There is literally a decade of research from usability experts and analysts on how web performance affects user experience. Fast websites have more visitors, who visit more pages, for longer period of times, who come back more often, and are more likely to purchase products or click ads. In short, faster websites make users happy, and happy users promote your website through linking and sharing. All of these things contribute to improving search engine rankings. If you’d like to see what specific front-end web performance problems you have, Zoompf’s free web performance report is a great place to start. Focusing Solely on Desktop Optimization A related mistake is focusing all your SEO efforts on the desktop version of your website.

• While not strictly a negative factor, the meta keywords tag was originally used to help software indexing.
• These algorithms consider numerous ranking factors, including the page’s content relevance, authority, user engagement metrics, and technical performance.
• Instead, Google wants businesses and SEO professionals to think about HTTPS differently.
• Backlinks are the most well-known ranking signal in SEO – that was confirmed many many times by Google representatives.
• Instead of ranking for a single Holy Grail keyword, a better goal is to rank for multiple keywords focused around a single idea.

If you want to rank high, your article has to be top-quality and satisfy search intent. Give yourself an advantage by picking keywords that are easy to rank for. Engaged users sharing and interacting with your content signals credibility and popularity to Google. Consistently implementing these tactics will considerably improve your chances of ranking well in search results.

Freshness refers to how much time has passed since the content of your page was updated or published. In some queries, Google’s algorithm prefers newer, up-to-date content. Frequent refreshes of your content and timely updates are important if you want to rank high in search engines.

Content relevance

But if the reason you’re reading this post is to increase your search traffic, you should just take the free 28 Day SEO challenge which will guide you step by step. Building a large network of content-led internal links helps you rank far more quickly than most other tactics. It’s important for search engine optimization, since the highest e-commerce conversion rates occur between 0 and 2 seconds, with an average of 8.11% under one second. A user’s search intent is their specific motive behind inputting a query. “Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). LCP measures the load time of the main content on a page, FID assesses the time it takes for a page to become interactive, and CLS quantifies how much the content shifts during the load time.

Local SEO Ranking Factors

Therefore, to optimize your impact on search engine rankings, it’s essential to proactively manage your citations. Regularly check and update your NAP information across BHS Links all platforms to ensure accuracy and consistency. It’s about leaving no stone unturned to make your local business easily discoverable and trustworthy. Behavioral signals are indicators of how users interact with your website and Google Business Profile. Factors like click-through rates, time spent on your site, and driving directions requests impact your local search rankings.

In the next sections, we’ll dive into exactly how to improve key areas like business categories, reviews, and local keywords to help you rank higher and attract more customers. Interpreting results involves understanding metrics like keyword position, search volume, and organic traffic. A higher position generally indicates better visibility, while fluctuations can signal performance changes. Familiarizing yourself with these metrics can help you make informed SEO decisions. Ensure your business is listed in local directories and that your citations are consistent across the web.

When people search for what you offer, they’re likely ready to buy — but if your business isn’t showing up at the top, they’re likely going elsewhere. Every spot you drop in the rankings means fewer clicks, fewer calls, and fewer customers walking through your doors. Three are many SEOs who have spread the misinformation that the quality raters guidelines offers a peek into what Google is using for ranking websites.