What are ranking factors?
According to Google, automated ranking systems look at many factors and signals about hundreds of billions of pages to present the most relevant and useful results. A single factor rarely decides. How much a signal counts also depends on the query: for news, freshness matters more than for a definition.
In search engine optimisation, these signals are called ranking factors. Much of this is documented by Google, some of it is derived from observation, and some is myth.
The five groups of factors according to Google
In its explanation “How Search works”, Google summarises the factors in five groups:
- Meaning of the query: what does the searcher mean? Language models recognise intent, synonyms and spelling mistakes.
- Relevance of content: does the content match the query? According to Google, the most basic signal is that the page contains the words of the query, for example in headings or the body text.
- Quality of content: does the content show expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness? Links from prominent websites are one indication.
- Usability of the page: is the page accessible, easy to use on a smartphone and quick to load?
- Context and settings: location, language, search history and search settings influence what is most relevant for the individual.
Important ranking systems
Google has described some of its systems publicly. Among the best known are:
- BERT, RankBrain and neural matching: understand language and relate terms and concepts to one another.
- Passage ranking: identifies individual sections of a page that answer a question particularly well.
- Link analysis and PageRank: evaluate how pages link to one another; see backlinks for more.
- Freshness: favours newer content when timeliness matters for the query.
- Reliable information: surfaces authoritative sources and demotes low-quality content; see YMYL for topics with high requirements.
- Reviews: rewards reviews with original analysis and research.
- Spam detection: identifies violations of the spam policies, such as keyword stuffing, and demotes the affected pages.
Common myths
- “There are exactly 200 ranking factors.” The number goes back to earlier statements by Google. Today Google no longer gives a number and does not publish a complete list.
- “A certain keyword density brings rankings.” There is no ideal keyword density. Excessive repetition actually does harm.
- “More text ranks better.” Length is not a goal. A text should be as long as the topic requires.
- “Ranking factors apply equally to every search.” The weighting depends on the query. What counts in a local search differs from a product search.
What you can influence yourself
You have no influence on the meaning of the query or the context of the searcher, but you do on the other groups:
- Relevance: with a keyword analysis and content that answers your target group’s questions.
- Quality: with your own expertise, traceable sources, recognisable authors and unique content.
- Usability: with fast loading times, mobile usability and clean technology; see technical SEO.
- Findability: with internal linking and correct indexing, because what Google cannot find cannot rank.
Would you like to know which factors offer the biggest lever for your website? Then get in touch with us or read more about our SEO analysis!
