You are walking in a tightrope if you think getting better ranks in Google is easy. You won’t find answers to all of your questions and you will have to be careful as well. There are still many unanswered questions about how the search engine giant’s algorithm works. All we have are regular introductions of factors that could influence ranking either positively or negatively. Adapting to these changes is of great importance if we want our websites to rise up in Google ranks.

Here are a few factors to take into account while developing SEO strategies.

1. Backlinks

Backlinks influence ranking a lot, as it points out to Google that your website is a trusted source of information, and is worthy of having its visibility increased. SEO strategies should be designed with a keen focus on earning links. Just asking other domains for links wouldn’t do. You will have to publish engaging content and establish your presence so that other websites would want to link to your website.

Even with the latest updates to the algorithm, backlinks is still an important ranking factor. 

2. Content

Over the years, the SEO industry practices proved that long-form content like blogs that cover topics in detail generally gets better ranks. It’s still not about the length but about the quality. Long-form content without quality will be considered irrelevant by Google. 

If you are creating content to publish on your website, make sure they are about 2000 words in length at least, without compromising quality. Add details, provide links, use infographics and make sure that the content delivers what it’s supposed to, to the reader. 

3. RankBrain

Google is constantly trying to improve its understanding of natural language, and the meanings of search queries in natural language. For this purpose, Google uses RankBrain, a part of its search algorithm, to sort through the search results and pick the relevant ones to present to the user. 

Although it’s basically a query refining tool, Google uses it for every search to understand what the query is about. It influences the ranking depending on the relevance of the content in the pages.

4. Authority

This correlates to our first factor. You get a high link authority if you have a lot of backlinks. If the backlinks are from trusted websites, that automatically makes your website trusted as well. The higher the link authority, the better the ranks. You can make use of domain analysis tools to cross-check the ratings with Google position. 

5. HTTPS

Google has already confirmed that HTTPS is a ranking signal. HTTPS adds to website security while boosting your Google ranks. Google rewards websites that take care of their users. HTTPS makes sure that the sensitive data a user provides to a website remains secure. 

6. Bounce rate

If the bounce rate goes up, your website rank in Google goes down. A higher bounce rate indicates that there is something you are not doing right on your website. However, in certain cases, a higher bounce rate could mean that users quickly found what they were looking for on your website. It’s ideal to have a low bounce rate for positive ranking effects though. If they stay on the website for quite a while, it means your website is giving them something they want and keeping them interested. 

7. Speed

As mentioned before, Google rewards websites that provide good experience and relevant information to users. A slow-loading website doesn’t give that kind of experience. As a matter of fact, it even increases bounce rates. Studies claim that an average user would lose interest if a page doesn’t load within 10 seconds. 

To increase website loading speed, first you need to get your website audited. Turning off unnecessary plugins and optimizing images can make a considerable difference to website loading speed. 

8. Anchor text

Many studies claimed that exact match anchor texts heavily influenced rankings. However there is still a risk. If there is no link relevancy, it will do more harm than good. Google’s new algorithm updates make it apparent that link relevancy for anchor texts is important, just like the keywords in an anchor text. 

The source page content and the anchor text content will be verified by Google, and if the link doesn’t appear to be relevant, there won’t be any improvement in the ranking. As a matter of fact, rank may drop as well. With the right keywords in the anchor text, and many links directing to a page, there is a good chance for improved ranking. Keyword specific anchor texts relevant to the topic at hand is considered best practice.

Conclusion

There are a lot more factors that you can consider to get your Google ranks up. The ones mentioned above have been known to influence ranking even after many updates from Google. SEO is a lengthy procedure, which is why it’s advisable to seek assistance from professionals. Reputed search engine optimization Dubai consultants can give you some good insights on various aspects that could influence positively and negatively Google rankings.