Google Ranking Factors 2018: The Complete SEO Checklist

Google's algorithm is a complex beast, but understanding the key ranking factors can make all the difference in your website's visibility. Mobile-friendliness is now a top priority, with 85% of users preferring a seamless mobile experience.

In 2018, Google rolled out the "Speed Update", which penalizes slow-loading websites. A website that loads in under 3 seconds is considered fast.

The quality and relevance of content are still crucial factors in Google's ranking algorithm. With the rise of voice search, content that answers questions and provides value to users is more likely to rank high.

Google's algorithm also takes into account user experience and behavior, such as bounce rates and time on page. A high bounce rate can negatively impact your website's ranking.

Gaining Google's trust is crucial for higher search rankings. You can achieve this by getting backlinks from high authoritative trust sites.

Google's algorithm considers TrustRank as an important SEO ranking factor. This means that having a high TrustRank can boost your website's visibility.

To increase your website's TrustRank, focus on building high-quality backlinks. This will help establish your website's credibility and authority.

Getting backlinks from high-authoritative trust sites can significantly improve your website's TrustRank. This is a key factor in achieving higher search rankings.

Gaining Google's trust requires time and effort, but it's a worthwhile investment for any website owner.

Content optimization is a crucial aspect of Google ranking factors in 2018. It's essential to use keywords in your content, as Google's search algorithm relies on them.

Ideally, your keywords should match the words and phrases searchers use when seeking information, and you should use them in your title tag, URL, header tags, meta description, and body of the posts/pages. This boosts the relevance of your content and helps Google analyze it more effectively.

Using a keyword density of 0.5-2.5% is recommended, as stuffing your content with keywords can lead to poor-quality web pages and hurt your SEO ranking. In fact, Google will penalize you if you pack your content with keywords.

LSI keywords, or latent semantic indexing keywords, help search engines extract a more clear meaning for homonym words. Their presence can accelerate your SEO rankings, especially when used in an organic and natural way.

Content is the king, and it's essential to create valuable and original information that resonates with your audience. Fresh, original content is always best, and if you have similar content, use canonical URLs to tell Google which one should be ranked as most authoritative.

To optimize content for SEO, you should use keywords in your content, as they match up with the words and phrases searchers use when seeking information. Ideally, those keywords should match the topics on your site.

Keywords are still one of the most important quality ranking factors in SEO, and it's essential to include them in the title tags, header tags, and meta description. Including terms related to the main keywords, also known as LSI keywords, provides Google with a better understanding of the content meaning.

LSI keywords are good for mobile optimization, and recent voice search statistics show they contribute significantly to optimizing for voice search queries. If you want to get the best SEO advice ever, use LSI keywords to optimize your content.

Here are some key takeaways to keep in mind:

By following these tips, you can create high-quality and relevant content that resonates with your audience and improves your search engine rankings.

Keyword research is a crucial step in content optimization. It's essential to use keywords in your content to match what searchers are looking for.

Google's search algorithm relies on keywords, so ideally, your site's topics and keywords should match up. This is why using keywords in your content is so important.

Duplicate content is a negative SEO ranking factor to be aware of. Fresh, original content is always best, and if you have similar content, tell Google which one should be ranked as most authoritative using canonical URLs.

To avoid keyword stuffing, aim for a keyword density of 0.5-2.5%. This will help you avoid penalties from Google.

Keywords still matter in 2018, and using them in the title tag, URL, header tags, meta description, and the body of the posts/pages boosts the relevance of your content.

Including terms related to the main keywords, also known as LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords, provides Google with a better understanding of the content meaning and helps decide which results to show.

Meta tags and descriptions are crucial for search engines to understand the content of your website. They provide a brief summary of what your page is about, helping Google decide which results to show.

A meta description is the grey text that appears beneath a search result title, and every page and post needs one. It gives Google more unique text to scroll and should include keywords that your target audience would search for.

Make sure to include the main keyword you'd like to rank for in your content meta description. Google regularly changes the character limits of their meta description, so stay up to date.

Duplicate meta tags can do serious damage by bringing down the visibility of your site's pages. Avoid using the same meta title and meta description on multiple pages.

Including a meta description with every piece of content you publish is a must. It helps Google understand the content and can improve your SEO rankings.

Including relevant images on your website is crucial for user experience and search engine rankings. 97% of page-1 results have at least one image or illustration on the page.

Optimizing your images is a must, so make sure to include a title, alt-text, description, and caption. Google can't read images, but it can read the text associated with them.

Don't forget to use relevant images and alt-text keywords, as this will help your website's visibility in search engines. Every image uploaded on your site must have an alt-tag, which acts as an anchor for the image.

Adding video to your website can also improve search engine rankings and click-through rates. Businesses with videos on their page have a 27% higher CTR and 34% more conversions.

User behavior and engagement play a significant role in Google's ranking algorithm. Google tracks various metrics, including click-through rate (CTR), bounce rate, dwell time, and repeat traffic, to gauge a website's user experience and quality.

CTR is a crucial factor, as higher CTR gets a SERP boost for a particular keyword. Google also looks at the organic CTR for all keywords, which are human-based and user interaction signals. Pages with lots of comments are a signal of user-friendliness and quality.

A high bounce rate can negatively affect ranking, as it indicates that visitors are not engaging with the site. On the other hand, repeat traffic boosts SEO rankings significantly, suggesting that visitors find the site valuable. Google also notices whether visitors go back to the same site after the first visit.

A longer dwell time is a strong indication of a website's quality, with Google measuring the time visitors spend on a page. The average time on site to increase organic rankings is three minutes. Direct website traffic also signals to Google that a website provides value to users and they want to visit it more often.

Here are some key user behavior metrics that impact Google rankings:

By focusing on improving these metrics, website owners can create a better user experience, increase engagement, and ultimately boost their search engine rankings.

Google's dominance in traffic is staggering, with 15 of the world's 50 most visited websites being Search Engines owned by Google. This means that if you aren't optimizing your website to attract visitors from Google, you're missing out on a massive opportunity.

Getting just 0.001% of Google's traffic per month via organic search would bring in an extra 440,000 free visitors. That's a significant boost to your website's traffic and engagement.

Direct website traffic is also a crucial factor in Google's rankings. The more users who type in your website's URL directly into their browser bar, the better your brand looks to Google. This signals to Google that your website provides value to users and they want to visit it more often.

The more direct website traffic you have, the higher you'll rank in your niche, especially if your UX and user engagement factors are also higher than average.

Dwell Time is a crucial metric that Google tracks to understand how users interact with your website. It's the time visitors spend on your page, and the more time they spend, the higher your site quality ranks.

A higher Dwell Time indicates that your content is engaging and informative, making it more likely to rank higher in search results. Google pays special consideration to Dwell Time, so it's essential to focus on creating high-quality content that keeps users engaged.

The average time on site to increase organic rankings is three minutes, so aim to keep users on your page for at least that long. You can boost Dwell Time by including a video in your content, as it's a great way to keep users engaged and interested.

Here are some key facts about Dwell Time and account metrics:

By focusing on Dwell Time and creating high-quality content, you can improve your website's user experience and increase your chances of ranking higher in search results.

Link building and backlinks are crucial for Google ranking. Moz explains that linking to relevant quality websites sends trust signals to search engines about the relevancy of your content.

Multiple dofollow outbound links can harm your SEO ranking, so use them wisely. For example, if you have a page about "apple" and link to other webpages related to "health", Google will think you're talking about the fruit, not the technology brand.

Internal linking is also important, as it shows the importance of a page over others on the same domain. The number of internal links on a page supports spreading link juice, a powerful SEO ranking factor.

Links from .edu, .org, and .gov domains carry more value, so try to get links from these types of websites. The authority of the linking domain and linking pages is another factor for SEO rankings.

A website's Domain Authority is ranked from 1-100, with 1 being the lowest and 100 the highest. You can check your Domain Authority with the Website Authority Checker and improve it with our Domain Authority Guide.

There are three kinds of links to think about: inbound links, outbound links, and internal links. All three are typically tied to a descriptive anchor text.

Having a solid technical foundation is crucial for Google ranking success. Google's crawlers can easily reach and crawl a website with a well-coded website builder, a robots.txt file, and a sitemap that lists all pages.

A secure and accessible website is also a must. This includes having a HTTPS-enabled website, which is a lightweight ranking factor according to Google's John Mueller. If you still need to enable SSL security on your website, get to it.

To ensure your website is error-free, avoid HTML errors and W3C validation errors, which can harm your ranking on Google.

Mobile Optimization is a crucial aspect of Technical SEO and Website Health. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites and penalizes non-responsive sites.

51.89% of worldwide web traffic is from mobile devices, making it essential to optimize your site for mobile. Google uses mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor, so if your website isn't mobile-friendly, you'll be penalized.

Mobile load speed is massive and growing in importance. Make sure to minimize image and video sizes to speed up performance. You can check your site's mobile speed for free with testmysite.withgoogle.com.

Google's mobile-first index prioritizes mobile-optimized websites over desktop-only sites. Mobile traffic accounted for 52.64% of total global online traffic in 2017, and it's predicted to reach 79% by the end of 2018.

To ensure your site is mobile-friendly, check the following:

A top-ranking website has a loading speed of 1900 ms, which is 17% faster than a site that ranks at number 10. Google's Speed Update makes page speed a ranking factor for mobile searches. Aim for a mobile site load speed of two seconds or less and a desktop load speed of three seconds or less.

Use Google's PageSpeed Insight tool to see how your site stacks up. You can also use Google Search Console to update yourself on your site's performance, including speed.

Page Speed and Security are two crucial factors that can make or break your website's performance and ranking. Google wants to improve users' web experience, and fast-loading web pages will do that.

Page speed is a ranking factor for mobile searches, and technically speaking, it's best that the mobile site loads in two seconds or less, and its desktop counterpart in less than three seconds. A top ranking website has a loading speed of 1900 ms which is 17% faster than a site that ranks at number 10.

You can check your site's mobile speed for free with testmysite.withgoogle.com, which runs a test, compares your website to competitors, and even tells you how to improve. Make sure image and video sizes are minimised to speed up performance.

Security has always been Google's priority, and using HTTPS is a signal in its ranking algorithm. The sites which don’t use HTTPS are being identified as not secure, and their ranking position gradually decreases.

Here are some essential tips to improve your website's page speed and security:

By following these tips, you can improve your website's performance, ranking, and user experience.

Technical SEO and User Experience are two crucial aspects of website health. A well-coded website builder is essential for Google's crawlers to easily reach and crawl your site. This is a key factor in determining your website's visibility.

Google's crawlers look for a robots.txt file that tells them where they can and can't look for your site information. A sitemap is also necessary, which lists all your pages. If you're running a WordPress site, you can set up a sitemap via All in One SEO.

Page speed is a significant SEO ranking factor, and Google wants to improve users' web experience. Fast-loading web pages will do that. Google's PageSpeed Insight tool can help you see how your site stacks up.

Mobile page speed is also crucial, as Google announced a search engine algorithm update focused on mobile page speed in July 2018. If your site doesn't load fast on mobile devices, you could be penalized.

Google's mobile-first index prioritizes mobile-optimized websites over desktop-only sites. This means that if your site is not mobile-friendly, you'll be at a disadvantage. A responsive site that automatically resizes to fit the device is essential.

You can use tools like Google's PageSpeed Insight and testmysite.withgoogle.com to check your site's speed and get recommendations for improvement. It's also essential to use Google Search Console to track your site's performance, including speed.

A simple, concise, and relevant URL enables both users and Google to understand the indication of what the page is about. A long URL can negatively impact the site's visibility, so it's best to keep it short.

Here are some key technical SEO factors to focus on:

By focusing on these technical SEO factors and user experience, you can improve your website's health and increase its visibility in search engine results.

Google's algorithm is constantly evolving, and it's essential to understand the ranking signals that can impact your website's visibility. Google discovers quality signals from user behavior, which is a crucial factor in determining your page's ranking.

Social signals, such as shares, likes, comments, and followers, can also make a difference in your ranking. Publishing great content is the most effective way to get your website in front of your target audience through social media. Authoritative social engagement signals, especially from influencers and bloggers, will boost your rankings.

Here are some key ranking signals to keep in mind:

These signals are all part of Google's RankBrain, which uses artificial intelligence to better rank web pages. By understanding these signals, you can optimize your content to match the searcher's intent and boost your search engine ranking.

E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It's a crucial ranking signal that helps Google assess the credibility of a website.

Google's algorithm uses E-A-T to evaluate the quality of a website's content, and it's especially important for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics. These topics include health, finance, and education.

A website's E-A-T is determined by its expertise, which is the level of knowledge and experience in its field. Google looks for signals such as author credentials, publication dates, and updates to assess a website's expertise.

Authoritativeness is another key component of E-A-T. It refers to a website's reputation and credibility within its industry. Google considers factors like backlinks, reviews, and social media presence to determine a website's authoritativeness.

Trustworthiness is the final piece of the E-A-T puzzle. It's about a website's ability to provide accurate and unbiased information. Google looks for signals like transparency, user feedback, and reviews to assess a website's trustworthiness.

A website's E-A-T score can make or break its ranking in Google's search results. If a website has a high E-A-T score, it's more likely to rank higher. Conversely, a low E-A-T score can lead to lower rankings and reduced visibility.

RankBrain is Google's artificial intelligence that helps rank web pages. It considers various signals to determine the relevance of a website to a user's search.

Google tracks click-through rate (CTR) to see how many people click on your page after seeing it in search results. A higher CTR can boost your SERP ranking for that particular keyword.

Bounce rate is another important metric that Google uses to gauge user experience. If people click on your page and quickly go back to the search results, it's a sign that your content isn't relevant to their needs.

Dwell time, or the time visitors spend on your page, is also a key factor. The more time spent on your page, the higher the quality of your website ranks.

Google notices repeat traffic, which can significantly boost SEO rankings. If visitors come back to your site after the first visit, it's a good sign that your content is valuable and relevant.

Pages with lots of comments are a signal of user-friendliness and quality. If your content sparks discussions and engagement, it's a sign that you're doing something right.

Here are the key user experience signals that RankBrain considers:

By optimizing your titles, descriptions, and content to match the searcher's intent, you can boost your search engine ranking and improve user experience.

Optimizing for answer boxes is a key aspect of improving your Google search engine rankings. To achieve this, you need to answer questions, which is a crucial step.

Including the questions as headings with properly formatted title tags can help you rank better. This is more about that in the next tip, but it's essential to get it right.

Ensuring that the answers are correct, relevant, and not too long is also vital. You want to provide the most accurate and concise information possible.

Targeting content to keywords that already have answer boxes can increase your chances of getting featured. This means doing your research and identifying the right keywords to target.

Here are the key steps to optimizing for answer boxes:

Getting the "zero position" in answer boxes can be a double-edged sword. While it's great for brand recognition and traffic, it can also lead to fewer clicks through to your site.