There are more than 1 billion websites as of now and a good ranking on Google Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) might be important and even required for a majority of them.
Websites that have been better optimized get greater web traffic can have more sales and leads. But the SEO requirements change with time and we have seen that the factors on the basis of which Google ranks the websites also undergoes changes every year.
For instance, the “https” ranking became important in the year 2014, while the ranking signal of mobile usability became highly relevant in the year 2015. Likewise, RankBrain gained prominence important in the year 2016.
The ranking of a website on Google may depend on hundreds of factors. Therefore, a website should consider the existing as well as the new algorithms and strategies and combine them well enough to create the awesomeness that Google and users desire.
A better ranking on the Google web search engine result pages is important for your business. Therefore, you should consider the below-given and 7 major Google search engine ranking factors that will affect the SEO rankings in the year 2020. This will help you create a more SEO oriented site that it is preferred by both Google as well as the web surfers.
7 Major SEO Ranking Factors In 2020
1. Good Quality Content
Some things never lose importance with time and high-quality, unique, and original content is still one of the most important SEO ranking factors on Google.
If the content has been optimized with the right keywords in the right density, it has the values and desired SEO power that can bring to you good business and a better Google search engine ranking.
With new updates coming to the Fred Algorithm and Google Panda, you may find that irrelevant content does not convert to business and benefits you desire. Better content will lower the bounce rates and will retain the users for a long time period on the website.
The content should be written according to the search intent of the users, and Google Analytics can provide you the insights to help you know more about it.
Proper keyword research and the integration of voice search keywords also becomes important in today’s era of AI (Artificial Intelligence) assistants including Cortana, Alexa, and Siri. Use of richer snippets will provide for better visibility on the search engine results as it can mark the data and text.
2. Secure Website
A HTTPs website will get a higher ranking on the SERPs when compared to an “HTTP” website because of the underlying security.
Therefore, it is good for you to enable the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) security on your website that will enhance the reputation of the website, and improve its safety as well.
Users today have easy and free access to information, and many of them know how dangerous it can be for them to do shopping on a website that does not have the SSL security and the “https” URL. Google already flags the website not having “https” as “not secure”, which will only increase the bounce rate.
3. Mobile Friendliness
Mobile web traffic has already overtaken desktop traffic in the US and bounce rates for mobile surfing have decreased by 9% in the country.
Now the majority of people use their mobile devices for assessing the internet and not the desktop. While Google may not say it directly, it would prefer the responsive websites to the separate mobile URLs or the dynamic websites, for the search engine results.
A responsive webpage and website will fit the screen size of a Smartphone screen better and will provide a good user experience. SEO Agency Sydney ensures all of its client’s websites are responsive and have good user experience on mobile.
According to Google, a responsive website design is favored by the algorithms that can assign the indexing properly and more accurately using it. “Mobile first” indexing is now the norm, and to be in business it is important that the content of your website matches the configuration of mobile and desktop specifically.
The search results on Google will prioritize displaying the websites that are optimized through mobile-first indexing. Other important elements, apart from a responsive site that can automatically resize itself for the device, include:
- Use of large fonts so that the content is readable on all kinds of screens including the small screen.
- Easy navigation and accessibility. For instance, tapping of menus should be convenient.
- The ads should not hide important and essential content.
4. Technical Aspects of SEO
The content of a website may also be optimized so that the code is better and in-line with the SEO requirements. Some of the important improvements can be:
- Using the keyword phrases in the title of the page.
- Displaying content hierarchy by the use of header tags.
- The inclusion of a meta description that has the keyword and can entice the reader. Short (around 162 to 170 characters) meta descriptions that can deliver concise information that is easy to grab are considered the best.
- The images should also be tagged by using the keyword to show their relevance to the content accurately displayed. Remember that Google also has the image search option for the user.
- Use the schema mark-up wherever necessary so that Google can know what kind of content you have. The markup will also provide for the appearance of content in the answer boxes as well as in the rich card entries.
5. Age of the Domain, URL Suitability, and Authority
More than 60% of the websites that appear in the top 10 ranks in Google’s SERP are at least three years old or more. This high ranking is achieved by only a few websites that are not more than a year old, according to a recent study.
Apart from this, the domain name may also be important, and if it has the high quality and valuable content with a domain that is an exact match, the website will gain preference in the search engine results. But if you have a well-established business website, you need not do the makeover and can settle with the URL that reflects the business.
A website may derive its authority through the social shares or inbound links (the off-page SEO signals). Good content also enhances the reputation and authority of a website.
6. User Experience
When the layout and content are not appealing, around 38% of users stop using a website, according to a survey. Google is also using RankBrain or artificial intelligence for ranking the web pages.
The Google search engine reviews that dwell time (the time period any web surfer stays on a website before he or she returns to the main search engine results page) while displaying results.
Only a good design with intuitiveness and other features can enhance the dwell time. The click-through rate (percentage of web servers that click on your website once it has been listed in the search engine result page) and the bounce rate (which shows whether or not your website had the information the user wanted) are also other factors that are considered under RankBrain algorithm and methodology.
7. Social Media Signal
Google may know how valuable a website and web content is by evaluating its social media sharing. While Google does not say it officially, it is for all to see that the best ranking pages on a SERP have the highest number of shares on social media as well.
Therefore, it is important for you to get the greatest number of social shares for your web pages and content, and you should also have a well-established social media presence for your own website/business.
As we can see, both on-page and off-page of the optimization, social media share, website architecture, and many other things make your website more relevant and valuable and enhance their ranking on Google’s SERP.
Therefore, it is important for you to work in all relevant areas and the subtitle improvements will contribute towards a major change in the way the Google search engine will view your website in the year 2020.
Author Bio: James Grills is a technical writer with a passion for writing on emerging technologies in the areas of mobile application development and IoT technology. He is a marketing advisor – currently associated with Cumulations Technologies a mobile app development company in India.
