Top Ten Factors for Ranking in Google in 2011: How is Google Determining Your Rankings?

As an SEO provider, we are often asked about the ever-evolving algorithm used by Google to determine ranking on search phrases. The following factors are very important in search rankings.

Keywords
Domain
URL structure
Canonical URLs and 301 Permanent Redirects
Meta tags optimization
Content
Anchor text/internal linking
Back-links
Social reputation
Conversion and click through rates

Choosing the Right Keywords

Keyword choice is arguably the most important factor in search ranking. When a website is launched on the internet and submitted to search engines, the search engine robots visit the pages of your site that they can find via links in your navigation, trying to decipher what the site is about. They do this by looking for words or phrases that repeat or are programmatically made significant throughout the site, and these are referred to as keywords. The search engine indexes the pages of the site based on these keywords. When people search for these keywords the site should appear at the top in the search engine results. The only problem is that there are millions of other websites using the same keywords to attract searchers. To prioritize sites with similar keywords, search engines use links from other sites in the same way a person would use referrals. Thus, a combination of using keywords on the web pages that will attract targeted visitors and using these same keywords in the text of links pointing back to the website is the core of the search engine algorithm. Choosing keywords that are perhaps less competitive but still result in significant numbers of searches is optimum for faster ranking results.

Domain: Domain Authority and Domain Trust

The domain authority of a website is based on a number of factors such as its age and how many trusted inbound links point to it. It is one of the most important factors in search ranking. It gives Google an idea about how long the domain has been in business, how long it will stay in business, and how many other companies refer to pages on its site.

URL Structure

The URL structure of a website is one of the most important factors in search ranking. The best ranking URLs are usually 3-5 words long, with words separated by a dash or underscore, and keywords used in the URL. URLs are case-sensitive, and the file extension should be one easily read by search engines, such as HTML, PHP or ASP.

Cononical URLs and 301 Permanent Redirects

Even thought a website is hosted only once, it may appear to search engines as duplicate content on different URLs. An example of this is the WWW subdomain being indexed AND the non-WWW subdomain also indexed. The problem search engines have with this is that they don’t know which version to exclude from their indexes, or which version should get the link “juice” and thus rank in search results. As a result, sites can suffer lower rankings. The problem can be fixed by inserting a

canonical URL tag in the HTML header of the web page. This works almost the same way a permanent 301 redirect works, letting the search engines know that duplicate content exists, and which version should be indexed. Certain types of websites are particularly prone to duplicate content. Examples are content management systems such as Joomla and the Drupal Shopping Cart.

Meta Tag Optimization

Using the keywords in page titles, page descriptions, headers, links, alternate text for images, and visible content on the page also factors in search rankings. These clues help the search engines determine the keywords they should use to display each web page.

Content

To be seen in search results, Google must index web pages. The more pages known and indexed in Google, the more likely the website will appear in search results. Search engines want to display unique, fresh content to searchers, so keeping the site updated and posting new information regularly is very beneficial. It is also important for all content to be readable by a search engine spider in order for it to be indexed. Therefore, content contained in FLASH, videos, images, etc. should be repeated as text.

Back Links

The number and type of other website’s pages that link to a website increases the site’s authority and rankings. For instance links from .gov and .edu sites seem to have a higher weight in the algorithm than links from .com sites. In addition, links from the same server have no value, and links from very trusted sites have a higher value.

Anchor Text and Internal Linking

Anchor text, or the visible text on a link, acts like a referral. Back links using keywords in the anchor text from trusted sites raise search ranking on these keywords. Links with a rel=”nofollow” attribute are not as powerful but still help in ranking. If the links point to internal pages that are specifically about that keyword, they work even better. In the same way, having a great navigation structure linking all the pages of the site via keywords factors in search rankings. Keyword-rich text links in the content are also important for the same reason.

Social Media Popularity

Search engines now treat tweets, retweets, Facebook likes, LinkedIn group comments and others as a factor in rankings. The website’s social visibility is now a factor in its quality and trustworthiness. If a website has a large LinkedIn, Facebook or blog following, these links will likely happen naturally as visitors share information on social sites. Therefore, writing a quality Facebook or blog post using keywords will garner links and raise search ranking.

Conversion and Click Through Rates

As many websites begin using Google Analytics, and more and more usability data is available across the web, it makes sense that search engines would want to show the most popular and successful web pages for a keyword search. Therefore, if an ad or webpage gets a lot of traffic, and especially if that traffic results in a conversion or sale, search engines will continually raise it in their rankings. Since paid search adds to the number of visitors a website receives, it is also an important factor in search rankings.

Should you have further questions, don’t hesitate to contact a Boomtown representative.