Google Algorithm Ranking Factors For 2022

KBI Marketing began conducting a continuous study of Google’s algorithm 16 years ago, and for the last several years has published its results publicly. As the best SEO firm in the US, it has a sizable data set on which to base its understanding of the factors that comprise Google’s search algorithm.

Below is the 2022 update, along with a description of each factor and a summary of changes from the past year.

Search engines like Google use over 200+ website ranking factors in their algorithm!

Taking the most important and proven factors in Google rankings which are written below and let’s dive right into them :

1. Domain Authority (DA): The total number of external links pointing out to the website, weighted by their importance, it is given by MOZ and Google somewhat consider it in Rankings.

2. Page Authority (PA): The total number of internal pages linking to the website, weighted by their importance, and the same goes with this as it is made by MOZ, the higher the DA the greater will be the DA.

3. Meta description text (MDT): A brief summary of 155-160 characters that describes the content of a page, This helps search engines to understand what the content on a particular page is all about and to know the relevancy of the page, it also impact on click-through rate (CTR) and also plays a great role in Google Ranking Factors.

4. Keyword density (KDD): How many keywords are used per 100 words of keyword-rich content. For example, if you have 10 words in your meta description describing your product, but only 1 word for a keyword like “free shipping”, then this would be considered low KDD because it has very few keywords in it.

5. Anchor text (AST): A pointing out of a link is obviously more imporatant than just words. It’s usually a short sentence that explains the main point of the link and doesn’t use any special characters such as punctuation marks or dashes.

6. Internal Linking Domains (ILD): Links from internal domains to external ones, which can help you get backlinks from high authority sites like webmaster tools etc.

7. External Linking Domains (ELD): Links from external domains to internal ones, which have a a good page and domain rank,which are trustworthy and also increase visitors from other sites.

8. Keyword in Title (KTD): The specific words that you put into the title of a web page, blog, or directory. This should usually be your target keyword as it helps search engines better understand what the page is all about.It is the main aspect for SEO.

9. Keyword in URL (KU): The main keyword you would want to impressively use must be placed at the beginning of your domain URL and the URL should not be longer rather than pointing out the keyword, e.g. www.yoursite.com/best-seo-consultant-nyc.

10. Keyword in Content (KC): Your main keyword so-called primary keyword must be present in the main content of the page, most probably once per paragraph and a maximum of 2-3 times per sentence.

11. Keyword in H1 (KH1): The main heading of a page or a blog post is called the H1 tag and the main keyword must be written in the H1 tag of your page or blog post.

12. Keyword in H2 (KH2): If an H2 tag is present it shows that there are 2 posts on your site, then the main keyword has to be included in it.

13. Keyword in Bold (KB): If a word on your page is bold, then its main keyword.

14. Keyword in Italicized (KI): If a word on your page is italicized, then it is primary keyword.

15. Keyword in Bulleted List (KBL): The main keyword should be included in the bullet points of your list if you are using them. So if you have “Orange, Apple, Pear” in your list, then “Pear” is the main keyword.

16. Keyword in Image Alt text (KIA): Add an ALT (Alternate Text) attribute to your images to describe them in 150 characters or less. Search engines can display this if they can’t show the image for some reason. Your main keyword should be included if it appears anywhere on the page.

17. Domain Name Age (DNA): Older domain names like google.com tend to have more trust and authority than newer ones like latestSEO.com. This metric isn’t a clear indication of a website’s success, but it’s still important to take into account,Google also said it doesn’t matter anymore if Domain is older or newer.

18. Domain Name Length (DNL): The longer the domain name the better, as it shows that the site has been around for a long time and has had time to build trust with its audience.

19. Domain Name: The simpler the better, because a page with a long domain name tends to lose out on user trust and user experience compared to a page with a short one like “yoursite.com” compared to “yourwebsite.com”.

20. Unique Text on Page (UTP): This metric measures how much unique text is on any given web-page, so a unique title and description is far better than a title and description copied from another source,which may also cause other problems.

21. Social Media (SOC):This measures the amount of social activity that a site has, like how many Facebook likes, Tweets, etc. The more social activity the better,Social media shares play good role in SEO point of view.

22. Secondary Keyword in Title (SKT): If you have secondary keywords that are important on your page then include them in your title and make them bold. For example “Best SEO Services in Oslo” would be a secondary keyword, this is when you’re using multiple keywords for a single page.

23. Number of Outbound Links (NOL): A site with a high number of outbound links tends to lose users trust, because there are so many chances for advertising to other sites. This doesn’t directly hurt your site, but it can make a difference with some metrics.

24. H1-H6 Tags (HHT): The H tags are a part of the HTML code that tell search engines what a page is all about, which is why it is best to use them properly and to add main keyword in them. Using different H tags for different headers on your page makes it looks like you’ve created a well structured site.

25. Site’s Purpose (SPA): Is the site’s purpose to make users money? Then it’s commercial. Is the site’s purpose to help users find information? Then it’s informational. Is the site’s purpose to entertain users? Then it’s entertainment. If a site has multiple purposes then all of them need to be identified.

26. STORYFUL Score (SSC): This score is awarded to a site if the majority of the content on it is from a trusted source, like an established news company. The higher the score, the more reliable the content is.

27. LSI Keywords (LSI): LSI stands for Latent Semantic Indexing, and is used in modern search engines to find related keywords to what you are searching for. This metric shows the relationship between your keywords and other related ones.

28. Use of Numbers in Title (NIT): Search Engines seem to favor pages with numbers in their titles over those without, like “Top 10 Universities in Germany” instead of “Top German Universities”. Using numbers in your titles can boost your ranking.

29. Use of Question in Title (QUA): Sites that use question in their titles like “Who is the Best Footballer in World?” tend to do better than sites that don’t for some reason.

30. Number of Words on Page (NWO): The more words on your page, the better as long as they’re relevant to each other. Having a page full of text with 1,000 words on Seattle SEO and another page full of text with 10,000 words on how knots are tied is meaningless if the search engine’s algorithm doesn’t know that and if your competitor is having 2,000 word post then you must have double of that i.e,4,000.

31. Use of Keyword in URL (UQU): If possible try to include your keyword in the URL, like “www.seo-specialists.com” instead of just “www.seo-specialist.com”. This doesn’t always work, but if it does it can be an easy way to boost your rankings,the shorter the URL the better it is.

32. Number of Images (NIQ): Having more than 1 image on a page is generally considered to be bad for SEO, as search engines can’t read the images and therefore can’t index them. Having no images would get you a 0, but having more than 1 image generally gets a penalty. The higher the number, the worse but if your competitor is having Images then you must add Image more than him/her.

34. Mobile Versions (MOB): Having a mobile version of your website gives your site a small trust factor boost, as this means it is forward-thinking enough to be accessible on all devices. Having a better ranking than competitors is a big gain, so if you care about such things you may want to make the effort of creating a mobile version of your site, it plays a great role in Google Ranking Factors and you can also check it on Google Search Console.

35. Use of Stock Photos (USP): Using stock photos that are directly keyword-stuffed will hurt your ranking, but having a few scattered throughout your site generally won’t do anything to help it.

36. Having a Blog (BLOG): Having an official blog for your site, written by actual people and not a simple “company profile” gives your site a major trust and visitors’ boost. Expect to invest significantly more time into this though, as posts need to be regularly written and it can’t just be about your company. Contribute to related discussions, write about current events or other topics. You are a person with thoughts and opinions too, right?

37. Forum Posts (FPO): Writing posts on industry related forums, discuss current events and topics that are relevant to your industry. This helps people to know what’s happening in the current time, find your profile and helps build trust and links back to your site. Be sure to sign with your domain name so that people can find you more easily.

38. Company History (CHI): how long has your company been in business? The longer, the better and helps people to understand the background of your company.

39. Types of Media (TPM): Having a good amount of video, flash, images or other types of multimedia on your site helps build trust. It makes people think that you’re actively investing in your company and your website.

40. Advertisements (ADV): Do you advertise on the internet, in newspapers, or on TV? The more you advertise, the more people know about you, and the more likely they are to trust you and your website.

41. Blog Topics (BLT): How wide is the variety of topics your blog writes about? The more variation the better it is for user convenience.

42. Press Releases (PRS): Does your company issue press releases about major events or announcements? You should try to write a few of these to build up your brand, but don’t try to spam by putting out a lot of fake ones.

43. Industry Awards (AWD): Have you won any major industry awards? If so, list them on your website. If you haven’t, try to win some. Nothing sells a company better than an award, and potential clients will instantly recognize the brand and it will reassure them that they are dealing with a quality business.

44. Linking to Offline Resources (LOR): Are you known for linking to your flagship store in your website footer? Perhaps you have a Youtube Channel with videos of your store? Potential customers can instantly see that by trusting you online, they can save time and money by doing business with you offline.

45. Grammar and Spelling (GMS): Unfriendly grammar and spelling make a company look unprofessional. Hire someone to check over your content to make sure it’s free of these mistakes and it is also not good for SEO persepective.

46. Use of Popular Keywords (UMP): Using words and phrases that are searched for a lot helps to bring a lot of traffic, but if it doesn’t look natural, then you might get some suspicious users to your site. Use this tactic very carefully.

47. Compliance with Local and Federal Laws (LCFL): Do you have a copy of your business license posted on your website?If not then post as soon as possible as it attracts users.

48. Website Speed (WS): Is your website fast enough? People want to buy from companies that are quick and easy to deal with,higher the speed more will be the traffic instantly.

49. Contact Information (CIR): List all the contact information you have available such as phone numbers, email addresses, and physical locations. This way potential customers can reach you quickly via telephone or email if necessary.

50. Social Media Presence (SPN): What kind of social media presence do you have? Some things to consider include Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn. These are great ways to market yourself and gain new customers.

51. Site Navigation (NS): Are there clear links between pages on your website?As these help users to jump on other pages through your site easier and faster when searching for something specific.

52. Privacy Policy (PL): A privacy policy is required by law before anyone can use your services. Make sure yours is comprehensive and accurate!

53. Terms of Service (TOR): These terms are used to set forth what type of service a user may receive when using a particular website or application. They also provide legal protection for the company in case of disputes that arise between the parties involved with their respective websites or applications.

54. About Us (ABU): This should describe who you are as a company, along with any interesting information about your company and the history of how it started.

55. Contact Form (CF): This is another must-have on any website. Make sure the form captures the necessary information such as name, email address, and message.

56. Knowledge Base (KB): Do you have an internal database of FAQs and how to’s that your customers can reference? You should!

57. BBB Rating (BBB): While not everything can be avoided, if you have a reasonable complaint record with the BBB, then you’ll seem like a more trustworthy company and if you have not shared the share it as soon as possible as it will enhance organic traffic.

58. Customer Reviews (CR): Are your customers allowed to leave reviews?If not then allow them Customer reviews can either make or break your business. Be sure to respond promptly to both positive and negative comments, these reviews decide that whether a user is going to buy something or not.

59. Media Mentions (MMS): Have you been mentioned in any articles in newspapers, magazines, or online blogs? If so, make sure to collect and display these mentions as awards and testimonials.

60. Website Update (WU): If your website is more than a year old, it might be time for an update as it will let Google come for crawling and indexing.

61. Reputation (REP): Is your business starting to gain a reputation in the marketplace? This can take time but if managed correctly, it can be a very powerful tool and a lot cheaper than traditional advertising!

62. Online Mentions (OM): People talk, and that’s especially true with online reviews. Are people talking about your business on any forums or review sites?

63. Number of Pages (NP): The more content you have on your website, the longer it will take for someone to navigate through all of it. Try to break up your site into multiple pages if necessary.

64. How responsive is your website? (RESP): People don’t like waiting around for pages to load. A site should never take more than 3 seconds to load. Try to keep it under 1 if possible.

65. How often are you updating your website? (UPDT): As with any website, it has to be updated regularly if you want it to be successful. At least once every two months is recommended.

66. Is your site compatible with mobile devices? (MP): Since more people are browsing the web on their phones nowadays, your site must be easily viewable and usable on smartphones and the traffic on mobile is growing more and more.

67. Whereas previously, the concept of creating hubs of interlinked pages focused on the same keyword was tied into Consistent Publication of Engaging Content, Keywords in Meta Title Tags, and Internal Links, this year it warrants its own category: Niche Expertise

68. Mobile-friendliness lost one percentage point, mostly because Google assumes mobile-friendliness and now only penalizes sites that have made no efforts in this area

69. Keywords in meta titles increased by one percentage point, further cementing the importance of a well-thought-out keyword strategy that responds to visitors’ search intent

70. Social signals continued their decline, seemingly counterintuitively. Our team believes this is because Google tracks so much data about its users that it doesn’t need to rely on social data as much as it once expected

Conclusion:

The complex program that Google’s algorithm once was has settled into a shorter list of factors that require attention but not obsession. Owing to its continued eradication of low-quality SEO—an effort that first took shape in 2009 and is now all but complete—Google is much better able to fulfill its mission of creating the best possible search experience for its users by serving those users fast, relevant, and high-quality search results. What this means for marketers is that you must have a system around SEO and content production that is both organized and intentional, with each post targeting a different keyword that a member of your target audience would search. Each post should be the best treatment of the subject you can possibly deliver. From there, links, mentions, high engagement, and other important algorithm factors should accrue in your favor.