Top Google Ranking Factors Small Businesses Needs
Did you know that there are more than 200 SEO ranking factors that search engines consider to determine which site to rank and how?
Yes, more than 200.
To ensure that your website ranks higher on the search engine result page, you need to constantly work on improving your online presence, optimize the website and provide quality content.
The good news is that not all the factors carry equal weightage. Some factors are more essential, while others can be accomplished over time. Nevertheless, for small businesses, it is crucial to know about the top-ranking factors. So, let’s have a look at these factors:
A Secure And Accessible Website
Not so surprisingly, the first ranking factor is related to the right URL. In simple terms, the search engine crawler should be able to visit your website’s URL and understand what your site or content under the page is all about. For that, you need:
- A well-coded website.
- A robot.txt file that helps Google to locate your site’s information.
- A sitemap contains all your pages.
Also, it is noteworthy that HTTPS isn’t necessarily a factor of page indexing, but it helps in improving user experience. So, you’ll need HTTPS.
Authority Is Important
Domain authority of your site as well as of the linking site matters a lot in ranking. Therefore, it is essential that you focus on off-page SEO, especially link-building. If you have little to no knowledge about this or how it helps, you can read this link building guide to enhance your knowledge. It also enables you to formulate effective strategies that’ll help you get high-quality (as well as authority) backlinks.
When you have high authority sites, Google considers your content relevant and valuable. Thus, your site’s traffic improves, offering you better results.
Don’t Forget About Links.
As you might already know, the website is built on links. Generally, there are three types of links:
- Inbound links
- Outbound links
- Internal links
These three are tied around the descriptive anchor text that helps in increasing website traffic. Nonetheless, to get high-quality and relevant links, businesses need to build a sustainable campaign. Obviously, it isn’t easy. However, you can read more about inbound links to help create a good campaign. The idea here is pretty basic- the more links you get, the better your site’s traffic and Google ranking will be.
But, keep in mind that the anchor text or link should not be stuffed. Instead should match with the relevant information given.
Mobile Friendliness
Lastly, as more and more people use search engines on their mobile devices (approximately 52.2% of internet traffic is from mobile), it has become crucial for sites to become mobile-friendly. It means the layout and design of the site should be according to the mobile, the speed should be fast, and the bounce rate should be less.
Apart from this, you also need to ensure that the advertisements do not hide the content. Plus, the CTA should be visible.
To Sum It All Up!
These are the top ranking factors that you must keep in mind. Work on all these factors, and you’ll see your site ranking higher, getting better site traffic with high CTR. Nevertheless, if you do not know how SEO practices work, you must consider taking professional help.