What factors do you think will put a website at the top of Google searches? In this article, we want to introduce you to 7 factors to improve your Google ranking in 2020.
You probably know that Google has more than 200 components to rank a website. As surprising as this number may be, reading them all may be a little scary, yet very helpful.
You don’t need to do all of these 200 things to your website in the best possible way to improve your website SEO. That’s why in this article, we’re going to show you seven key factors in Google’s 2020 rankings based on studies by websites such as SearchMetrics, Backlinko, and SEO PowerSuite. Note, however, that focusing on these seven factors should not become a reason to ignore other factors influencing website ranking.
1. Get valid links
For about a few years now, we’ve been hearing talk about reducing the importance of backlinks in every corner of the web. But even though we are in 2020, backlinks continue to be one of the most important signals of excellence and representation to Google.
Of course, a simple backlink from a reputable website alone cannot affect your SEO. To create backlinks, you need to follow some tips to improve your SEO. Otherwise, those same backlinks will drop your rank. Now let’s see what these tips and factors are influential in link building.
Link Score
How can Google turn the complex concept of backlinks into a measurable ranking factor?
Google has pointed out in several different guides the process to help measure called Link Score. This number is obtained from the quality score of each of the inbound links plus the number of links given to the website.
You can see that the number of links is an important issue in this rating. However, you will not be able to create spam and low-value links in 2020 to increase your score. In the past, low-quality links were not considered to increase your site’s ranking, but today, despite algorithms, these links can penalize and reduce your website’s ranking.
How to measure the quality of links?
Calculating the quality of links is a bit complicated. While we know that the PageRank algorithm is still one of Google’s ranking factors in 2020, the general version is no longer available to the public. In contrast, you can use the Moz link explorer tool to measure domain validity and website page credibility. Moz pays a lot of attention to the value of your website’s links for scoring in this tool.
The connection is inverted
Another factor is checking for the validity of the backlinks of your website and anchor text. Like text content on your web pages, anchors provide a lot of information to Google.
When creating links, keep the Google algorithms in the corner of your mind so you don’t forget that the text of the links should be varied and natural. Why? Because when you use the same word or phrase for the text of most links, the algorithm realizes that the link is not that important as it is repeating.
But how do we diversify the text of the links and what is a good balance?
In fact, there is no clear and comprehensive answer to this question. However, various sources have stated various ratios.
How to optimize
Monitor the SEO status of competitors.
Examining competitors is a good way to understand the links you want and how long it takes to produce them. To do this, you need a tool that allows you to review and compare links with multiple criteria.
The SEO SpyGlass tool with the domain comparison module can help you in this regard.
In the first step, run this tool and create a project for your website. Then go to the Domain Comparison step and add your main competitors one after the other. In the blink of an eye, you will be able to compare all the details of your website links with those of your competitors.
In addition to the above tools, the link explorer tool of Moz in the free version shows a number of backlinks from your competitors and shows interesting statistics about the history of the link building.
2. SEO your content
Google has talked about content quality so much that we all know that content is always one of the most important factors in ranking Google, but the main question is what factors does Google looks for to determine the quality of content? Well, we suggest you consider the two factors that we will introduce below.
Use keywords
The use of keywords in the title of the content is the most important part of the SEO content (it is better if the keywords are at the beginning of the title). Then Meta Description, although the weight of ranking is lower. Then use the keywords in the internal titles, and at the same time be aware that the H1 tag, as it is of the highest importance and weights much higher compared to other heading tags.
In the end, you shouldn’t forget to use keywords in the body of the content, but not with too many annoying ones!
Content length
In its recommendations for content quality, Google points out that the size and volume of content on a page affect the rank of the page.
If so, what is the ideal volume for content? Or how many words should the content be to be considered high quality? The amount of content needed to satisfy a page depends on the subject and the purpose of that page.
For example, the number of words suitable for content with the keyword SEO training may be considered to be an average of 5,000 words, but for content with the keyword building links, 2000 thousand words may be enough. The number of words in the content should be such that the full text is explained and not overused at the same time, but in general, we recommend that you do not use very short articles with less than 500 words to optimize a website in 2020.
How to optimize
A tool called Website Auditor allows you to check the pages of your website in terms of the number of keywords and the length of the content. It also uses the TF-IDF algorithm to check that your pages are comprehensive in content and offer recommendations for improving them compared to your best competitors.
To get started, download and run the Website Auditor and create a project. Now specify the page you are looking to optimize and enter your target keywords. Then compare the important factors and how to use keywords on your page with the web pages of one of the competitors. See how competitors keep all of Google’s ranking factors in 2020 on their web pages.
In the next step, compare the number of words on the body of your web page with competitors.
Finally, go to the TF-IDF algorithm dashboard and find the list of words that most of your top competitors use. Also, use the tips that this tool gives you for optimizing pages.
Now it’s time to apply the changes to your web pages. Go to the Content Editor section and get as close as possible to the optimized level. Once you’ve done that, click the Save button at the top right and pick up an optimized HTML page. This page is ready to be uploaded on your website!
3. Optimize your website technically
The technical infrastructure of your website has an important relationship with SEO. Yes, it’s true that your website should be healthy and flawless in every way, but the two factors of speed and responsiveness of the website are more important than others.
Web pages speed
Google expects web pages to load in three seconds or less and has officially announced that speed is an important signal in ranking.
In addition, high speed has a big impact on UX (user experience). The user never tolerates a slow page and exits quickly, so slower pages have a higher bounce rate and lower-ranking in user-to-customer conversion rate.
But why is the speed of a website low?
The main reasons for a slow website are unsigned CSS scripts, images, files, and low-quality hosts.
Responsive website
If your web pages aren’t optimized for smartphones, you will never see them in Google’s top search results. Since more than half of Google searches are done via mobile phones.
Google said that the mobile-friendliness of a website is a factor in ranking and has been stressed upon in Mobile-First Index Algorithm.
How to optimize
To make sure your website is accepted in Google’s mobile test and speed test, go to the Content Analysis tab and then Page Audit in the same Website Auditor software and select Technical Factors. Now look at the Page Usability and Page Speed sections and click on each of the options related to the error status to find out the details and how to fix the error.
In addition, for a more detailed review of the responsiveness of a website, see the responsive checker website and its Gtmetrix.
4. Don’t forget the user experience and its behaviours
Until just 6 years ago, Google ranked different websites and ranked pages according to a series of predetermined factors at the web level. But over time, webmasters and SEO experts have been able to identify fraudulent Google algorithms, cheat and cause Google a lot of problems.
It was here that user behaviour became the focus of Google’s attention, and most of the factors were based on the user; Google’s decision had a huge impact on search results and was able to remove many fraudulent websites.
Even Google tried to get closer to human language and conceptual and conversational phrases by introducing algorithms like BERT.
The debate over the use of behavioural factors in website rankings has continued for several years. However, Google believes that users that are searching are the best judges. For this reason, if they choose a specific search result, it is likely that the result will be appropriate or at least more appropriate than others.
Click-through rate
Click-through Rate on search engine results pages (SERP) is another factor in Google’s ranking in 2020, which Google derives from user behaviour. This phrase means the number of times a link has been clicked, compared to the number of times users have seen it in Google results.
Numerous data have been recorded by Google to focus on CTR as a ranking signal. A study by the SearchMetrics website shows that CTR is the highest-ranking factor among web pages.
How to optimize
The first factor in reviewing web pages is the click-through rate on search engine results pages. To do this, go to Google Search Console and go to the Search Analytics section. Then select Clicks, Impressions, CTR and Position.
While the average CTR varies depending on the type of search, you can expect a score of 50% or higher for first page results.
If the result is low and unacceptable CTR, you need to optimize the page. Check that if the link was in the results of the second, third, or lower pages, bring it to higher pages by external and internal link building, as well as content updates, and if your link was on the first page, to increase the click-through rate, title, and meta descriptions more efficient changes that you want to make and, of course, make them more attractive.
Useful content
Users’ behaviour clearly distinguishes useful content from content that is solely for advertising purposes. When you search for a keyword in a Google search article, you’ll find 10 websites on the first page.
You will probably click on one of the first ones. But after logging in, you will see that all the content of the article is only intended to encourage you to purchase a certain product or training course. As a result, click the back browser button and return to the results page and open another website. In this case, the first website has caused a pogo Sticking. Now, if Google sees that other users are repeating the same thing, they will find that the first website has poor quality content, or at least is not useful to users, and will gradually reduce its ranking.
Well, now the situation is clear:
With the help of its artificial intelligence, Google checks the click-through rate of a site, the rate of their jump and the amount of pogo-sticking, and easily removes quality content from low-quality content. So to optimize your website in 2020, it’s best to focus on content quality rather than just SEO content and pages.
Note: The effect of technical issues on user behaviour
In the previous section, we mentioned points such as the responsiveness of the website, appropriate speed, appearance, and so on. Remember that even your engaging and useful content will not allow the user to wait a few minutes for your website to load, so in order to have a better SEO in 2020, focus on the points that affect the user experience.
5. Brand
The next important point in the ranking is the subject of the brand and the audience’s awareness of your brand. From Google’s point of view, a website deserves to be on the front pages when the audience is interested. This means that the only way for the audience to enter your website is not to just search on Google. A number of users must also log in directly to your website.
But how does Google know about the strength and popularity of your brand?
- Brand Search: If your website is a reputable source of content, a number of users who have visited it once will still be there to see your interesting content. These users, who are called return visitors, return to the website, search for its name in Google, and log in. You can see the number of these users in the search console panel of the website.
- Direct user login: Some other returned users, instead of searching for your brand, enter the website’s address and enter it directly. The statistics of these direct inputs are also a signal of the popularity of your brand for Google (check the number of these users through the Google Analytics tool).
- Talking about the brand at the web level: According to Google, just as links are given to reputable websites at the web level, they should also be talked about their brand and their name or URL should be written on a certain social network, forum, article, etc. (without linking). Recently, webmasters, in order to show their popularity to Google, have been trying to bring their name and address of their site on other sites. This technique is less effective than link building, but it does not pose any risk to the website or its SEO rankings.
How to improve website branding?
The most important factor that can have a positive effect on the branding of your website in Google and of course for users, is to use useful and attractive content that encourages the audience to return to your website. In addition, the right activities on social media can create a direct and reciprocal audience for the website. Finally, advertising will influence branding and searching for your brand name.
Tip: In addition to these three methods, the popularity of your brand in other ways can help improve your results.
6. Optimize your website for audio search results
We ask you to take a look at your own behaviour when chatting on social media and messengers. What percentage of your conversations with your friends in the last one or two years have changed from text to voice?
In general, users are no longer interested in typing. Google, which cares about user behaviour, also provided voice search. In 2019 and 2020, voice searches in European and American countries increased sharply.
With SEO and website optimization for voice searches, if you’re already getting ready to rank on Google, you’ll get good feedback in the near future.
How to be optimal for voice searches in 2020?
In general, the SEO of a website for voice searches has 4 solutions, some of which we explained in the previous points. For this reason, we will briefly mention them below:
1. Use of schema codes: By implementing schema on a website, Google can better understand the connection between your content and voice search of users. Also, for better performance, it is recommended to make sure that the website map is complete and that it is introduced to search engine robots.
2. Focus on local SEO: Given that much of the search for users is about finding local services and businesses, we suggest you pay more attention to your website’s local SEO. In this case, you can get good rankings in audio search results.
3. Website optimization for mobile: The third suggestion is to optimize the website for mobile. Most voice searches are done via mobile, and if your website is not optimized for mobile devices, you have little chance of being included in the audio search results.
4. Use of optimal words for voice search: Finally, the most important thing to optimize the website in voice searches is to use the optimal keywords. Most users use question words to search for audio. For example (How to SEO our website?), and …
The next suggestion is to set up a Q&A section on the website. Given that users are asking specific questions in this section of the website, each page of these questions can be an SEO page for voice search.
7. Get security certificates
We have always advised webmasters to activate the SSL security certificate, or https, to make their website more secure and, of course, to get Google’s attention. You’ve probably come across Google’s security alert page for not having SSL many times when you visit a website.
Most users leave a website and go to another website when they see that the SSL is not installed. This also causes the jump rate to rise, resulting in a sharp drop in SEO.
Therefore, to prevent such a problem, we recommend that you immediately activate the site’s SSL. If you are not yet fully acquainted with this concept, we have an entire category of content about SSL Security and Certificates.
Conclusion
SEO is a multidimensional topic. Therefore, it is not possible or at least difficult to focus on all the details of SEO, but if you prioritize and focus on the most important factors of SEO 2020 and pay attention to the activities of competitors, your chances of surpassing them in search results will increase.
In this article, we have tried to provide you with the important factors of Google ranking in 2020 along with some suitable tools. The Seo PowerSuite tool includes four tools, Seo SpyGlass, Website Auditor, LinkAssistant and Rank Tracker; this tool is not free and you must purchase this software to use all its features. However, the free version of this tool can also provide you with useful information.
If you are familiar with SEO and site optimization, you can follow the tips in this article well without the need for these tools.
If you have any questions about any of the 7 most influential SEO tips in 2020, ask them in the comments section of this article.
