Top 12 SEO Ranking Factors to Improve Your Ranking in 2024 (+Infographics)

SEO is one of the most impactful ways to generate more leads. If you don’t use this channel properly, you will lose a lot of traffic to your competitors.

A study showcases that the top 3 ranking websites get 54.4% organic traffic. Now, go and check your rankings. How do they look? Do you have webpages that rank in the top 3 spots?

Obviously, if your webpage doesn’t rank in the top 3 spots, or even worse, if it doesn’t rank on the first page, then you miss out on a huge amount of traffic. 

But no worries, SEO is the best practice to push your website up to the 1st spot.

If you have ranking web pages, you might also want to keep reading this article. You should deepen your knowledge with this article to keep them there all the time. We want to share the top 12 SEO practices to improve your rankings in 2024.

Keep reading or click on the part you want to read and learn.

Top 12 SEO Ranking Factors

1. Publish Quality Content

High-quality, relevant, and engaging content remains the foundation of SEO success. Create content that addresses your target audience’s needs and questions while demonstrating your expertise. 

Many of us know creating high quality is essential, but how do we exactly do it? 

Content is one important channel businesses use to communicate with readers and also serves as a brief piece of their business self-introduction.

How Can You Create a High-Quality Content?

Creating high-quality content needs experience and knowledge. Many believe creating a random post as long as it is on trend and within the issue circle is enough. This would be true if your website is purely based on news, trend blogs, etc. 

However, using this trick would have a different impact on a business. For example, businesses must establish trust and relations with their readers. Publishing random content will just confuse them. 

Make content that better suits your niche, will back up your product or services, is related, and makes the readers understand what your website is about.

Tips on how to create high-quality content:

• Identify your target audience – Know who you are trying to reach, and make it well-suited for the target in contrast to what they want, need, or like.
• Avoid tattletales or incorrect information – Ensure your content is on point, informative, and accurate. No one likes fake news, fake information, etc. This will lead to poor reviews and complaints.
• Back up your claims – Back your content with solid resources from a viable source. This will ensure the authenticity of your blog post.
• Describe features – Make everything informative, to the point that the readers can’t ask any questions because everything is already there. Make sure to point out any advantages, uniqueness, and disadvantages. Displaying advantages does not have a negative impact. In fact, it would likely help. This would prepare the readers for the disadvantages, and they will feel a sense of acceptance that these disadvantages would likely occur. If they don’t know these disadvantages, it will lead to discomfort, making them give a negative review.

2. Link Building

What is link building? Link building is an ongoing and strategic process that involves various techniques, such as creating valuable content that naturally attracts links, reaching out to other websites for collaboration or guest posting opportunities, and ensuring your website is well-optimized for search engines.

The idea behind link building is that when other reputable and relevant websites link to your content, it signals to search engines that it is valuable, trustworthy, and authoritative. As a result, your website is more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords and phrases.

What are the well-known link-building strategies?

1. Creating Link Acquiring Content:

Develop high-quality, informative, and shareable content on your website. When others find your content valuable, they are likelier to link to it. You can easily create a web page full of statistics. Many people will use your article as a primary source.

2. Guest Posting:

Write guest posts for authoritative websites in your niche. Guest posting lets you earn backlinks from reputable sources while showcasing your expertise.

3. Broken Link Building:

Identify broken links on other websites in your niche and offer to replace them with relevant, working links to your content. This strategy provides value to website owners and helps you secure backlinks.

4. Outreach and Relationship Building:

Establish relationships with bloggers, influencers, and industry experts. Reach out to them and propose collaboration opportunities, such as guest posts, interviews, or co-authored content with backlinks.

5. Resource Link Building:

Create comprehensive, valuable resources like guides, infographics, or research reports. These resources often attract backlinks from websites seeking to reference authoritative content.

6. Competitor Analysis:

Analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles to identify opportunities. Contact websites linking to your competitors and propose similar or better content for linking.

7. Local SEO Citations:

If your business has a physical location, ensure it is listed in local directories and review sites. Local SEO efforts can lead to valuable local backlinks.

8. Social Signals:

Promote your content and website by actively engaging on social media platforms. While social signals are not direct backlinks, they can indirectly influence search engine rankings.

9. HARO (Help a Reporter Out):

Respond to queries from journalists and reporters on platforms like HARO. Provide expert insights so that your website gets a link from these authoritative websites.

10. Email Outreach:

Reach out to website owners, bloggers, and webmasters with personalized and compelling email pitches. Express your interest in collaboration or content sharing that benefits both parties.

3. Image Optimization

Making images on your website work better can help your site get a higher place in search results and make it easier for people to use. Let’s break it down:

• Faster Loading: When your images are optimized, they don’t slow down your website. Search engines like Google like websites that load quickly, so this can make your site rank higher.
• People Stay Longer: If your site loads fast and looks good, people are likelier to stay and look around. Search engines notice this and might give your site a higher ranking because it’s engaging.
• Works on Phones: Many people use their phones to browse the web. If your images are optimized, your site will work well on phones, too, which can help your mobile search ranking.
• Engaged Users: When your images look good, and your site works well, people spend more time on your site and interact with your content. Search engines like this may reward you with a better ranking.
• Server Runs Smoothly: Optimized images use less of your server’s resources, making your website perform better. This indirectly helps with your ranking.
• Image SEO: Optimized images also have good names and descriptions, making it clear to search engines what they’re about. This can make your images appear in search results and boost your overall SEO.
• Accessibility: When you use image optimization techniques, it also helps people with disabilities who use special tools to browse the web. Search engines appreciate this and may improve your ranking.
• Less Data Used: Optimized images use less data, saving money for you and making your site load faster for users. This can contribute to better search rankings.

To do this right, remember to:

• Make images smaller without losing quality.
• Use clear names for your image files.
• Describe your images with helpful words.
• Set the image size in your website’s code.
• Choose the right image format.
• Make sure your images work well on different screens.
• Use lazy loading to load images only when needed.
• Find a relevant place for placement.

By optimizing your images, you can create a website that loads fast, looks good, and works well on all devices. Search engines like these qualities and may reward your site with a higher ranking.

4. Internal Linking

When you link different parts of your website together, it helps your website do better in search results and be more helpful to people. Many websites generate traffic with Google’s image results, too. However, if you want to generate traffic from image results, too, you should do it in the right way. 

Pro Tip: Create a hierarchy of internal links to make it easier for crawlers to discover your newly published websites.

Here’s how it works:

• Better Structure: Think of it like organizing your stuff. When you connect one part of your website to another, it makes it easier for search engines to understand how everything is related. This can help them show your content in search results.
• Helps People Explore: Imagine if you’re reading something interesting, and you see a link to more related stuff. You click on it, right? Internal links do the same thing on websites. They guide people to more useful information, making them stay longer on your site. Search engines notice this and may think your site is valuable, improving your ranking.
• Shares Website Authority: Search engines see some pages on your website as more important. When you link from those important pages to others, you’re sharing some of that importance. This can make other pages get indexed and rank better too.

• Right Anchor: You can also use words that match what your content is about as links. This is called anchor. This helps the algorithm understand what your content is about and may help you rank for those words as well. Just remember not to overdo it with too many links or keywords, as that can be a problem.
• Keep People Around: Internal links can keep people on your site, exploring more pages. High bounce rates (people leaving your site quickly) aren’t good, but internal links can help lower them, which is a good sign for search engines.
• Show Content Relevance: Linking to related articles or pages tells search engines that your site has a lot of information about a certain topic. This can help those pages rank better for specific topics.
• Help Search Engines Find Everything: Internal links help search engines discover and understand all the pages on your website. This way, they get all important content when ranking your site.
• Bring Visitors Back: When people find useful stuff on your site through internal links, they’re more likely to come back. This returning traffic can boost your site’s reputation and indirectly help your ranking.

To do this right, make sure your site has a logical structure, use clear and helpful words for your links, link to relevant content, don’t overdo it with too many links, and keep your links up to date as your site grows and changes.

5. Social Signals

Social media presence and engagement can indirectly influence SEO. Encourage social sharing and interactions to enhance your website’s visibility.

Being active on social media and having a strong presence there can actually help your website show up better on search engines, and here’s why:

• More People Visit Your Site: Social Media is a great channel and you should never neglect it. When you post your website stuff on social media, it can bring more people to your site. And when search engines see more people checking out your site, they think it must have good stuff, so they might move it up in the search results.
• People Know You Better: When you’re on social media a lot, more folks get to know your brand. When search engines see that people recognize and trust your brand across different places (like social media and your website), they might think your site is more important and boost its ranking.
• Links and Visits: Social media can also send links and visitors to your website. When people share your stuff on social media and link back to your site, it’s like a vote of confidence. Search engines like these votes, and it can help your ranking.
• Social Signals: This is like when people like, share, or comment on your social media posts. While it’s not clear how much this directly affects your ranking, some think that search engines pay attention to these signals to see if your content is interesting and valuable.
• How Users Interact: Search engines now look at how users behave on your site. If you’re sending social media users to your site, and they stick around and read stuff, it tells search engines that your content is worth showing to more people.
• Sharing Your Content: When you use social media to share your website content, it can reach more folks. More eyes on your content can lead to more people naturally linking to it, which can improve your ranking.
• Local Impact: If your business has a physical location, being active on social media can also help with local searches. It makes your business look more trustworthy and reliable in your area.
• Faster Discovery: Sometimes, search engines notice stuff shared on social media faster than when they’re just crawling websites. So if you post new things on social media, they might show up in search results quicker.

To make the most of social media for your website’s ranking, remember to:

• Be active on social platforms that matter to your audience.
• Share your website content regularly and make sure it’s interesting.
• Encourage people to share your content on social media.
• Engage with your followers by responding to their comments and questions.
• Keep an eye on your social media stats to see what works and what doesn’t.

While social media alone won’t make your site shoot to the top of search results, it can definitely help over time by making your brand more visible and trusted, bringing in more visitors, and getting your content shared and talked about.

6. User Experience (UX)

Making your website more user-friendly, also known as User Experience (UX), can actually help your site show up better on search engines. Let me break it down for you:

• Less People Leaving Quickly: You know when you click on a site and then immediately leave? That’s called a “bounce.” Search engines notice if lots of folks bounce off your site quickly. But if you make your site better, more people will stick around, and that’s good for your ranking.
• Time Spent on Your Site: Search engines like it when people spend more time on your site. It’s called dwell time. If they stick around longer after clicking on your link in search results, it tells search engines your site has good stuff. This can push your site higher up in the search results.
• Faster Loading: Slow websites can be annoying, right? Search engines don’t like them either. If you speed up your site, it can make both users and search engines happy, which can lead to better rankings.
• Works Well on Phones: Since lots of people use their phones for everything, including browsing, your site should work well on them. In other words, your website should have responsive design. Search engines pay attention to this too and might rank your site higher if it’s mobile-friendly.
• Safe and Trustworthy: If your site is secure and trustworthy, it can improve user satisfaction. Search engines like safe sites, so they might rank you higher.
• Accessible to All: Your site should be easy to use for everyone, including people with disabilities. Search engines appreciate sites that consider everyone, which can help with ranking.
• Clear Next Steps: When people visit your site, they should know what to do next, like signing up or buying something. When they do these things, it’s a sign of a good experience, and search engines might take notice.
• Well-Designed Content: A good content layout makes it easier to read and engage with your content. If your site looks nice and is organized, it’s more likely to keep users around, which can help ranking.
• Less Annoying Ads: If your site is filled with annoying ads that disrupt the experience, it can drive people away. Search engines favor sites that don’t annoy users. 

Pro Tip: If there are any ads, push them down at least.

To make your website more user-friendly for better ranking, focus on improving how people use your site, making it faster, creating top-notch content, ensuring it works on mobiles, and making it a safe and trustworthy place to visit. Remember, happy users mean better ranking and more loyal visitors.

7. Regular Content Updates

Updating your website regularly with new stuff can really boost how it shows up on search engines. You see, search engines want to give people the latest and most useful info. So, when you keep adding new content, it tells them your website is active, trustworthy, and worth checking out. Here’s why it’s a good idea:

• Freshness Matters: Search engines like new stuff. When you add fresh content, it shows your site is up-to-date with what’s happening. This can help your site rank better, especially for topics that change over time.
• Stay in Tune with Your Audience: Regular updates let you keep up with what your audience wants. As their interests change, your new content can cater to what they’re looking for. This keeps them interested and can help your site rank higher.
• Crawled More Often: Search engines send little bots to check websites. When you update often, these bots come around more frequently. That means your new content gets noticed and indexed faster.
• Cover More Ground: Adding new stuff lets you talk about different things. So, you can use more keywords and topics related to your niche. This can help you show up for a wider range of searches.
• Become an Expert: Consistently sharing valuable content can make your site an expert in its field. Over time, search engines might see it as a trusted source, which can boost your rankings for competitive keywords.
• Keep People Around: When visitors find fresh and interesting content, they stick around. They visit more pages, spend more time on your site, and that’s something search engines like to see. It suggests people enjoy what you offer.
• Get More Backlinks: New content can attract links from other websites. If it’s good stuff, people may link to it. High-quality links are like gold for SEO and can help your site rank higher.
• Engage Your Audience: Regular updates keep your audience engaged. They come back for more insights and info. Engaged users are more likely to share your content and interact with it. That’s something search engines consider too.

To make the most of updating your content, here’s what you can do:

• Plan a schedule for adding new content.
• Keep an eye on what’s hot in your industry or niche.
• Spruce up your old content by adding fresh info and making it SEO-friendly.
• Encourage user participation, like comments and reviews.
• Share your new content on social media to get more people interested.

By keeping your website fresh and full of useful info, you can get noticed by search engines, become an authority, and have happy visitors who stick around. That’s a win-win!

8. Schema Markup

Schema Markup is like a secret weapon for boosting your website’s ranking on search engines. Imagine it as a set of special instructions you give to search engines, helping them understand and showcase your content better to people. Here’s how Schema Markup can give your website a ranking boost:

• Fancy Search Results: Schema Markup makes your search results look fancier. You can display extra details like ratings, reviews, prices, and event information. This catches the eye of users and makes them more likely to click on your website, which can make search engines think your content is popular and important.
• More Clicks: When your search results look interesting with Schema Markup, more people click on them. Search engines notice this and think your content is a good match for what people are looking for. So, your website can move up in the search results for specific topics.
• Search Engines Get You: Schema Markup helps search engines figure out what your content is all about. It’s like giving them a map to understand your website better. This helps search engines rank your website more accurately for specific search queries.
• Local Business Boost: If you run a local business, Schema Markup can be a game-changer. It provides essential info like your address, phone number, hours, and customer reviews right in the search results. This attracts local customers and makes your website more visible in local searches.
• Voice Search Ready: With the rise of voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, Schema Markup is even more essential. Structured data helps these assistants understand and give answers to voice queries. So, if your content is Schema-optimized, it can rank higher in voice search results.
• Featured Snippets: Schema Markup can make your content appear as the top answer in search results. This is called a featured snippet. It’s like being the star of the search results show, and it can drive more traffic to your site, improving your website’s overall visibility and authority.
• Happy Users, Happy Search Engines: When your website provides detailed and helpful information, users are more likely to stay longer, explore more, and have a good time. This tells search engines that your site offers a great user experience, which can boost your ranking.

To make Schema Markup work for you, follow these simple steps:

• Find out which types of structured data suit your content (like articles, products, or events).
• Use Schema.org’s official guide to add Schema Markup to your website.
• Test your structured data using Google’s tool to make sure it’s error-free and showing up correctly.
• Keep your Schema Markup up to date as your content evolves.

It’s like giving your website a superpower in the world of search results!

9. Create Click-worthy SEO Titles

Crafting titles that encourage people to click and explore your content is both an art and a science. Think of your title as a welcoming signpost, guiding readers to discover the valuable information you have to offer. But how do we do it? Here are some tips to help you create engaging SEO titles that entice readers:

• Start with Research: To create titles that resonate with your audience, begin with thorough keyword research. This step is like understanding the language your readers speak. Tools like Google’s Keyword Planner can be your trusty guide in this journey.
• Clarity is Key: Keep your titles clear and straightforward. Let readers know exactly what they can expect from your content. Being crystal clear is like inviting someone into your home with a warm smile.
• Use Action-Packed Words: Sprinkle action words in your titles. Words like “discover,” “learn,” or “explore” evoke a sense of adventure. It’s like offering readers a ticket to an exciting journey.
• Address the Reader’s Need: Know what your readers are searching for and tailor your title to match their needs. Imagine you’re offering them the solution they’ve been looking for.
• Numbers Add Appeal: Titles with numbers often stand out. They promise specific insights. For instance, “5 Ways to Boost Your Creativity” sounds more compelling than “Boost Your Creativity.”
• Create a Sense of Urgency: Encourage action by adding words like “now,” “today,” or “quick.” Readers may be more inclined to click when they feel there’s something valuable waiting for them.
• Evoke Emotions: Tap into emotions like curiosity, excitement, or even a touch of fear. Emotionally resonant titles can pull readers in, making them feel a connection with your content.
• Short and Sweet: Keep your titles concise. Search engines typically display the first 50-60 characters, so brevity ensures your title doesn’t get cut off.
• Avoid Clickbait: While you want to be enticing, steer clear of misleading titles. Building trust with your readers is like nurturing a long-lasting friendship.
• Test and Learn: Don’t hesitate to experiment with different titles. A/B testing can help you discover what resonates best with your audience. Just like adapting to changing seasons, adapting your titles to reader preferences is an ongoing process.

Creating inviting titles is about building a bridge between your content and your audience. It’s about extending an invitation, inviting readers to explore your world. With these tips, you’re better equipped to craft titles that beckon readers to embark on a journey through your valuable content.

10. Also Talk About / People Also Asked

Addressing related topics and questions is like being the helpful, knowledgeable friend who always has the answers. It enriches your content, engages your audience, impresses search engines, and builds trust with your readers. It’s a win-win strategy for creating content that truly resonates. 

Naturally, addressing related topics and questions helps you incorporate long-tail keywords into your content. These are specific keyword phrases that can attract highly targeted traffic to your website. Readers usually come to your content with questions in mind. 

By addressing related topics and common queries, you’re directly catering to their needs. Imagine being at a store where the staff anticipates your questions and provides all the answers proactively; that’s the kind of service readers appreciate.

11. Use Artificial Intelligence

AI-driven tools can be your SEO superheroes. Today you may hear different opionions regarding usage of AI in SEO. Some say it’s the best thing, others claim that AI (mostly content) increases spamm number in SERPs. Talking about my perspective, AI is great. You should use it combined with your own creativity and intelligence. I see it like this AI + Human Intelligence = The Best Mixture.

They save you time, help you understand your audience better, and keep you ahead of the competition. Just remember, while AI can do a lot, combining it with human expertise is the winning formula for SEO success.

So how can I do it? 

Imagine this: you want your website to show up when people search for specific topics or products on Google. That’s where keywords come in. AI tools are like super-smart detectives that help you find the best keywords to target. They look at what people are searching for and tell you which keywords will get you noticed.

Now, creating content can be time-consuming, right? Well, AI can help with that too. It’s like having a robot writer by your side. These tools can generate articles, product descriptions, and more. It’s a game-changer when you need fresh content fast.

Not just that, AI is not just about creating content; it’s about making sure it’s optimized for search engines. AI can analyze your content and suggest ways to make it more appealing to Google.

Think of it as your SEO coach, guiding you to use the right headings, tags, and keywords. Ever wondered what people really mean when they type in those search queries? AI can decipher user intent. It understands what people are looking for and helps you tailor your content to their needs. 

Also Read: Is Your SEO Agency Responsible for Business’s Lead Generation?

Want to know what your competition is up to? AI tools can spy on your rivals (in a friendly way, of course). They can analyze your competitors’ websites and reveal their SEO secrets. It’s like having a sneak peek into their playbook. Link building is a big deal in SEO. AI can help you find websites that might want to link to yours.

These tools can identify potential partners and make your outreach efforts more efficient. Keeping tabs on your website’s ranking is crucial. AI-powered platforms can track your performance and tell you how your SEO strategies are working. You can also keep an eye on what your competitors are doing.

Have you ever visited a website, and it seemed like it knew exactly what you were looking for? That’s AI at work. It can analyze your behavior and suggest articles or products you might be interested in. This keeps visitors engaged and helps your SEO indirectly. With the rise of voice search, AI can help you optimize for that too. It identifies conversational keywords and phrases, making your content voice-search-friendly. 

Techy stuff can be intimidating, but AI can scan your website for technical issues and offer solutions. It’s like having a handyman fix your site’s plumbing. User experience matters. AI can study how visitors behave on your site and suggest ways to make it better. A smoother experience means people stay longer, and that can boost your SEO.

AI can personalize content recommendations for users based on their interests. It’s like a personal shopper for your website, showing people what they want to see. Chatbots powered by AI can provide instant responses to user questions. It’s like having a helpful assistant available 24/7. This keeps visitors happy and engaged. 

AI can process heaps of data and uncover valuable insights about user behavior and trends. It’s like having a crystal ball that tells you what’s coming next in SEO. If your business relies on local customers, AI can help with that too.

So, what AI tools can you use for this projects?

• SEMrush: SEMrush offers AI-powered keyword research and content optimization tools. It helps you identify relevant keywords, track your website’s performance, and analyze your competitors.
• SurferSEO: SurferSEO uses AI to analyze top-ranking pages and suggest optimizations for your content. It provides recommendations for headings, keyword usage, and more.
• Clearscope: Clearscope uses AI to analyze top-performing content and helps you create comprehensive, highly-ranked articles by providing keyword and topic suggestions.
• MarketMuse: MarketMuse uses AI to analyze your content and that of your competitors to provide insights for content optimization and strategy.
• GPT-3 (OpenAI): GPT-3 is a powerful language model that can generate human-like text. You can integrate it into various applications to automate content creation.
• Ahrefs: Ahrefs is a popular SEO tool that uses AI to provide keyword research, backlink analysis, and site auditing, helping you improve your website’s SEO.
• Moz: Moz offers AI-driven SEO tools for keyword research, link building, and site audits. It helps you monitor your website’s performance and optimize for search engines.
• Google’s AI-Powered Features: Google itself uses AI to enhance search results. You can mention Google’s use of AI in search algorithms, featured snippets, and voice search.
• Serpstat: Serpstat offers AI-driven SEO and PPC research tools, including keyword analysis, competitor research, and site audit features.
  

12. Brand Building and E-A-T

You might be wondering why expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness are crucial for boosting your website’s rank on search engines. Let me break it down for you.

Expertise: 

This is all about showing that you know your stuff. When you create content that’s well-researched and informative, it tells search engines that you’re an expert in your field. They love that! To show your expertise:

• Write top-notch content that’s packed with useful information. This not only helps your readers but also proves you’re an authority.
• If your topic needs some serious knowledge (like medical or financial advice), make sure to highlight the qualifications of your authors or contributors. Let readers know they’re in capable hands.

Pro Tip: Create a dedicated author web page in your website with a detailed bio and links to social media accounts.

Authoritativeness: 

Think of this as your website’s reputation score. When you’re seen as a respected voice in your niche, search engines take notice. To boost your authority:

• Get other respected websites to link to yours. When they do, it tells search engines that you’re a reliable source.
• Keep the content flowing regularly. When you consistently publish valuable stuff, it builds your reputation as the go-to place for info in your field.
• Trustworthiness: People need to trust your site. They want to know the info they find is solid. 

To gain their trust:

• Make sure your website is safe with HTTPS. It’s like a digital security guard. Secure sites are seen as more trustworthy.
• Be crystal clear about how you handle user data in your privacy policy. Users need to know their info is safe with you.
• Show users how to reach you. Give them your contact info and even a physical address if you can. It lets them know you’re a real deal.
• Share real user reviews and testimonials. Positive feedback from actual users builds trust like nothing else.

Ready to Optimize Your Website

Well, Google says there are over 200 SEO ranking factors. However, there are some with higher priority and some with lower priority. The fact is that nobody exactly nows how everything works in Google.

You may read some SEO professionals claiming that “more quality backlinks, better rankings” and check the SERPs and find out that a website with 100 backlinks is on the 1st spot, while the top 2 and 3 are occupied by websites with 1000+ backlinks.

As they love to say in Google. It depends. However, we’ve been researching these 12 topics, and to us, these are the most important ones.

Put more focus and effort on these, and you’ll see how magically Google ranks your website.

But remember one thing. SEO takes time and requires investment. If you are a business-minded person that this shouldn’t be of any problem. ROI will be huge then.

If you want to generate more organic traffic from Google, then contact us at hello@greenlightseo.com