Google Ranking factors: The ranking of a website on Google’s search engine is determined by dozens of factors. The most important factor is the quality of the website’s content. Google’s algorithms are designed to surface the most relevant and authoritative content in response to a user’s query. That means that websites with well-written, informative, and original content are more likely to rank higher than those with thin or duplicate content.
Other important factors include the number and quality of links pointing to a website, the age of the domain, and the presence of keywords in the title and metatags. By taking these factors into account, webmasters can improve their chances of ranking high in Google’s search results.
In the last couple of years, especially with the launch of the Hummingbird, Google has shown growing intent to provide nuanced search results. In this blog, we have spoken about how the intent of the search queries matter more to Google now than the actual keywords keyed in by the user.
For example, if you search with “Name the highest mountain peak” it throws up an answer, say Mt. Everest. If you search next with “What is the height?” Google gets you the height of Mt. Everest even though you don’t mention it in the search.
This intent based search is very much in vogue now. Here are the big 5 factors that Google makes use of in providing ranks to websites. These factors are not in order of importance.
High Quality Links (Backlinks & Internal Links)
The website with better linking network remains a favorite of Google. The linking factor comes from the very definition of the internet: a broad linking chain. Though the unethical ways of getting links is now a thing of the distant past, quality links matter.
Related reading : Link building guide
Domain Authority
There are many factors that go into building up domain authority and is beyond the scope of this blog post. Google spots the dominant player in a domain of interest and that powerful player is usually accorded favorable Google rank.
Keyword Match in high quality content
Keywords rule the roost in a big way though the use of keywords has morphed considerably. Keyword matches help in Google to rank websites according to the queries generated by a user. Intent-based searches are a part of this chapter.
Related reading: Keyword research guide
Relevance of topic & content
This factor is the one taking center-stage now with Google’s algorithms getting more sophisticated and refined. The relevance of a search, and not the keywords typed in, has made Google searches more effective. Websites with relevant material will get the thumbs up from the house of Google.
Related reading: Content writing guide
Freshness
A strong reason why websites should be updated regularly and blogs posted at regular intervals: the importance of freshness. Google likes fresh web content as opposed to web pages that are sitting on the same material for months, if not years. Get something new for users every time and Google will be your best buddy!
How to tackle Google Search Updates to avoid rank drops
Google is constantly changing its algorithms, and this can have a big impact on the visibility of your website. In order to maintain a good ranking, it is important to keep up with the latest changes. There are a few different ways to do this.
First, you can sign up for Google’s Webmaster Central Blog. This blog provides updates on all major algorithm changes.
You can also follow Search Engine Land’s Google Algorithm Change History, which tracks every major update since 2003.
Finally, Moz also has a great resource that details all of the recent algorithm changes. By keeping up with these sources, you can make sure that your website is always optimized for the latest Google algorithms.
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Debajyoti Banerjee is the Founder, Director & CEO of 
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