With more than 67,000 searches being performed on Google per second, the search engine accounts for over 79% of the global desktop and mobile traffic. Basically, this means that your website needs to rank on the first page of Google, in order to be successful – consider this, 75% of internet users never scroll past the first page! While it may sound simple, there are many SEO ranking factors that you will need to consider, if you wish to score well in Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). After all, nobody wants a position on those often ignored, second or third pages.
Google applies a total of 200 factors to determine the ranking of your website. Below, we have picked out the ten SEO ranking factors of 2019 that play an essential role in propelling you to the top of the results.
With careful analysis and application of these factors, you can rank higher, while enhancing the user experience for your visitors. Not only will this help in lead generation, but you will also observe an exponential increase in your sales and revenue.
1. Highly Secure Websites – HTTPS
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a virtual transfer process that brings in information from a website to your browser. It has a safer variant called HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) that Google announced as a ranking factor back in 2014.
This advanced protocol signals to Google that all information on your website is safe to view.
In 2017, Google further emphasized its importance, by flagging non-HTTPS sites as “not secure.” This lead to an increase in the bounce rates of websites that hadn’t made the transition.
Here is what websites that implement HTTPS look like, versus the ones that are still on HTTP.
Source: Hackercombat
2. Mobile Friendly Interface
Improved mobile interfaces were brought to light in 2015.
With 50% of consumers admitting a partiality to businesses with a mobile-friendly website, it has become essential to prioritize this SEO ranking factor.
Furthermore, Google has turned its mobile-first index into reality. This means that the search engine now displays results from mobile optimized search results first. If your website isn’t responsive to mobile users, you could be left in the cold – at least where SEO is concerned.
3. Page Response Speeds
Starting from July 2018, page speed became an important SEO ranking factor of 2019 –, especially in mobile searches. In short, this factor also helps in retaining visitors and ultimately improves your bottom line.
The page response speed refers to how fast your website loads and response. Several on-page elements contribute to this speed, with 8.6 seconds being the international average.
Using many uncompressed images and other complex media can cause your website to lag. In such a case, visitors generally lose interest, and 40% leave within 3 seconds if the website fails to load.
Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure that your website is optimized to respond quickly – even on mobile platforms.
4. Improved UX
For optimal SEO rankings, you will need to provide an outstanding user experience. This means high-quality content laid out attractively to retain visitors.
Google has taken things a step further by incorporating artificial intelligence into the mix – RankBrain. This uses multiple metrics like CTR (Click Through Rate), bounce rate, and time on site to determine which websites offer a better user experience, and ranks them accordingly.
5. Meta Tags
These underused elements of your content management system (CMS) can prove to be efficient SEO tactics, leading to a high rank for your website.
Meta Tags help Google determine the purpose of your website, and what individual pages offer. When optimized with the right keywords, these can prove to be powerful SEO ranking factors in 2019.
Three important meta tags are title tag, meta description, and Image Alt Text.
You can see what meta tags look like below.
6. Relevant Backlinks
Also called inbound links, these elements continue to be important SEO ranking factors in 2019.
When external domains backlink to your website, it develops your reputation as an authoritative figure in the niche. This leads Google to acknowledge you as a trusted source of information. As a result, improve your rank on the SERPs accordingly.
7. Highly Optimized Content
You’ve probably heard of this one a gazillion times. However, it still isn’t enough to emphasize the importance of high quality, optimized content for your SEO efforts.
Since Google’s algorithms depend on keywords, you absolutely HAVE to make smart use of them in your content. There is no other way to this.
Notice how we said ‘smart’ use of keywords?
Google now ranks your website based on the context and intent of the keyword, not just its frequent appearance. The ‘exact match’ feature now ensures that high ranking websites don’t just include the right keywords repeatedly; they also need to have quality content to offer to visitors.
8. Schema Markup
This is yet another mostly undiscovered SEO ranking factor in 2019.
Schemas are HTML (HyperText Markup Language) tags that tell search engines more about your website, for better identification of information. They encourage search engines to display your content in rich card entries, besides the Answer Box.
Webmaster Tools claim that “These projects help you to surface your content more clearly or more prominently in search results” – which would directly lead to increased traffic.
9. High-Quality Content Structuring
Since visitors can usually find relevant information on multiple websites, to be able to stand out and rank high on the SERPs, you will need excellent structuring to support your content.
This includes main headers, and then a further division of information under various subheadings. Additionally, the use of bullet points, numbered lists, and proper citations increase the readability and relevance of your content.
10. Proper Business Information
If you run a business that targets particular geographical locations, this SEO ranking factor is crucial for your website.
When you have detailed business information present on your website, search engines display it like this:
This gives users a brief overview of your business and assures them of your authenticity.
With careful analysis and application of these factors, you can rank higher in SERPs – while also creating an enhanced user experience for your website visitors.
To incorporate these into your marketing strategies, let Noah Digital take the reins. Not only will we help you improve lead and sales generation, but you will also achieve a polished SEO strategy like no other.
