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what goes into seo - search engine optimization

Google’s Top Ranking Signals (Updated for 2023)

  • 5 min read

We are just a few months into 2023, and with a new year comes new SEO challenges for businesses fighting to remain relevant in the ever changing online landscape. To find a competitive edge, businesses should focus on Google’s top ranking signals that determine how well your website performs online. Optimizing your business’s SEO score can be all the difference you need to stay ahead of your competitors when customers are searching for your product or service.

Improve your SEO Score with these Ranking Signals

In case you haven’t been eagerly reading all of our previous blogs you might be asking yourself “what is an SEO score and why is it so important for my success?” An SEO score is a measure of how easy it is for prospective customers to find you, and of course the easier it is to find your website the likeliness of making that sale rises as well! In order to have a strong SEO score, it is essential to stay current with effective SEO strategies and best practices. 

Performing Google Search on Macbook Pro computer to illustrate Google Top Ranking Signals

Table of Contents

1. Content, Content, Content

Content is the building block of success when it comes to improving your website’s search ranking. Google loves websites that provide authoritative, valuable content for their users. If your website’s content is not concise, engaging, and easy to navigate it will not rank well no matter how many other steps you take to raise your SEO score. It is also important to regularly update your website with new relevant content, as this will encourage Google to crawl your new content, index you higher, and increase your visibility.

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2. Technical Health

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Technical health can be broken down best as the bones of your website, making sure you technical health is sound ensures that your site will rank higher. You can optimize your site’s technical health by: ensuring each page has a relevant meta title, labeling all of the images on your site as well as adding alt text, and including important keywords in the body text of your descriptions.

3. Backlinks

Backlinks can be defined as links on other websites that lead to your own site, a majority of these links tells Google that your site is trusted by others and can push you higher in search ranking. But, if the backlink is on an untrustworthy, or poorly maintained website Google will flag it as a negative recommendation. It is important to be diligent about your website’s reputation and where it is being mentioned! 

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4. User Experience

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The user experience that your website provides can either make or break potential customers, if your website is poor to navigate, confusing, or messy users will be less likely to stay on it for long. The same rule applies for Google, if Google’s algorithm detects that your site might be confusing it will be less likely to rank it higher for search results. So, no need for a crazy website, keep it simple! 

5. Loading Speed

Everyone has been frustrated at some point by incredibly slow loading speeds, especially when you are in a hurry. The slower the loading speed the less likely users are to stay on your website or visit again. When Google crawls a website and finds a site loads in more than 3 seconds it will be less likely to rank it higher for relevant searches.

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Conclusion

Creating awebsite may seem like that’s all you have to do, but maintaining a successful and effective website is the real challenge. Following these steps and staying up to date on the latest SEO ranking signals will ensure that your website not only gets more clicks, but outperforms your competitors as well.

Wanting to completely do away with stress? We offer website design and SEO services for websites on any platform. Reach out and schedule a meeting with one of our talented team members to break down what services would most benefit your website’s goals.