Millions of people use the Internet every day. Your target users can view your products and services by visiting your website, and this makes websites effective marketing tools for practically any business there is. Websites can promote your brand and attract your intended audience. They are also essential for sales conversion and profit gains.
Of course, the website needs to have a custom web design. This way, your target audience can differentiate your brand from others online. Furthermore, they will know that they are, indeed, accessing YOUR website.
The Need for Higher Google Rankings
Having a custom web design is not enough, though. You want potential customers to find your website. So, it is crucial that your website is at a high rank in search engine results pages or SERPs. Most online users use Google as their search engine. Many of them only visit websites that are on top of the list.
Different Factors That Affect Google Rankings
But, how will your website go up that list? There are certain factors that Google uses to rank websites. You should know what these factors are and how they affect your website’s ranking. This way, you can take the necessary steps to improve the Google ranking of your website.
Check out the following Google ranking factors!
The 9 Special Rules in Google’s Algorithm
Let us start with the special rules that Google’s Algorithm has set. These include:
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New Pages
Newer pages tend to have high Google rankings. This is because newer pages often have fresher and more relevant content.
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Specific User Query
Search engines provide users with the most relevant information about a certain query. So, it does not come as a shock if Google will rank websites with specific content higher. For instance, users searching for a specific brand of shoes will get a list of websites that sell such shoes.
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User Search History
The results of the user’s previous queries will carry over to their current searches. For instance, they may search for shoe reviews through Google. Afterward, they will search for a specific shoe brand. Websites with shoe reviews of that specific brand will have higher Google rankings.
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User Browsing History
The websites that users visit more often also have higher rankings. This is, of course, if such websites relate to the query they are making.
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Geo-Targeting
It makes sense for Google to give users a list of local websites for their queries. Users search for a product that they have interests in. They may even want to buy it. Ranking local websites will give users the ability to buy the item easily and quickly.
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Complaints Filed in DCMA
Does your website have a DCMA complaint? Is it a legitimate complaint? Having a legitimate DCMA complain is bad for your page ranking. Google gives lower ranks to those with such complaints.
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Safe Search
Safe search is an online safety feature. It prevents SERPs from displaying websites that contain mature content and curse words. Potential customers that have this feature on their browsers cannot see your website, products, and services.
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Top Stories
Timeliness and relevance are, indeed, big for Google. Certain queries from users may lead to a top stories section or boxes. These are stories that relate to the queries and are new.
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Famous Brands
Google gives more preference to certain famous brands. They rank their websites higher for certain user queries.
5 Branding Factors
Your brand plays a significant role in where your website may land in the Google SERPs rankings. Take a look at these branding factors:
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Queries About Your Brand
If a lot of users search for your brand via search engines, Google thinks that your brand is, indeed, a real one. As a result, Google will put you on the search results page at a higher rank.
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Brand Name as Anchor Text
An anchor text is one that users click on to visit the website. Having a brand name as your anchor text will be favorable to you.
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Likes on Facebook
Does your website have a Facebook page? Does it have plenty of likes? Google rewards websites that have Facebook pages and likes with higher rankings. Google believes that you are a real brand because you have social media interaction.
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Followers on Twitter
The number of Twitter followers your brand also affects your Google rankings. How it works is the same as the Facebook page and likes as explained above.
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Physical Location
Real companies often have physical locations, brick and mortar ones. Google may have the ability to know if your brand is real or big if they can pinpoint a location for your business.
15 Ranking Factors on the Webpage Level
These factors pertain to on-page characteristics. These include the following:
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Broken Links
A website with a lot of broken links will have a lower Google ranking. This is because Google will identify your website as old, illegal, or non-reputable. It may also mean that the website owner is neglecting the page.
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Page Errors
Lots of page errors do not sit well with Google. Many page errors on the website will negatively affect your Google rankings.
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Use of SSL Certificates
Safety is an important element, both for users and Google. So, Google rewards safe websites with higher rankings. A sign of a safe website is the use of SSL certificates. You will know that a website is using SSL certificates when you can see “https:” and a lock beside it on the address bar.
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Location of Servers
The location of your website’s servers is also a Google ranking factor. Most of the time, Google goes with local servers in ranking web pages. This is very useful if you are geo-targeting.
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Length of the URL
Google also considers the length of the URL. A URL is the one you can find on the address bar that starts with “www”. The shorter the URL, the more Google prefers it. As a result, the website will have a much higher rank on the search engine results page.
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The Presence of a Keyword on the URL
In addition to a short URL, it will also be beneficial to put a keyword in the URL itself. It will help your website rank higher in queries that involve the keyword.
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Page Layout
Another factor that affects Google rankings is the layout of your website. So, custom web design is, indeed, important.
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Page Load Speed Using Chrome
Google develops and maintains Chrome, its web browser. So, they will consider the loading speed of your website when users use Chrome as their browser. The slower your page load speed is, the lower your ranking will be.
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Optimized for Mobile
In today’s world, more people prefer handheld devices when making Internet queries. Mobile phones and the like are easy to carry, handy, and compact. Google rewards mobile-optimized websites with higher rankings on the SERPs. -
Up-to-Date Pages
This cannot be emphasized enough. New, fresh content is essential in Google rankings. Therefore, when you plan on updating your website, make sure to provide relevant, credible, and new information about your services or the industry your business is in.
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Table of Contents with Bullets and/or Numbers
When you have a Table of Contents in your website, it is easier for Google to understand what your content is about, especially if your enumerations are in bullet or number form. With that, Google will rank your website high on its search engine.
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The Quality of Internal Links
Internal links that point to your websites can affect your Google rankings. Everything lies in the internal links’ quality. If there are a lot of low-quality internal links, your website will rank lower. So, make sure that the internal links pointing to your website are all high-quality links.
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The Use of Sources and References
Google values credibility on websites. So, you can improve the credibility of your site by citing credible sources and references.
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Presence of Terms of Use Page and Privacy Page
Does your website have both Terms of Use and Privacy Page? Then, Google will see your site as safe, reliable, and credible at a certain level. Your website may rank higher in their SERPs.
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Contact Page
Users appreciate a complete Contact page. This page must have all the available contact information of the website’s owners. Google appreciates that, too! A higher rank is a reward for a detailed Contact page.
5 User Interaction Factors
The interaction between users and your website can also impact your Google rankings. Check out how the factors below affect such rankings:
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Websites in Chrome Bookmarks
Do a lot of users bookmark your website in their Chrome browsers? Google may boost your page rankings.
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Direct Site Traffic
An interesting and credible website often has a lot of direct traffic. Google notices this. So, the more direct traffic you have, the better your ranking in Google will be.
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Repeat Site Traffic
There are many users who visit certain websites again and again. These users bring repeat traffic to the webpages they visit. Google can also boost the ranking of such websites.
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Dwell Time
Dwell time is the time that users spend on a specific website. If they stay longer on your webpage, the better it is for your Google ranking. Google uses an algorithm or method to measure how long do such users spend on your website.
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Number of User Comments
The number of comments that users post on the website is also a Google ranking factor. When lots of users comment on the site, this can mean that they are interacting with the company or other users. This may also mean that there is a quality discussion going on. Having a high number of user comments will help your website a lot with Google rankings.
6 Other Important Ranking Factors
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Pop-Up Ads
Pop up ads are annoying for users. Websites with too many pop up ads have lower rankings on Google’s search engine results pages.
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Links to Spam Websites
The quality of the links that redirect to your website is a huge factor in Google rankings. So, having links to spam websites can affect your rank. Some spam websites include those that offer mobile loans.
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Hiding Affiliate Links on the Site
Google penalizes those that hide affiliate links on their websites. This could affect your ranking on the search engine, resulting in a lower rank on page results.
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Hacked Webpage
A hacked webpage can alert Google and cause the website’s ranking to drop. Google has a system that can determine if a webpage is hacked or not.
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Unrelated Backlinks
Are your backlinks unrelated to what you are as a brand or a website? For instance, do your backlinks relate to computers when your website is about shoes? Unrelated backlinks can drag your website’s Google ranking down.
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Using Wikipedia as Source
Many believe that Wikipedia is not a reliable source. Google may also believe the same. So, if most of your sources come from Wikipedia, it might not help your Google ranking at all.
For busy business owners, the factors that contribute to your website’s Google rankings can be overwhelming. Let Proweaver handle your custom web design needs. Our competent team understands these factors well and we’ve helped so many companies push their brand up and forward over the internet. We will use our knowledge to help boost your website and attract more visitors. Call us today!