The 12 Most Important SEO Ranking Factors

Review individual factors include keywords in Google reviews, high numerical Google ratings, and the quantity of Google reviews with text. Research finds that 64% of agencies and 23% of local businesses spend time fighting GMB spam – meaning that those that do so have a definitive edge. Tools that show GMB profiles and business names on a map as part of a grid tracker can make this process a lot easier.

“Follow” results in bots following the links on your page and passing link equity through to those URLs. Or, if you elect to employ “nofollow,” the search engines will not follow or pass any link equity through to the links on the page. Once you’ve ensured your site has been crawled, the next order of business is to make sure it can be indexed. That’s right — just because your site can be discovered and crawled by a search engine doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be stored in their index. In the previous section on crawling, we discussed how search engines discover your web pages.

Step 2: Keyword Research

No monthly costs or pay-to-play — just a powerful, cost-effective way to make sure the right customers find you at the right time. When people search for what you offer, they’re likely ready to buy — but if your business isn’t showing up at the top, they’re likely going elsewhere. Every spot you drop in the rankings means fewer clicks, fewer calls, and fewer customers walking through your doors. Three are many SEOs who have spread the misinformation that the quality raters guidelines offers a peek into what Google is using for ranking websites.

Ensure Mobile-Friendliness

This means the mobile version of your site is the primary basis for how your content is ranked and indexed. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on a significant opportunity to rank higher and engage users. Note – while product schema is an important optimization for this ranking factor, we’ve categorized it under a separate ranking factor, structured data.

Hence, by optimizing for semantic search, you’re essentially ensuring that your content comprehensively addresses the nuances of your audience’s needs. With the introduction of mobile-first indexing, Google underscores the significance of mobile-friendly web design. Website owners should prioritize delivering a seamless and consistent experience across devices to cater to the diverse ways users access their content. It’s essential to understand that mobile-first doesn’t mean mobile-only. Google still indexes desktop sites, and there’s no separate “mobile-first index” distinct from the main index.

• Authored by Chinasa Ferderick and Felix Johnson, the study offers insights for businesses aiming to improve their visibility on YouTube.
• They ruin the user experience and they will impact your SEO negatively.
• Duplicate content confuses search engines about which version to prioritize, which can negatively impact your search engine ranking factors.
• Keeping tabs on your local SEO ranking factors and your progress is integral to understanding the effectiveness of your local SEO strategies.

You can apply AIOSEO’s internal linking recommendations in 1-click without manually editing each post. For example, if they use the word “compare,” they’re likely trying to decide between buying a product. But whether you decide to try Google AMP or not, you still need to be sure that your site is 100% optimized for mobile devices. For a more in-depth overview, check out this guide on how to use Google Search Console to improve your SEO. First, search Google using the terms you think your customers will use.

Google rewards websites that prioritize user BHS Links satisfaction by improving their visibility in search results. This blog breaks down what Google ranking signals 2025 look like, how SEO ranking works, and what role E-A-T plays in search rankings. Ranking for local searches requires focus on a combination of different local SEO ranking factors.