12 Google Ranking Factors for Better Rankings (2024 Guide)

As an SEO content strategist, I’ve spent years refining strategies to align the changing search engine algorithm and Google Ranking Factors.

I’ve seen firsthand how businesses can thrive by focusing on Google ranking factors. But to rank higher, it’s first important to understand what factors decide your ranking.

Google ranking factors are basically the criteria Google uses to evaluate web pages and determine their placement on the search engine results pages (SERPs). 

By understanding and applying these factors, you can enhance your website’s visibility, drive more organic traffic, and achieve greater success online.

And to help you do that, I’ve created this guide where I’ll discuss the top 12 ranking factors.

Let’s start by understanding what are Google factors and why they’re important.

What Are Google Ranking Factors?

Google ranking factors are metrics that Google uses to analyze your web pages and decide their search engine rankings.

They are essentially the building blocks of SEO—the guidelines that Google’s algorithm follows when deciding which pages to show. 

By tailoring your SEO efforts to align with these factors, you can significantly improve your site’s chances of ranking higher on search results. 

Personally, I rely on SEOBoost’s features to help me monitor and optimize for these ranking factors in real-time. 

With SEOBoost, I can do keyword research, create content briefs that are specifically targeted for better content creation and optimize the content all in one platform.

12 Google Ranking Factors You Should Prioritize

Now that you understand the Google ranking factors let’s look at the 12 factors you should never miss.

Over the years, I’ve found that while Google’s algorithm constantly evolves, some ranking factors remain crucial to success. 

Let’s analyze those in detail:

1. High-Quality Content

From my experience, content truly is king when it comes to SEO. 

One key Google ranking factor is providing high-quality, valuable content that genuinely helps your audience. 

I’ve learned that the best way to achieve this is by crafting content that answers the questions your readers are searching for. 

And with SEOBoost’s content optimization feature, I can ensure every piece I write is engaging and optimized for the right keywords. It uses AI to generate a comprehensive content analysis report detailing what needs to be optimized. 

The best part is that you can edit your content within an editor-styled document that allows you to make real-time changes.

To create exceptional content:

• I always start with keyword research to ensure my content is comprehensive and up-to-date.

• I’ve found that incorporating keywords naturally, rather than forcing them in, keeps the content feeling authentic while still optimizing for SEO.

• Structuring content with clear headings and visuals makes it easier for readers to follow, boosting engagement and rankings.

• Adding images and videos often helps break up text-heavy sections and keeps readers engaged longer.

2. Internal Links and Backlinks

In my SEO journey, internal and external linking has been pivotal.

Internal links help Google understand how the pages on my site relate to each other, while backlinks from reputable sites signal trust and authority. 

I use AIOSEO’s Link Assistant to help me track all my linking opportunities. It automates the process by identifying linking gaps and prioritizing domain health.

AIOSEO’s Link Assistant has become my go-to resource for tracking the health of my backlinks, ensuring I’m building a strong foundation for higher rankings.

3. Search Intent

One of my biggest lessons is understanding the importance of search intent. 

Not all traffic is created equal, and so delivering the right content to match a user’s needs matters. 

There are 4 main types of search intent that you should know of. Understanding them would help you do better keyword research and create better and scannable content. 

When I align my content with the user’s intent, I’ve noticed a significant improvement in engagement and rankings. 

SEOBoost’s keyword intent analysis from Topic Reports helps me fine-tune this alignment, ensuring I’m meeting users exactly where they are in their search journey.

It analyzes the top ranking pages on search engines and extract the relevant phrases and important words that should be used for a specific content piece.

This helps me analyze the top keywords from the top-performing pages. And by tailoring my content to match specific intents (whether informational, transactional, or otherwise), I’ve seen a marked improvement in its performance.

4. User Page Experience

I’ve found that optimizing for user experience is a game-changer. Google now heavily prioritizes websites that load quickly, are easy to navigate, and are optimized for mobile. 

Here’s how I’ve improved user experience:

• Speed is critical, so I compress images and use SEOBoost’s content recommendations to optimize site performance.

• I’ve prioritized mobile-friendliness, ensuring my content looks great and functions smoothly on all devices.

Make sure that you consistently focus on improving user experience to boost your page views.

5. Keyword Optimization

Keywords are still essential to ranking well, but it’s all about striking the right balance. 

In my work, I use SEOBoost’s Topic Reports feature to find high-value, relevant keywords that naturally fit into my content.

Here’s what I’d advise you to do:

• Always start with thorough research to identify the best keywords for your target audience.

• Rather than forcing keywords into your content, focus on using them naturally, within the flow of the conversation.

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6. Anchor Text

The anchor text you use in your internal and external links can significantly impact your rankings. That’s because descriptive and relevant anchor text provides context to search engines. 

To optimize anchor text, use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text for internal links. However, you should also vary your anchor text to avoid over-optimization.

Also, make sure that the anchor text correctly reflects the linked page.

Notice how in this excerpt, I’ve modified the use of the anchor text to capture the linked page correctly.

7. Alt Text

Alt text plays a dual role in accessibility and SEO. It helps search engines understand image content and improves accessibility for visually impaired users. 

To optimize alt text, provide concise yet descriptive alt text for all images and ensure it’s relevant to the content.

Whenever it makes sense, include your target keywords in the alt text to improve SEO.

I use AIOSEO’s Image SEO module to set image alt text and title attributes automatically.

This feature helps you and the search engines better understand the context of each image.

8. Contact and Business Information

Having clear and accurate contact information builds trust with users and search engines. Google ranking factors favor websites that openly display business details. 

To do this, your website should prominently display your business name, address, and phone number (NAP). You should also ensure that your  NAP information is consistent across all platforms.

You can also use AIOSEO’s Local SEO feature to dominate local search rankings on Google results.

The local SEO feature ensures consistency across all platforms, strengthening your site’s authority.

The best part is you can set up your business details without coding.

9. Google Business Profiles

An optimized Google Business Profile can significantly boost your visibility in local searches. 

AIOSEO’s local SEO dashboard helps me track and manage my profile to ensure it’s up-to-date and optimized for maximum visibility.

Here’s what you should focus on when optimizing your Google Business Profile:

• Ensure that your business listing is always accurate and includes high-quality images.

• Engage with reviews and stay active on the profile.

• Track and measure your data and reports.

10. Google Reviews

Google reviews are a part of your Google Business Profile and are essential for building trust and improving rankings. 

To get good reviews on your Google Business profile, encourage your customers to leave reviews, knowing their positive feedback will impact your rankings.

Remember, positive reviews also get featured in my marketing efforts to build further trust with potential customers.

If you happen to get a negative review, make sure you respond to it professionally.

11. Domain Authority

Although domain authority is not an official Google ranking factor, I’ve found that improving it correlates with better rankings due to increased trustworthiness. 

You can improve your domain authority by ensuring all website technical issues are resolved and building strong, reputable backlinks.

However, the best and most secure way to increase domain authority is to regularly publish high-quality content.

12. Mobile Friendliness

With mobile traffic dominating the web, mobile-friendliness is now a crucial Google ranking factor.

Here’s what you can do to increase your website’s mobile friendliness:

• Implement responsive design principles, ensuring your site looks great on mobile and desktop.

• Use PageSpeed Insight’s recommendations to optimize load times on mobile devices.

• Regularly test your website on different devices to ensure it works smoothly across all screen sizes.

3 Things That Are Not Google Ranking Factors

Now that you know the top 12 Google ranking factors and how you can optimize your website for them, let’s explore the three things that people often mistake for being a ranking factor. 

And while they impact the overall quality of the content, they don’t directly impact the ranking.

You should optimize your content for these factors, but the priority should be the actual ranking factors.

1. Content Length: 

Content length is not a direct ranking factor but can impact your content’s overall quality. 

But instead of fixating on word count, you should focus on creating valuable content that addresses the user’s intent. 

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2. Bounce Rate: 

While bounce rate can indicate user engagement, it is not a direct ranking factor for Google.

3. Social Signals: 

Google does not use social signals (likes, shares) as direct ranking factors. However, you can still track referral traffic from social media through Google Search Console.

Key Takeaway

I hope that this guide helped you understand the top Google ranking factors better. 

Just remember to optimize your content for a better chance at search ranking. And to do that, I’d strongly recommend using a content optimization tool like SEOBoost.

By using SEOBoost’s comprehensive suite of features, you’ll be able to create better ranking content and get better rankings on Google.

Start with a 14-day free trial today!

FAQs

1. What are Google ranking factors?

Google ranking factors are the criteria used by Google’s algorithm to evaluate and rank web pages in search results. These include content quality, backlinks, user experience, and technical SEO.

2. What determines your Google ranking?

Your Google ranking is determined by how well your website aligns with ranking factors such as relevance, authority, user experience, and keyword optimization.

3. What is the Google ranking method?

The Google ranking method is a complex algorithm that analyzes hundreds of factors to evaluate and rank web pages based on relevance, quality, and user satisfaction.

Alina Zahid Content Writer

Alina is an SEO professional with specialized knowledge of content marketing. When she’s not busy researching and creating awesome content for SEOBoost, she can be found practicing piano, writing fiction and traveling.

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