When it comes to search optimization that Google considers as ranking factors, you’ll hear answers ranging from three main factors to hundreds or even thousands.
We've taken a deep dive into 88 of the Google Ranking Factors: Fact or Fiction data points, where you'll find expert analysis of the facts, folklore, and historical evidence for each factor.
But SEO is not just about rankings.
The difference between SEO factors and ranking factors may seem like a matter of semantics, but it’s important to remember that SEO is more than just ranking high on Google.
SEO also means optimizing for the searcher experience.
In this article, you'll find the 5 most important on-site SEO factors, along with tips on how to make them work for you.
Some of these will definitely improve your rankings, but others will benefit your website visitors’ experience, increase conversions, build your brand, and much more.
Everything you aim for in your marketing is part of your SEO strategy.
Table of Contents
1. Content
2. User participation
3. Technical structure
4. Interlinking
5. Mobile Optimization
Conclusion
1. Content
Sure, content is king, but having content alone is not enough to help your site rank well and rank for targeted keywords.
According to a study by Ahrefs, 91% of online content doesn’t generate any traffic from Google. So how do we know if search engines are rewarding content creation?
Content relevance to Search Intent
Understanding user intent is the future of search engine development.
Google's algorithms work incredibly hard to understand the stockholder database needs and meanings of users' searches.
We've seen some of the benefits that can be delivered in the form of answer boxes, knowledge panels, and more diverse search results for broad queries.
In fact, the relevance of your content to user intent could be argued to be the most important ranking factor, because if your content isn't relevant to searches, it will eventually lose value.
How to increase efficiency
Understand the intent of your keywords (informational, sales, recommendations)
Analyze the SERPs for these keywords and see what types of content are ranking first.
Research the semantic similarity of the keywords and optimize your content accordingly.
Long-form content
Long, rich content addresses as many user concerns as possible, while providing fresh perspectives on a topic. Even search engines seem to favor long-form content, as they see users wanting it.
A HubSpot study found that content between 2,250 and 2,500 words in length tends to get the most organic traffic. This seems like a sweet spot for SEO, as creating pages longer than 2,500 words will get more keywords used on the page.
Being an expert on your topic is not only good for SEO, but it also helps you become a thought leader in your industry and generate additional business opportunities.
How to increase efficiency
Research top ranking pages for your target keywords and analyze the content of those pages.
Add keywords that are relevant to the meaning to summarize the content with additional subheadings.
Answer questions related to the topic that users may have.
Organize content
SEO tags still play a key role in content creation, even as semantic analysis increases
Optimizing your Title tag and Header tag can help you do the following:
Communicate the intent of the content on your web pages.
Organize content to make it easier for users and search engines to read.
