The Most Important Ranking Factors for SEO in 2020
There are over 200 ranking factors that Google considers when ranking websites. Most ranking factors carry very little weight, which means focusing your time and effort on them probably isn’t necessary. However, for the ranking factors that do matter, working to improve them can give you a boost in rankings.
Here are the most important ranking factors for Mississippi SEO. These elements are so critical to your overall SEO strategy, they can actually make it or break it!
HTML Tags
HTML tags tell Google which parts of your copy are most important. The title and meta description are what users see in the search results, so be sure to use keyword-rich copy here. Keywords also belong in your heading tags (H1-H6). Lastly, alt text tells the search engines what your images are about and how they relate to your copy.
Backlinks
Backlinks are incredibly important for SEO. Of course, not all backlinks are the same, so simply having these links in your content isn’t enough. Your links must come from high authority websites that are similar to yours.
Core Web Vitals
Core web vitals are new, but they’re expected to become part of the algorithm sometime next year. Core web vitals refer to the first impression that people get when visiting a page. Specifically, the elements they pay attention to are:
- How fast the page loads
- How stable the layout is
- How interactive the page is
Semantic Saturation
Your SEO content must include a good balance of relevant keywords and high quality images. How many keywords and images you should include depend on the length of your copy. If you’re stuffing your content with keywords, this won’t be good for SEO. All content should sound natural and contain keywords in places that make sense.
User Behavior
Even though Google says that it doesn’t use behavioral metrics as ranking factors, many experts disagree. So, it doesn’t hurt to pay attention to your click-through rate (CTR), bounce rate, session depth and session duration. Use Google Analytics and Google Search Console to learn this information.
Structured Data
Structured data helps the search engines understand what your page is about. It can be used to tag authors, ratings, product features, locations and more. Structured data is great for SEO because it creates links with others, shares your location and boosts your search snippets.
Final Thoughts
These are some of the most important ranking factors for Mississippi SEO. It’s important that you keep on top of Google’s algorithms because they change regularly. For example, keywords and backlinks aren’t as important as they once were, and now semantic saturation and user experience are. By keeping tabs on these changes, you can make sure that you have a strong, relevant SEO strategy to help your business thrive.