Search engines like Google use many ranking signals for providing the most suitable results to a search query. However, even when the SEO efforts are at their best, they can only be limited to certain steps. The good thing is that you can implement a list of the top 20 search engine ranking factors in 2022 so that your SEO efforts are streamlined to bear good results.
For a higher Google ranking, abiding by the search engine ranking factors is the secret ingredient. Your website must also abide by the rules of SEO, along with being informative and relevant. Organizing your tasks, in such a case, is imperative. To assist you with this, you can also hire an SEO company.
Here is an SEO checklist for Website Redesign, which tells you all you need to know before and after your website is up and running.
20 Search Engine Ranking Factors You Seriously Can’t Ignore
1. User-Friendly Website Structure
A good website is one that can be navigated with ease by the visitor as well as the search engine. In 90% of the cases, this search engine is Google. The structure of your website will help Google decipher the most important information on it.
Hence, it is your responsibility to make sure that your website structure is being taken care of so that even the SEO efforts can lead to good results. This is one of the most important search engine ranking factors. Make sure that when you take SEO services, they optimize the content on a user-friendly website.
2. Optimize Images on the Website
Images make your website look beautiful but can also be the cause of slow page loading. Optimizing your images for desktop as well as mobile views will take your website a long way. Each image should be sized appropriately and must have an alt tag.
You can also remove unwanted plug-ins, images, etc. While testing new ideas on the website, one usually tends to add test elements like images and plug-ins. Before going live, you should make sure that any unnecessary or redundant items on the website have been removed.
If you happen to hire SEO services then make sure that they optimize the images on your website because they can be a major search engine ranking factor.
3. Add SEO Friendly Content
Good content can be described as that which is unique, fresh, and relevant at the same time. Each page should have at least 350 words of content including targeted keywords. The recommended keyword density should be checked and abided with.
Also make sure you proofread the entire website to check for spelling and grammar errors, before going live. The content should be completely optimized. This will make sure that the content is written in a way that it can reach the largest possible target audience.
The process of optimizing content should include making sure targeted keywords are present. Another aspect of content optimization is to remember that any sample pages or content are removed for a more enriched experience.
Make sure that your content is well optimized as this is one of the most prominent search engine ranking factors.
4. On-Page Optimization
Another important search engine ranking factor is SEO optimization. It allows you to zone in on elements that are visible to search engines. With reliable content that is optimized regularly and meta tags and header tags, you can be at the top of on-page optimization.
In addition, a targeted update of your page meta titles and descriptions and H1s helps in increasing a website’s organic traffic. Make sure that you create compelling, on-point, and attractive meta tags.
5. Check for Broken Links
A link should usually take you to a particular page. If that doesn’t happen and instead ends up on a page with a 404 error, it’s called a broken link. This impacts the user experience negatively. To avoid this, always double-check all the links you attach to your content.
The user experience of your website comes before anything. When you do search engine optimization, you also must ensure the kind of information that you are optimizing. If you wish to direct a user to a specific place, then you must ensure that the links are perfectly working so that the SEO can be authentic.
6. Improve Website Loading Time
The load time of a page determines the first engagement of the user to the website. The average loading time should be between two to three seconds. If your website is taking more time, then this means trouble.
Here, You can utilize GTmetrix or Google Page Insights to See how your site performs, uncover why it’s sluggish and find streamlining open doors.
In addition to making sure that the page ranks well; we also have to ensure that the user does not go back once they have come on the page. The website loading time plays an important role to make sure this happens and that makes it one of the many search engine ranking factors.
7. Create a Sitemap
A sitemap helps search engines index your pages easier and more thoroughly, improving visibility. Use Plug-ins to create a sitemap or create it manually.
An HTML sitemap allows site visitors to easily navigate a website and an XML sitemap is a type of list marked up with XML so that search engines can easily consume information about the URLs that make up a site.
8. Responsive Design
Another one of the search engine ranking factors that makes sure your website is paid attention to is a responsive design. The website design should be responsive. A responsive website is one that adapts to any screen size.
If your website is working on the web and not on mobile, then the website is called as unresponsive. Hence, make sure that the website is easily accessible and functional on all devices so that the search engines can rank your pages easily.
9. Website URL Length
Excessively long URLs may hurt a page’s search engine visibility. In fact, several industry studies have found that short URLs tend to have a slight edge in Google’s search results. The preferred URL length should be less than 150 chars.
This is an important aspect of SEO that gets ignored many times. Remember to always make sure that the website URL is short and precise so that the website can rank at the top of the search engine as easily as possible.
Factors such as this one are ensured when you hire SEO services. On the other hand, if you happen to do this by yourself while not paying attention to small things then you are most likely to suffer in SEO rankings. To avoid this from happening, it is always best to make sure that you are taking professional support.
10. User-Friendly Layout
The main content of the website immediately becomes visible in a user-friendly layout. A well-put-together site layout helps Google thematically organize your content. It can also help Google-bot access and index all your site’s pages.
In addition, when the user-friendly layout is paid attention to, the site is also likely to be optimized on the web and mobile. With more than half of all searches done from mobile devices, Google wants to see that your site is optimized for mobile users. So make sure that ensuring a user-friendly layout is covered in the SEO cost.
11. Internal Link Structure
Internal links will increase the time spent by the user on your website. This will increase the chances of response to your call-to-action. Attach relevant links to internal pages wherever possible.
Also, make sure these links are not broken and there is smooth navigation from one page to another. Focusing on internal linking is another search engine ranking factor that should be focused on.
12. Keyword Research
Conduct keywords research for every single page on the website. Discover Long Tail Keywords With “Google Suggest”. For every page, you should have one primary keyword and at least two secondary keywords.
Make sure the primary keyword should be used in the meta-title, meta-description, page main heading, and website content.
Also, make sure that you check the keyword density. It is the measurement in percentage of the number of times a particular keyword or phrase appears compared to the total number of words on a page.
The recommended keyword density keeps changing so make sure that you keep yourself aware of whatever is new.
13. Test Your Website
When your website is ready, test your website’s performance using free online SEO tools to identify any areas that are causing your website to underperform. You can also submit it to the search engine using the search console.
This test will give you a fair idea about the capability of your website to be ranked at the top of preferable search engines. If you see that the test is positive, then you can go one step ahead by undertaking some PR and marketing activities as well.
Write a Press Release about the business and post on high-quality websites to increase the visibility of the website. A good way to improve your brand’s image is to regulate the frequency and timing of your press release. Not many things, but these things matter, and hence it is always advised to hire an SEO professional to guide you in the right direction.
14. Create Back-links
Websites with quality backlinks are more relevant and credible than others by search engines like Google. So, you should create high-quality backlinks for your website.
In addition to creating backlinks, you can also keep a tab on the competitor backlinks.
When you hire SEO services, they will tell you that competitor back-link analysis goes a long way. First, you need to create a competitor list then fetch their backlinks using SEO tools.
This helps create back-links for your own website. You end up with a workspace filled with link-building opportunities that will help you overtake your biggest competitors.
15. Setup Google Search Console
Add Google Website Code to the website header or you can verify Google Search Console with the help of Google Analytics. It offers data and configuration control for your website among other visitor matrices.
The Search Console gives you direct insight from Google as to how the search engine views your website. It will also help you to control website traffic and measure it in better ways from different channels.
Conclusion:
If you want to make sure that your business reaches its maximum potential then abiding by the SEO rules is very important. Each page should be optimized and it should also abide by the rules of the algorithms.
Once you master the art of keeping the users engaged while also ensuring proper SEO methods then the links will organically increase.
Your goal is to climb up the SEO ladder and for that, you will have to play by the rules.
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