Google Ranking Factors
Introduction
Here are the most important SEO ranking factors in 2023:
RankBrain
RankBrain is a machine learning algorithm that Google’s been using for about a year now. It was developed to help better understand search queries, and it’s helped Google improve its search engine in ways we couldn’t imagine before!
RankBrain uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to learn from past searches and use that information to determine what people are searching for in the future. It also uses machine learning techniques to understand whether or not you should rank something – so if you put “best dog breed” into your Google search bar, then it will know if you’re looking for the best dog breed when you type “best dog breed” into your google search bar.If Rankbrain finds an answer on another website (such as Wikipedia), then it’ll show that result instead of displaying its own results page.So how can this help us? Well let’s say that someone Googles: “how do I make my own jeans?” They might get results from Levi’s or Gap telling them how much denim costs per yard/meter/foot etcetera…but what if they wanted to know how much fabric was needed for making jeans? They could go through every single pair listed on those sites until finding one with enough fabric listed on their website–or they could just click here! We’ve done all that work already so now all someone needs do is check out how many yards each pair requires before deciding which ones are worth buying.”
Mobile-friendliness
- What is mobile-friendliness?
Mobile-friendliness refers to how well a website displays content on mobile devices. In Google’s search results, you’ll see a “Mobile friendly” label next to websites that are optimized for browsing on a mobile device. Mobile-friendly pages have text and links that are easy to read and tap on.
- How can I check if my site is mobile-friendly?
You can test your site using the Mobile-Friendly Test Tool in Search Console (formerly known as the Google Webmaster Tools). This tool will analyze your page and let you know if it passes or fails our criteria for being considered mobile-friendly.* What should I do if my site doesn’t pass the test? If your page fails the test, there’s no need to panic! We recommend making some changes directly within Search Console so you can easily monitor their impact over time by using one of these methods:
- Add structured data markup (microdata) so search engines know more about your business information
Direct Traffic
The first and most important factor is direct traffic. When you’re trying to rank for a keyword, you want to make sure you have as much direct traffic as possible. This is because direct traffic is the number of visits to your site from a search engine (such as Google). It’s also an indication that your website is optimized for crawling by search engines.
If you want an exact definition of what direct traffic actually is, it’s “a metric representing visits directly from search engines.” This means that if someone typed in “Google ranking factors” into Google, they would land on your page or be redirected there by clicking an organic link that referred them back to your site. In other words: people who came directly via searches using keywords related specifically to what they’re looking for!
Bounce Rate
A bounce rate is the percentage of single page visits. So, if someone visits your site and then leaves without interacting with any other pages on it, their visit will be counted as a bounce.
The good news is that you can influence your bounce rate—all you have to do is make sure that each page on your site offers valuable content and information. If a user lands on an empty page or doesn’t find what they need after one click (i.e., no internal links), they’ll most likely click away from the site and never come back.
A low bounce rate means that visitors are finding the information they’re looking for quickly and easily. This signals to search engines like Google that you’re providing valuable content in a user-friendly layout, which leads to better rankings in search results!
Dwell Time
Dwell time is the amount of time people spend on your site. Not only does high dwell time indicate that users are engaged with your content, but it also helps to improve your rankings in Google search results. A higher dwell time means that users are spending more of their precious attention on your site—and they’re more likely to stay there until they find what they need.
A low dwell time indicates that users were quickly distracted by another page or website, which can negatively impact how well you rank in search engines like Google and Bing. However, improving your content strategy can help increase user engagement and boost your overall ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
HTTPS encryption
While it may not seem like a big deal, having HTTPS on your site is an important step toward making sure your site is secure. Having HTTP means that any information passing between your server and the computer of the person visiting your website is not encrypted, which means anyone can see this information as it travels over the internet.
HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is the secure version of HTTP and offers protection from eavesdroppers who want to steal personal information or infect users’ computers with malware. It’s also important for search engine optimization because Google announced in 2014 that HTTPS would be a ranking signal for websites on their search results pages.
Page speed optimization
- Page Speed
Google has been pushing for faster websites, and Page Speed is one of the most important ranking factors. Although there are many ways to optimize your site for speed, this section will focus on the most common ways to improve it: using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) and optimizing images.
- CDNs are great because they allow you to host content from multiple servers around the world, so visitors from different countries won’t have to wait for their requests to travel long distances before they can load. This improves load times and can make a big difference in search rankings.
Optimize your site to rank high in Google search results
- What is SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It’s the process of improving your website to rank higher in Google search results. You can improve your site’s visibility by improving its content, navigation, and structure using SEO best practices.
- How do I optimize my site?
There are many things you can do to improve your site’s SEO: writing high-quality content (including images), optimizing meta tags, adding social media buttons, creating sitemaps, etc. Here’s a guide on how to optimize your site for Google at https://support.google.com/webmasters/.
Conclusion
After reading this article, you should have a better idea of what factors Google uses to rank websites. If you want to make sure your site is optimized for Google, follow the tips in our guide on SEO and check out our free SEO tool that can help with keyword research and more.
