determined by ranking factors.<\/p>\n

How Many Ranking Factors Are There?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That isn\u2019t known for sure. We\u2019re familiar with documented statements by Google engineers that there are over 200 factors. Some have an impact on each of our searches, while some get involved in the process as needed.<\/p>\n

Search engine optimization experts have been experimenting for years to determine which factors are more important and which ones can be considered irrelevant. As in any industry, various myths persist in the SEO sphere, too.<\/p>\n

The goal of this text is to help webmasters, but also those who have just created a great-looking website<\/a>, to get acquainted with the field of search engine optimization. We\u2019ll write about the factors that can help you achieve better positions, about things that can negatively affect your performance on Google, and we\u2019ll also try to bust certain myths in this area.<\/p>\n

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Ranking Factors That Have an Impact on Better Ranking on Google<\/strong><\/p>\n

Quality Content<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the basics. You\u2019ll find it difficult to rank for something you don\u2019t have on the site. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to have relevant content that Google can list, analyze, and present to users in search results when they search for relevant keywords.<\/p>\n

What defines quality? First of all, it\u2019s the content that provides an adequate response<\/a> to the user\u2019s query. It isn\u2019t the length of the text that matters in terms of the number of words, but the precision and expertise. For some queries, one sentence is enough to satisfy users. Yes, sometimes it\u2019s necessary to describe a term in detail, answer numerous questions, and enrich the content – with pictures, video material, additional resources, and\/or external links.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t skimp on content. Investigate what your target group is interested in and try to offer them answers to most of their questions. With the correct technical SEO setting of the site, you\u2019ll very quickly get good positions and a constant influx of organic traffic from Google.<\/p>\n

Inbound Links<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Almost as important as content, inbound links (or backlinks) can make an advantage and be a deciding factor for your position on Google. Search engines find large amounts of relatively similar content every day. It\u2019s considered that over 30% of the content on the Internet is duplicate<\/a>. The links are the ones that determine what will be in the first place and what will be on the fifth page of Google.<\/p>\n

Google views links as voices. The more links that come to your site, the more Google believes that you\u2019re a good source of information on a given topic. A parallel can be drawn with academic papers – mostly the best papers are the most cited and receive the most references from students and the professional public.<\/p>\n

One of the main tasks in search engine optimization is to get inbound links to the site. There are hundreds of techniques and, in the long run, the effort in building links<\/a> pays off many times over.<\/p>\n

Domain Label (ccTLD and gTLD)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The national domain is a strong signal for ranking. For example, if you have a site on a .de domain, Google will automatically rank that site better in Germany or around the world for queries in German.<\/p>\n

There are studies that show that users would rather click on a website that has a national domain than on a generic one (.com, .net, .info). Also, the choice of domain names with global extensions<\/a> is limited, so you\u2019ll more easily find the desired name on the national domain first, which is another plus for choosing a national domain.<\/p>\n

If you still have a generic domain, and you want to rank in the territory of the country in which you created the site and do business, then you need to suggest this to Google either by using the hreflang tag, or by selecting your country in the Search Console.<\/p>\n

Keyword in <title> Tag, Titles, and Subtitles<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

There are elements that help us understand what a page is about, without reading a single word about the content of that page. These are specific tags that carry semantic value. In that sense, title tags and heading tags (titles and subheadings) are useful for search engine optimization. So, the point is in the custom title tag, which describes in a quality way what users can read if they would visit the page.<\/p>\n

In a similar way, titles and subheadings can be placed on the page itself so that users can quickly find the section that interests them. If we put keywords in the title tag, as well as in the titles and subheadings of the page, then we significantly help users and search engines. So it\u2019s a good idea to pay attention to these elements and customize your content to best help your pages rank for keywords and related phrases.<\/p>\n

Keyword in the Domain Name<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This may not be as important as it used to be, but a keyword-containing domain name still provides a slight advantage for positioning a site on a specific keyword as well as on close keywords. It\u2019s still better to choose a recognizable name for your brand because, in that way, you ensure the acquisition of loyal visitors and clients in the long run.<\/p>\n

In some cases, having a domain name that contains a phrase that users google brings faster rankings and better positions on this search engine.<\/p>\n

Quality Outbound Links (to Internal Pages and Other Sites)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Google tracked links on some websites, found a link to you, visited your website, and listed the content you have. Then, why would your site stop that process? You certainly don\u2019t want Google to see your site as a \u2018dead-end\u2019, a place where it can\u2019t spread further on the Internet and find fresh and useful content.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to reference other sources in your content and link to places where your visitors and search engines can learn more about a topic. Many site owners are afraid that by linking to other sites they will distract their visitors. Research has shown that this isn\u2019t the case.<\/p>\n

On the contrary, visitors will have more confidence in you, because they will consider you a quality source of information and a place where you can find all the necessary content on a topic. Of course, don\u2019t link to your direct business competitors. You certainly don’t want to redirect your visitors there or transfer SEO authority to those sites.<\/p>\n

HTTPS<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

If your domain name has SSL, i.e. encryption between the server and the user, then you\u2019ll have a slight advantage when ranking on Google, who officially published this information back in 2014 as a way to motivate site owners to apply HTTPS on their sites.<\/p>\n

Google marked HTTP sites as insecure, while those with encryption would have a padlock icon, which increased the visibility of HTTPS sites in search results and brought a better CTR (click-through rate). Of course, there\u2019s an additional improvement of positions, especially with equal sites. The one that would have HTTPS would be better positioned in relation to the one that is on the \u2018unsafe\u2019 domain name.<\/p>\n

Matching User Intent<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Google is very good at understanding the intentions behind the searches we do on a search engine every day. The algorithm can assume whether you want to get information, watch video material, find out the location of a company, or want to buy a product. Your search history and behavior analysis of millions of other users provide an accurate answer to the question of what search results are ideal for your query.<\/p>\n

When it comes to search engine optimization, the goal is to always have a type of content that can meet the intentions of our visitors and customers. The best way to find out what Google displays is to google keywords close to your business. Make a list of words that display images, videos, a map of business locations, instant answers, and then customize the pages and content on your site (e.g. video before the textual explanation, etc).<\/p>\n

Mobile-Optimized Content<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Googlebot, which makes a list of content, has been introducing itself to your server as a mobile device since a few years ago. The reason is that Google wants to see what response your server gives to mobile devices. Today, most visitors view your website via a smartphone and therefore it\u2019s more important how the site looks on a small screen than on a laptop or desktop computer.<\/p>\n

Today, Google has an exclusively mobile index, the base from which it takes content to display on search results. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important that your site is adapted to the display on smartphones. You\u2019ll give users a better experience, and you\u2019ll also have a slight advantage at Google.<\/p>\n

Content Availability to Google\u2019s Algorithm<\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t in the Google database where the results displayed in the search are taken, then users will never even get your site among the results. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important that your content is available to Googlebot, who makes the list.<\/p>\n

There are a number of barriers that can prevent this software from passing through your site and the indexing process: from blocking access to a robots.txt file, incorrect server response, poor meta robots and canonical policy settings, to dead links, client-side rendering, or the need to log in to access the content.<\/p>\n

Site Page Load Speed<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On rare occasions, Google explicitly makes it known what a positive or negative ranking factor is. They strictly keep their patents and try to hide from the competition what is that affects the search results. However, when it comes to page loading speed, they were generous on announcements.<\/p>\n

Speed is a direct ranking factor for both mobile and desktop results. Websites that are fast have an advantage. It\u2019s important to emphasize that speed isn\u2019t the primary factor, but it can be decisive if two sites of approximate quality of content and links are fighting for the position. The one who\u2019s faster will be ahead of the other.<\/p>\n

Google has provided site owners with several tools to test the speed of loading sites, the most popular of which are Page Speed Insights and Lighthouse. Use them.<\/p>\n

Using an XML Sitemap<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Google\u2019s software for content listing is always looking for new texts, images, and other materials, which it can deliver in search results. The listing process is time-consuming, especially on larger sites. Therefore, it\u2019s useful to set the address book of all pages of the site in XML format.<\/p>\n

When Google visits a site, it will first list the URLs that are in the XML sitemap, which is much more efficient than tracking links directly from the site. Faster browsing means your fresh content will be available faster on Google.<\/p>\n

Factors That Are in the Background, but Can Affect the Ranking<\/p>\n