Most people want to be a champ. In terms of professional SEO this means delivering results based on success metrics. These are usually things like SEO revenue, organic leads, etc…Whatever your SEO goals are, achieving high rankings for relevant/high converting keywords is always a supporting metric- sometimes the primary one.
The SEO champs are those who constantly monitor Google’s algorithm and act accordingly. With over 300 factors in Google’s Algorithm, this can be a daunting task. A good starting point is to figure out which factors are the most influential and develop your SEO strategies with those ranking factors in mind. But its not all about optimizing for the top ranking factors. There are also plenty of actions SEO’s can take that might hinder rankings or potentially hurt a clients site. I know what your thinking…I can’t possibly reverse engineer Google’s algorithm! I don’t have time to do endless and tiring split tests! Well lucky for you I’ve compiled the top 5 most influential ranking factors as well as the top 5 practices you want to stray away from. Note that Google’s algorithm is constantly evolving. 15 minutes later, this could change. That’s part of the fun!
Top 5 Most Influential Ranking Factors:
1. External Links with Keyword Anchor Text
2. Quality of External Links
3. Keyword Use in Title Tag (Specifically in the first phrase)
4. Diversity of Link Sources
5. Domain Authority and Trust
Top 5 Most Hurtful SEO Practices:
1. Cloaking With Deceitful Intent
2. Site Downtime and/or Inaccessibility
3. Links from Spammy Link Farms
4. Hidden Text (Using Either Colors or other HTML methods)
5. Links From KNOWN Link Networks
Of course there are more influential and harmful SEO practices, however following the top 5 will put you on your way to better rankings. While this seems simple, the details of each factor is complex. Check back with SEO Lair Blog next time for an in depth analysis of each factor. Find out what each factor is, how to see if your doing it right, and how to change if your not. New to SEO? Check out this information on SEO for beginners.