There are many different factors that affect your website's search engine ranking, but one of the most important is its relevance. Being more relevant to a query means your site will rank higher. However, this does not always help. Instead, you should pay attention to 7 key search engine ranking factors:
1. Host (or domain) factors
2. Text factors
3. Reference factors
4. Commercial factors
5. Technical factors
6. Behavioral factors
7. Social factors
These factors affect the position of your site in search results. Modern factors reduce the influence of old ranking factors.
Host Ranking Factors
How do host factors work?
Host factors apply to the entire site and influence the promotion of each individual page. A domain is the address of a website on the Internet (for example, netology.ru or wikipedia.org).
What is taken into account?
- Domain age. The older the domain, the higher the likelihood that the site will rank well.
- Domain name. It is advisable that the domain contains keywords or a brand name.
- Query index. The more users solve their problems on your site, the stronger its position among other sites.
- Domain history. It is important that the site has not previously posted questionable materials or sanctions.
- Domain zone. National domain zones (.ru, .by, .de) have an advantage in promotion for local queries.
You can check the age of a domain using a free tool such as Rocket Tools. Enter the URL and the service will show the date it was first indexed.
So, it is important to remember that a site’s position in search results is influenced by age, domain history, and the correct choice of domain. Popular sites are becoming even more popular.
Text Ranking Factors
How to make text content contribute to promotion?
To promote a page, it is important that its content meets user requests. Writing quality content attracts attention and increases time spent on the site, which improves search rankings. But this requires careful work and analysis of the interests of the audience.
How do text factors work?
- Title tag. It should contain the main request, without unnecessary words.
- Description meta tag. The description should attract the attention of users and encourage them to go to the site.
- Content optimization. Include keywords, but avoid over-stuffing the text.
- Uniqueness and completeness. The content must fully cover the topic and be unique.
- Formatting. The text should be easy to read, divided into paragraphs, lists and tables.
- Compliance with the request. You should not post long texts on commercial pages so as not to confuse the search engine.
Thus, the correct text content affects the promotion of the site. The size and design of the text should correspond to the type of page and be easy to read.
Link Ranking Factors
When a site is linked to by many other sites, it may mean that the site is an important source of information. Links to a website are an important factor for increasing rankings in search results.
How to make links contribute to promotion?
- Link text (anchors). Links should be varied and natural.
- Dynamics of link growth. The site should receive new links regularly, without sudden jumps.
- Reputable donors. Sites linking to you must be reputable and have a good link profile.
- Donor theme. Donor sites should be related to the topic of your site.
- Age and region of the donor. The older the donor site and the closer its region, the better.
- Donor spam. The donor site should not contain a large number of links to sites on other topics.
So, external links play an important role in website promotion. Both the parameters of the link itself and the characteristics of the donor site are important. Build up your link mass gradually.
Commercial Ranking Factors
How to make your website commercially attractive?
The highest positions are occupied by sites with the best commercial offers.
How do commercial factors work?
- Range of goods and services. The wider the choice, the higher the likelihood of ranking for commercial queries.
- Contact information. Posting detailed information about the company and ways to contact it.
- URL and Title. All pages should have a short, descriptive URL and title.
- Discounts and promotions. Special offers on the site increase interest in the product and improve positions in search results.
- Product availability, prices and currency. Users prefer sites with detailed prices and product availability.
- Description of goods. The product description must be complete, but uniqueness is not always required.
- Online consultant. Helps the user make decisions faster.
Thus, the quality of your commercial offer directly affects the site’s position for commercial queries. The absence of prices and detailed descriptions of goods or services can reduce the effectiveness of promotion.
Technical Ranking Factors
How to ensure that technical aspects of the site do not interfere with promotion?
Technical aspects include the correct implementation of the site and its content. Major technical issues that can affect promotion include duplicate pages, accessibility issues, server errors, and insecure connections.
How do technical factors work?
- Server response codes. Site pages must return the correct response codes (for example, 200 OK, not 3XX or 4XX).
- Page loading speed. The site loading time should be minimal - no more than 200 ms for a server response.
- Core Web Vitals. The page should be displayed correctly on all devices, without block shifting or input delay.
- HTTPS connection. Your site must use secure HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate.
- Duplicate pages. The same content should not be available under different URLs.
Technical problems can seriously hamper progress. Therefore, it is important to ensure that your site does not have technical duplicates and uses secure connections.
Behavioral Ranking Factors
Does user behavior affect site rankings?
If users are actively solving their problems on your site, it will appear higher in search results.
- Snippet clickability. The higher the click-through rate, the more interesting the site is to users.
- Last click. If the user does not return to the search engine after visiting the site, this is a good signal for the search engine.
- Long click. If users spend more time on your site, it means it meets their needs better than competitors.
- Brand traffic. Transitions on branded queries increase the query index and improve positions in search results.
Thus, user behavior
