On-page factors
Keyword in page title - besides page content, title tag is the second most important ranking
signal. Learn how to improve
content quality, including writing great headlines for great SEO.
Title tag starting with a keyword - according to Moz.com, title tag which starts with keywords
performs better than title tags ending with a keyword.
Keyword in description tag - another signal which does not influence ranking that much is meta
tag description, but it still makes a difference if used properly. If you have a sensible
description tag with keywords, the odds are that users will find you via SERP.
Keyword in H1 tag - H1 is another relevance signal for Google. Make sure that H1 tag draws
user’s attention to read page content. Tip: do not use more than one H1 tag per page.
Page keyword - if you want a website to rank good for a keyword, it needs to be used more
frequently than other words on the page. This is a clear signal for Google that the page is relevant
for a search result.
Content length - web pages with longer content are often ranked better than pages with shorter
content. Content length is directly connected with positions in SERP. Of course, the only condition
is that content is of good quality and relevance.
Keyword density - this factor serves for Google to detrmine the topic of the page. A keyword
should not be repeated too much in the text; content should be as natural as possible and
user-friendly. Frequent repetitions can lead to unwanted effects and Google penalty.
Keyword latent semantic indexing (LSI) - this SEO term signifies connected keywords or
synonyms which appear in the text with the goal to better define the keyword. If one searches for a
keyword ‘apple’, this term does not give out information about whether it is the fruit or the brand
one is searching for. Based on LSI keywords within the text, search engines decide on a page’s
relevance for a certain query.
LSI keywords in title and description tags - the aforementioned applies here as well – LSI
keywords help Google differentiate between synonyms.
Page loading speed - one of Google’s ranking factors. Spiders can establish site speed based
on a page’s code and file size.
Duplicate content - refers to content parts similar to or the same as on the rest of the
domain itself or on some other domains. This can impact ranking very badly.
Canonical tag - an HTML tag which can prevent duplicate content emergence. As it often happens
on dynamic sites, there are more versions of one and the same web page on different URL addresses.
If you use canonical tag properly, you can avoid an unwanted
penalty.
Loading speed in Google Chrome web browser - Google can also use data obtained from Chrome
users in order to get a better insight into page loading speed. It takes into consideration signals
such as server response speed, content delivery network (CDN), and the like.
Image optimization - images on the page are an important on-page signal since Google takes
into consideration ranking parameters such as file title, alt text, title, and heading. You need to
create as descriptive data possible to help browsers understand what kind of image it is and offer
it in search results.
Content update intensity - after Google caffeine algorithm update was rolled
out in 2009, which significantly improved the speed and manner of content indexing, content updates
became a significant ranking factor, especially for time-based searches. It is clear that Google
shows publication date in some posts so users, having in mind that data, could evaluate content
relevance. This factor also covers content freshness on both new and existing pages.
Content update ratio - another freshness factor is the importance of changes made. It is more
important to change and remove entire sections than replace just a few words.
Page update history - how often was the page updated during a time period, daily, weekly,
annually or biannually? The frequency of page updates also plays an important role in freshness.
Keyword prominence - how often the keyword was used in the first 100 words on the page can be
a significant relevance signal.
Keyword in H2 and H3 tags - having a keyword in H2 and H3 page subtitles is another ranking
signal with questioning relevance.
Keyword word order - a keyword which appears as an exact match on a page will rank better than
in combination with another key phrase in different order. Keyword
research is what plays an important role here.
Outbound link quality - many an SEO expert consider that links coming from high-authority
sites help in obtaining trust from Google.
Outbound link topic - search engines can use content from pages you link to as a signal of
relevance. Outbound links help Google in understanding better the subject and general sense of the
page.
Grammar and spelling (orthography) - this is another signal for quality content.
Content syndication - is page content original? If it is copied from other indexed pages, it
will not rank well or it will end up in replacement index for duplicate content.
Useful resources - according to Google’s general guidelines, websites which list additional
resources indicate that their pages are of good quality. An example of this type of content can be
currency converters, interactive recipes, etc.
Number of external links - too great a number of ‘dofollow’ links can harm page ranking and
its visibility during search.
Multimedia content - images, videos, and other multimedia content can be considered a content
quality signal.
Number of internal links to the page - the number of internal links towards a page means that
it is more important than other pages on the site.
Quality of internal links to the page - links coming from pages with higher authority and PR
(PageRank) have more powerful and bigger effect than pages with weaker authority.
Broken links - if you have too many broken links to a page, this could mean that a site is
unreliable and abandoned. This is another page quality factor listed in Google
Guidelines.
Page readability level - it is still not quite clear how Google uses this factor.
Nevertheless, according to SEO experts, readability level is a factor which leaves low-quality
websites behind high-quality sites.
Affiliate links - links coming from your business partners will not harm your ranking but, if
there are too many of them, Google can start considering your parameters in order to determine site
quality.
HTML errors - if you have too many errors in HTML code, this can indicate that the site is of
low quality. Many SEO experts believe that W3C validation is weak and insignificant quality
signal.
Domain host authority - one and the same page will have different authority on different
sites.
Page Rank (PR) - – this is not the most significant factor but, basically, pages with higher
PageRank do better than pages with lower.
URL length - long URLs can influence search visibility in a negative way.
URL slug - a page closer to the homepage will be of higher authority.
Human editors - even though it has never been officially confirmed, Google has a
patent-pending system which enables human editors to influence search results.
Page category - a page which is a part of a closely connected category should get more
relevance than a page without or with weak connection to a category.
WordPress tags - tags are relevance signal for sites on this platform.
Keyword in URL - another important signal/factor.
URL strings - Google can read categories in URL strings which signalize what the page is
about.
References and resources - if a page demands it, listing resources and references can signal
quality.
Ordered vs unordered lists - ordered lists help readers get a clearer picture of content,
making it friendlier. Google agrees that it may prefer listed content.
Sitemap page priority - page priority parameter which can be dedicated in XML sitemap can
influence ranking.
Too many external links - according to Google quality guidelines, pages with too many links
distract users from the main content, and this is bad for ranking.
Quantity of keywords the page is ranked for - if a page is ranked good for a few keywords,
this can be a quality signal for Google.
Page age - even though Google prefers fresh content, older pages which are updated on a
regular basis can top newer pages.
User-adjusted layout - pages with good element layout, design and user experience (UX) are
another indicator of quality. Google always chooses the users.
Parked domains - Google’s algorithm update from 2011 had influenced parked domain visibility.
This algorithm was intended for automated detection of parked domains.
Content usability - another ranking factor. Google can sometimes differentiate between useful
and quality content.
