The Ultimate Guide to Google's Ranking Factors

Google relies on over 30 ranking factors in its algorithm, but what exactly are these factors?

In this article, I’ve compiled a comprehensive list for you. Some of these factors are well-supported by research, while others spark debate among experts, and some are merely speculations from SEO enthusiasts.

I’ve made sure to update this list for 2024, so you have the latest information at your fingertips.

Let’s explore these ranking factors in detail and see how they impact your search engine optimisation efforts.

The Top 8 Factors

Quality Content

Quality content is the cornerstone of effective SEO. Google aims to provide users with high-quality, informative, and relevant information that meets their search intent. This means your content should not only be well-written but also provide value to the reader. Focus on creating in-depth articles, guides, and resources that address specific questions or needs in your niche.

Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to your site. They act as endorsements, signalling to search engines that your content is credible and trustworthy. The quantity and quality of backlinks are crucial; having links from authoritative sites can significantly boost your rankings. Building a strong backlink profile through guest posting, partnerships, and outreach can enhance your site’s authority.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO refers to the behind-the-scenes elements that help search engines crawl and index your website effectively. Key aspects include website speed, mobile-friendliness, and a clean URL structure. Ensuring your site is technically sound will enhance its visibility in search results. Regularly auditing your site for technical issues can help maintain optimal performance.

Keyword Optimization

Keyword optimization involves researching and strategically using relevant keywords throughout your content. This helps search engines understand the main topics of your website. Incorporate keywords naturally in titles, headings, and body text while avoiding keyword stuffing. Effective keyword research can inform your content strategy and improve your chances of ranking for targeted terms.

User Experience (UX)

User experience measures how easily users can navigate and interact with your website. A positive UX includes fast loading times, easy navigation, and engaging design. Google prioritises sites that provide a good user experience, as it leads to higher user satisfaction. Investing in UX design can result in lower bounce rates and increased time spent on your site.

Schema Markup

Schema markup is a type of structured data that you can add to your website’s code. It helps search engines understand the context of your content, which can enhance your visibility in search results through rich snippets. Implementing schema can improve click-through rates by making your listings more informative and appealing in search results.

Social Signals

Social signals refer to the engagement your content receives on social media platforms, such as likes, shares, and comments. While not a direct ranking factor, strong social engagement can indicate quality content and help drive traffic to your site. Encouraging social sharing and creating shareable content can boost your online presence and potentially lead to more backlinks.

Brand Signals

Brand signals encompass the overall perception and reputation of your brand online. A well-known and respected brand is more likely to rank higher in search results. Factors influencing brand signals include online reviews, mentions in the media, and overall visibility. Building a strong brand presence can contribute positively to your SEO efforts.

Domain Factors

Domain Age: Some SEO experts think that Google trusts older domains more. However, John Mueller from Google has stated that “domain age helps nothing.”
Keyword in Top Level Domain: Having a keyword in your domain name no longer provides the SEO advantages it once did, but it can still signal relevance.
Domain Registration Length: According to a Google patent, legitimate domains are often registered for multiple years, while illegitimate ones typically last less than a year. The future expiration date can indicate a domain’s legitimacy.
Keyword in Subdomain: Experts from Moz agree that including a keyword in a subdomain can improve rankings.
Domain History: A site with frequent ownership changes or a history of drops may lead Google to reset its history, potentially invalidating existing links. In some cases, penalties may carry over to new owners.

Exact Match Domain: Exact Match Domains generally offer little to no direct SEO benefit. However, low-quality EMDs are at risk of penalties from updates.
Public vs. Private WhoIs: Private WhoIs information might suggest a lack of transparency. Matt Cutts from Google noted that many sites with privacy protection could indicate unusual ownership patterns.
Penalized WhoIs Owner: If Google identifies someone as a spammer, it’s likely they will closely examine other sites owned by that individual.
Country TLD Extension: Using a Country Code Top Level Domain (like .cn or .ca) can help a site rank within that specific country, but may limit global rankings.
Keyword in Title Tag: While its importance has diminished, the title tag remains a significant on-page SEO factor.
Title Tag Starts with Keyword: Moz suggests that title tags beginning with a keyword often perform better than those with the keyword at the end.
Keyword in Description Tag: Google does not consider the meta description tag as a direct ranking factor. However, a well-crafted description can improve click-through rates, which is important for rankings.
Keyword in H1 Tag: H1 tags serve as a secondary title tag. Along with the main title tag, Google uses the H1 tag as an additional relevance indicator.
TF-ID: This term refers to how frequently a word appears in a document. The more often a word shows up on a page, the more likely it is that the page is focused on that topic. Google likely employs an advanced version of this method.
Content Length: Longer content tends to cover topics more thoroughly and is often preferred by search algorithms compared to shorter pieces. Recent studies indicate that the average top-ranking page on Google contains about 1,400 words.
Table of Contents: Including a linked table of contents can help Google understand your page’s structure better and may lead to sitelinks appearing in search results.
Latent Semantic Indexing Keywords (LSI): LSI keywords help search engines understand the context of words with multiple meanings (e.g., Apple the company vs. Apple the fruit). The presence of LSI keywords can also signal content quality.
LSI Keywords in Title and Description Tags: Just like in the main content, LSI keywords in title and meta description tags help Google differentiate between words with various meanings and contribute to relevance.
Page Covers Topic In-Depth: There is a strong connection between how comprehensively a topic is covered and its Google ranking. Pages that explore all aspects of a topic typically perform better than those that only touch on it briefly.
Page Loading Speed: Both Google and Bing consider page speed as a ranking factor. Google now uses real user data from Chrome to assess loading times.

Use of AMP: Although AMP isn’t a direct ranking factor, it may be necessary for appearing in the mobile Google News Carousel.
Entity Match: If a page’s content aligns with the “entity” a user is searching for, it might receive a ranking boost for that keyword.
Google Hummingbird: This algorithm update allowed Google to move beyond just keywords, enabling a better understanding of webpage topics.
Duplicate Content: Having the same content on a site, even with minor changes, can harm its visibility in search results.
Rel=Canonical: Proper use of this tag can help prevent Google from penalising your site for duplicate content.
Image Optimization* Images provide important signals to search engines through their file name, alt text, title, description, and caption. Properly optimising images is essential for indexing.
Content Recency: The Google Caffeine update prioritises fresh content, particularly for time-sensitive searches. Google indicates the last updated date for some pages to highlight this.
Magnitude of Content Updates: The extent of changes made to a page can affect its freshness. Significant edits, like adding or removing sections, matter more than minor tweaks.
Historical Page Updates: The frequency of updates to a page—whether daily, weekly, or less often—also impacts its freshness.
Keyword Prominence: Including a keyword within the first 100 words of a page is linked to better rankings on Google’s first page.
Keyword in H2, H3 Tags: Including your keyword in H2 or H3 subheadings can serve as a weak relevancy signal. John Mueller from Google notes that these heading tags help define the page’s structure.
Outbound Link Quality: Many SEO experts believe that linking to authoritative sites can enhance trust signals to Google, supported by recent studies.
Outbound Link Theme: The Hilltop Algorithm suggests that Google may consider the content of linked pages as a relevancy factor. For instance, if your car-related page links to movie sites, Google might interpret your page as related to the movie “Cars” rather than automobiles.
Grammar and Spelling: Good grammar and spelling are indicators of quality, though there have been mixed messages about their importance from Google representatives.
Syndicated Content: Original content is crucial. If the page contains scraped or copied material, it may rank poorly or not get indexed at all.
Mobile-Friendly Update: Known as “Mobilegeddon,” this update favoured pages that were well-optimised for mobile use.
Mobile Usability: Websites that are easy to use on mobile devices may perform better in Google’s Mobile-first Index.
Hidden Content on Mobile: Content that is hidden on mobile devices may not be indexed effectively. However, Google has indicated that hidden content is acceptable, provided it is not critical.
Helpful Supplementary Content: According to Google’s Rater Guidelines, supplementary content can indicate a page’s quality and influence its ranking. Examples include currency converters, loan calculators, and interactive recipes.

Content hidden behind tabs: If users need to click a tab to see content, Google has stated that this content may not be indexed.
Number of outbound links: Too many dofollow outbound links can dilute PageRank, which might harm the page’s rankings.
Multimedia: Images, videos, and other multimedia elements can signal content quality to search engines.
Number of internal links: The amount of internal links pointing to a page indicates its importance within the site (more internal links suggest higher importance).
Quality of internal links: Internal links from authoritative pages have a stronger impact than those from low-authority pages.
Broken links: A high number of broken links on a page can indicate neglect. Google uses broken links as a measure of a homepage’s quality.
Reading level: Google assesses the reading level of webpages. While a basic reading level may appeal to a broader audience, it can also be associated with lower-quality content.
Affiliate links: Having affiliate links is unlikely to harm rankings, but too many may lead Google to scrutinise other quality signals to avoid being classified as a “thin affiliate site.”
HTML errors/W3C validation: Numerous HTML errors or poor coding can suggest a low-quality site. Many in SEO consider a well-coded page a quality indicator.
Domain authority: Generally, pages on authoritative domains rank higher than those on less authoritative domains.
PageRank: While not perfectly correlated, pages with high authority typically outperform those with low link authority.
URL length: Very long URLs can negatively affect a page’s search visibility. Studies indicate that shorter URLs often perform better in search results.
URL path: Pages closer to the homepage may receive a slight authority boost compared to those deep within the site’s structure.
Human editors: Although unconfirmed, Google has filed a patent for a system allowing human editors to influence search results.
Page category: The category a page is listed under serves as a relevancy signal. Pages in closely related categories may receive a relevancy boost compared to those in unrelated categories.
Keyword in URL: Having a keyword in the URL acts as a relevancy signal. A Google representative has noted it as a very small ranking factor.