Download the slides here: www.searchmetrics.com/smx-advanced-2017 Marcus Tober's slides from SMX Advance Seattle: The Periodic Table of Ranking Factors - 2017 Edition

1. #SMX @MarcusTober
SMX Advanced, Seattle
June 13th, 2017
THE PERIODIC TABLE
OF SEO RANKING FACTORS
2017 EDITION
Us Tc Ux Bk So Co

2. @MarcusTober#SMX
M A R C U S T O B E R
SEARCHMETRICS- THE CONTENT EXPERIENCE
Founder and CTO of Searchmetrics
• Studied computer science in Berlin,
so I´m the Techie!
• In love with SEO and SEARCH since 2001

3. @MarcusTober#SMX
Searchmetrics
MADE WITH LOVE IN BERLIN
• Innovator in SEO Software since 2005
• More than 220 passionate people

4. @MarcusTober#SMX
Two Approaches to Analyze
RANKING FACTOR
1 General Trends
2 Individual Peculiarities

5. @MarcusTober#SMX
1. General Trends
FROM GENERAL TO INDIVIDUAL

6. @MarcusTober#SMX
RANKING FACTORS - DATA SET
RANKING FACTORS
Big Data
Searchmetrics
Research Cloud
Search Terms
Top search terms
by search volume
Google Positions
Top Google Positions
Ranking Factors
100+ Ranking Factors

7. Health + Finance + eCommerce + Media + Travel etc.
Overall Ranking FactorsGENERAL
NICHE
Our NEW Ranking Factors Approach
GENERAL vs INDUSTRY vs NICHE
INDUSTRY
Recipes/ SEO/ Celebrity News/ Dating/ Weather Forecast etc.
broad
specific

8. Health + Finance + eCommerce + Media + Travel
Overall Ranking Factors
NICHE
Our NEW Ranking Factors Approach
GENERAL vs INDUSTRY vs NICHE
INDUSTRY
Recipes/ SEO/ Celebrity News/ Dating/ Weather Forecast
GENERAL

9. #SMX @MarcusTober
Technical
Tc
1

10. @MarcusTober#SMX
Page Load Time (sec)
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
Technical
Tc
1
50%
150%
250%
350%
450%
550%
650%
750%
850%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2016 #REF! Desktop 2017
5.8s
Top 10-
2017
7.8s
Top 10-
2016
Pages load 2 seconds faster than last year.

11. #SMX @MarcusTober
LEARNING 1
Technical
optimization
improves
1

12. @MarcusTober#SMX
Keyword in Title
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
40%
45%
50%
55%
60%
65%
70%
75%
80%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2016 Desktop 2017
48%
Top 10-
2017
55%
Top 10-
2016
75%
Top 10-
2015
Webmasters are finally skipping keyword
usage as a strategy.

13. #SMX @MarcusTober
LEARNING
Keywords
continue to lose
relevance
2

14. #SMX @MarcusTober
User Experience
Ux
2

15. @MarcusTober#SMX
Number of Images
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
User Experience
Ux
2
0
1
1
2
2
3
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2016 Desktop 2017
2
Top 10-
2017
1.5
Top 10-
2016
Webmasters are using more and more
images.

16. #SMX @MarcusTober
LEARNING
User
Experience
is improving
3

17. #SMX @MarcusTober
Content
Co
3

18. @MarcusTober#SMX
Word Count
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
Content
Co
3
1.000
1.200
1.400
1.600
1.800
2.000
2.200
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2016 Desktop 2017
1,900 1,600
Top 10-
2016
1,300
Top 10-
2015
Content is becoming longer and longer.
Top 10-
2017

19. #SMX @MarcusTober
LEARNING
Content
becomes
longer and longer
4

20. #SMX @MarcusTober
BUT
…is it just
the size that
matters?

21. @MarcusTober#SMX
Content Relevance as a Ranking Factor
RANKING FACTOR
Content
Score:
85%
Content
Score:
50%
#1
#21
avocado health benefits

22. @MarcusTober#SMX
Content Relevance as a Ranking Factor
RANKING FACTOR
Position: #1
Content Score: 85%
#SMX @MarcusTober

23. @MarcusTober#SMX
Content Relevance as a Ranking Factor
RANKING FACTOR
Content Score: 50%
Position: #22
#SMX @MarcusTober

24. @MarcusTober#SMX
Content Score
Relevant Content is a Ranking Factor
Google Position
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
𝜌 = 0.43
Average Score
The higher a page ranks, the higher the Content Score!

25. #SMX @MarcusTober
LEARNING
Content needs
to be relevant to
the user intention
5

26. @MarcusTober#SMX
2. Individual Peculiarities
Different audiences, different needs

27. Health + Finance + eCommerce + Media + Travel
Overall Ranking FactorsGENERAL
NICHE
Ranking Factors Approach
GENERAL vs INDUSTRY vs NICHE
INDUSTRY
Recipes /SEO/Celebrity News/Dating/Weather Forecast

28. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
Industry Ranking Factors
eCommerce Finance Health Media Travel
Download for free: searchmetrics.com/industry-factors

29. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
eCommerce Finance Health Media Travel

30. @MarcusTober#SMX
People want to feel safe…
especially when it comes to money
Finance Ranking Factors

31. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
HTTPS
#SMX @MarcusTober

32. @MarcusTober#SMX
tax calculator
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
HTTPS
#SMX @MarcusTober
7 pages WITH HTTPS on the 1st page!
Only 1 page WITHOUT HTTPS.
Would YOU hand over sensitive financial data?

34. @MarcusTober#SMX
HTTPS
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
Technical
Tc
1
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Finance Travel
23%
Top 10-
Travel
46%
Top 10-
Finance
Much more HTTPS in Finance than in Travel.

35. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
HTTPS
#SMX @MarcusTober
arctic cruiseNone of the top URLs use HTTPS!
Why use HTTPS for Travel (offer landing) pages?

36. #SMX @MarcusTober#SMX @MarcusTober

37. @MarcusTober#SMX
People want more Images and more info…
especially when it comes to Travel
Industry RankingFacotrs

38. @MarcusTober#SMX
Number of Images
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
User Experience
Ux
2
0
1
2
3
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Finance Spalte2 Travel
2.15
Top 10-
Travel
0.92
Top 10-
Finance
Much more images in Travel than in Finance.

39. @MarcusTober#SMX
Avg. Word Count
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
User Experience
Ux
2
0
500
1.000
1.500
2.000
2.500
3.000
3.500
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Finance Spalte2 Travel
2,700
Top 10-
Travel
1,800
Top 10-
Finance
Much more Content in Travel than in Finance.

40. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
Industry Ranking Factors
40
#SMX
cheap airline tickets
#SMX @MarcusTober

41. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
Industry Ranking Factors
41
#SMX @MarcusTober
Images 13 ; Word Count 733
#SMX @MarcusTober

42. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
Industry Ranking Factors
42
#SMX
foreign exchange
#SMX @MarcusTober

43. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
Industry Ranking Factors
43
#SMX
Images 0 / Word Count 87
#SMX @MarcusTober

44. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
Industry Ranking Factors
44
Images: 0
Word Count: 87
Images: 13
Word Count: 733
HUGE differences in image & word count!
But both URLs rank on #1!
„Cheap Airline Tickets“„Foreign Exchange“

45. @MarcusTober#SMX
Specialize your
content to be
successfull
Learning
User intention is different depending on
industry/ niche

46. Recipes /SEO/Celebrity News/Dating/Weather Forecast
Health + Finance + eCommerce + Media + Travel
Overall Ranking FactorsGENERAL
Ranking Factors Approach
GENERAL vs INDUSTRY vs NICHE
INDUSTRY
NICHE

47. #SMX @MarcusTober@MarcusTober#SMX
SEO BlogsDating Platforms
Niche
RANKING FACTORS
Recipes

48. #SMX @MarcusTober@MarcusTober#SMX
Each NICHE has to deal with different
SEARCH INTENTIONS
RANKING FACTORS
USER WANTS TO:
Find the best platform
USER WANTS:
Information and analyses
USER WANTS:
Easy and structured guidance

49. @MarcusTober#SMX
HTTPS
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
Technical
Tc
1
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Dating SEO Recipes
34% 62%
Top 10-
SEO
18%
Top 10-
Recipes
Very different spread of HTTPS in niches.
Top 10-
Dating

50. @MarcusTober#SMX
# of Keywords the URL ranks for
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
Content
Co
3
0
500
1.000
1.500
2.000
2.500
3.000
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Dating SEO Recipes
1.444 325
Top 10-
SEO
474
Top 10-
Recipes
Top Dating sites are ranking for many
keywords
Top 10-
Dating

51. @MarcusTober#SMX
how to tell if a guy likes you
# of Keywords the URL ranks for – Dating
Over 1,300 Keywords – 118 of them on #1!

52. @MarcusTober#SMX
Top Sites per Niche/ #Keywords
Niche Ranking Factors
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
connectingsingles.com
mingle2.com
spark.com
mate1.com
pof.com
datehookup.com
askmen.com
okcupid.com
eharmony.com
match.com
% of Keywords

53. @MarcusTober#SMX
seo marketing
# of Keywords the URL ranks for – SEO
Over 1,900 Keywords – 101 of them on #1!

54. @MarcusTober#SMX
Top Sites per Niche/ #Keywords
Niche Ranking Factors
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
lifewire.com
backlinko.com
googleblog.com
yoast.com
wordstream.com
seroundtable.com
searchenginewatch.com
searchenginejournal.com
google.com
moz.com
searchengineland.com
% ofKeywords

55. @MarcusTober#SMX
Has Microdata (Schema.org)
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
Technical
Tc
1
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Dating SEO Recipes
34% 60%
Top 10-
SEO
89%
Top 10-
Recipes
Recipes has most Microdata integrations.
Top 10-
Dating

56. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Niches – Different Ranking Factors
Niche Ranking Factors
56
#SMX#SMX @MarcusTober
8 out of the top 10 organic results
have Schema integrations!

57. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Niches – Different Ranking Factors
Niche Ranking Factors
57
#SMX#SMX @MarcusTober
Just TWO URLs on the first page
have Schema integrations!

58. @MarcusTober#SMX
Use only what
is necessary/
relevant for
your audience
Learning
User intention is different depending on
industry/ niche

59. #SMX @MarcusTober
Publish and Forget?

60. #SMX @MarcusTober
• More content
• Video
• Infographic
• Lists
Content Updates
Example searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo
2010 TODAY
#SMX @MarcusTober

61. #SMX @MarcusTober
Content Score
Keyword “SEO”
2010 TODAY
Content Score: 78%
Word Count: 873
Content Score: 64%
Word Count: 701
#SMX @MarcusTober

62. #SMX @MarcusTober
1. Specialize Content
2. Update Content
3. Technical Optimization
RANKING FACTORS
#SMX @MarcusTober
Content needs be tailored to
your audience, constantly
updated and be accessible by
search engines
Keep in mind!

63. #SMX @MarcusTober
Live Long and Prosper
Download slides:
searchmetrics.com/seattle2017