6 top SEO ranking factors for 2019
Google uses about 200 ranking signals to decide the rankings of organic search pages. And though these factors may keep evolving, understanding new SEO requirements is the key to improving site traffic and conversions. Without the SEO process, your target audience will not be able to find you, rendering all your work meaningless.
So should you take all 200 of Google’s ranking factors into account in your SEO efforts? Not really, because not every signal used by Google is of equal importance. In fact, there’s only a handful of signals that you must absolutely nail down before sorting out everything else. Here are six of the most important search engine optimization ranking factors you need to focus your efforts on in 2019.
1. Website structure
The structure is the first thing to establish when setting up a website. Organize your website into subdirectories and have meaningful “slugs” in every URL. This lets Google know what your site is all about. Keep sorting new content into the subdirectories you created to create a systematic site structure that Google can easily follow.
2. Domain security
Purchase an SSL certificate for your website domain to maximize site security and encourage more sales. The HTTP at the start of any URL stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. Once you’ve upgraded your domain to the HTTPS version, Google will recognize your site to be secure and thus boost your SEO ranking.
3. Backlinks
These are links that lead back to your website from different places on the Internet. It’s crucial that your backlinks come from sources that are secure and highly relevant to the content of your site. Keep an eye on your inbound links – links from sites that are shady, or irrelevant to you can actually lower your website’s trust level as perceived by Google and hurt your rankings. Build quality backlinks by contributing guest posts to well-ranking sites and linking back to your own site, or by trading backlinks with websites you share similar authority with.
4. Keyword intent
Keyword optimisation is important for a successful Search Engine Marketing campaign. But what’s more important than the keyword itself is the intent behind it. The website that ranks the highest in a Google search isn’t necessarily the one that uses the exact matching keywords, it’s the website that best matches the intent behind those keywords.
5. Topic authority
Having lots of content published on one specific topic tells Google that you an expert on that particular topic. This increases the authority of your site and boosts your rankings.
6. Loading time
Faster website speeds increase user engagement and can help increase your website’s rankings. Use smaller file sizes when uploading media, compress photos before uploading them and use font sizes and types that won’t slow down your website.