My presentation from Search Engine Watch Connect in Miami - Demystifying search ranking factors. While modern search technology is changing the landscape of search engine marketing, the core SEO strategies for organic growth have maintained some level of consistency over time despite added complexities determining relevance. Explore some of the more important factors, and how they should influence your website growth strategy.
10. SEOMoz Top 10 Ranking Factors - 2005
1. Title tag
2. Anchor Text of Links
3. Keyword Use in Document Text
4. Accessibility of Document
5. Links to Document from Site-Internal Pages
6. Primary Subject Matter of Site
7. External Links to Linking Pages
8. Link Popularity of Site in Topical Community
9. Global Link Popularity of Site
10. Keyword Spamming
http://moz.com/blog/ranking-factors-version-2-released
11. What is SEO?
Knowing what the search engines want and giving it to
them…
***
- David Naylor, CEO Bronco
http://www.bronco.co.uk/
12. What is SEO?
Knowing what the search engines want and giving it to
them…
…so hard they f’n bleed
http://www.threadwatch.org/node/9349
13. Ranking Factors – Circa 2007
1. Keyword Use in Title Tag
2. Anchor Text of Inbound Link
3. Global Link Popularity of Site
4. Age of Site
5. Link Popularity within the Site’s Internal Link Structure
6. Topical Relevance of Inbound Links to Site
7. Link Popularity of Site in Topical Community
8. Keyword Use in Body Text
9. Global Link Popularity of Linking Site
10. Topical Relationship of Linking Page
11. Quality/Relevance of Links to External Sites/Pages
12. Age of Document
13. Keyword Use in H1 Tag
14. Amount of Index-able Text Content
15. Age of In-Bound Link
16. Topical Relationship of Linking Site
17. Relevance of Site’s Primary Subject Matter to Query
18. Keyword Use in Domain Name
14. The Algorithm Killed Jeeves
http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2007/askcom-algorithm-billboards/
15. The Algorithm is From New Jersey…
http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2007/askcom-algorithm-billboards/
26. What Changed in Google Black Box?
1. Increase in Rich Answers
2. CTR in SERPS
3. Mobile Growth & Distinctions
4. Google+ Changes
5. Vertical “Features” in Search
6. Heavier “Localized Organic” Integration
7. “SnackPack” Local Results
27. The Google Black Box
• Over 200 Ranking Factors
• Shifting, Evolving Algorithm
• “Core Algorithm”
28. The “Core Algorithm”
Gary Illyes
http://searchengineland.com/google-explains-what-it-means-to-be-part-of-the-core-algorithm-240681
…Focus on your website, and don’t worry about chasing interesting
algorithm information…
29. On Ranking Factors, Updates, and Business…
“Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path
to your door”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
“…Build better mousetraps…”
- Matt Cutts
40. #1 Click Through Rates/ Engagement
• CTR
• Pogo sticking/ Time to Long Click
• Time on Site
41. CTR has the Highest Correlation to Rankings
• CTR
• Pogo sticking/ Time to Long Click
• Hard to influence
http://www.searchmetrics.com/knowledge-base/ranking-factors-infographic-2015/
42. High Bounce Rate / “Pogosticking”
http://www.blindfiveyearold.com/time-to-long-click
55. Biggest Losers in 2015…
https://moz.com/blog/brands-that-won-and-lost-google-2015
Yelp gave up its #4
position in 2015 to
YouTube, and seemed
to suffer from some of
Google's local changes
this year.
57. Local Search “Features”
85 “Search Features”
– Maps
– Knowledge Graph
– Carousel
– Mobile Click to Call
– Etc…
https://moz.com/blog/google-glossary
58. Features – Knowledge Graph Box
• Maps
• Places vs. Plus Local
• Venice Update
• 85 “Search Features”
• Knowledge Graph
• Carousel
• National localized Search
• Mobile Click to Call
• Geo-targeted results
59. Features - Maps
• Maps
• Places vs. Plus Local
• Venice Update
• 85 “Search Features”
• Knowledge Graph
• Carousel
• National localized Search
• Mobile Click to Call
• Geo-targeted results
62. Local Growth
• Local is Big (and growing)
• Mobile is Big (and growing)
• Google Dominates Search (70%+)
• Google Dominates Mobile
• Google Dominates Local
• Google is the 800 lb. Gorilla of Local Search
63. Google Local Search
30% of 100B searches / month have local intent
30 Billion
Local Monthly Searches
64. Local Ecosystem – Google
• 540+ Million Users on Google+ in 2 years
• Avg. 3.5 Billion Queries / day*
• Over 100 Billion Queries / month**
• Over 1 Billion Android devices activated***
• Over 30M click-to-calls/ mo. ****
*http://www.statisticbrain.com/google-searches/
**http://www.statista.com/topics/1001/google/chart/898/number-of-searches-handled-by-search-engines-worldwide/
***http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/03/google-announces-1b-total-android-activations-names-next-version-kitkat/
****http://smallbiztrends.com/2013/02/mobile-search-statistics-facts.html
65. Location Enabled Services Mass Adoption
= Heavier “Localized Organic” Integration
• “SnackPack” Local Results
• More Mobile Growth
• Google+ Divorce
• Increased Knowledge Panel
https://www.internetretailer.com/2013/09/12/more-smartphone-owners-rely-location-based-services
66. More Mobile Growth
Locally Relevant to Broad Term
http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/mobile-marketing-analytics/mobile-
marketing-statistics/
67. More Mobile Growth
• Heavier “Localized Organic” Integration
• “SnackPack” Local Results
• More Mobile Growth
• Google+ Divorce
• Increased Knowledge Panel
http://www.statista.com/statistics/284202/mobile-phone-internet-user-penetration-worldwide/
68. Pigeon
“The User is the New Centroid”
http://searchengineland.com/58-local-marketeers-will-
change-tactics-pigeon-update-208812
http://moz.com/blog/pigeon-advice-from-local-seos
76. Top Local Search Ranking Factors 2015-2016
1. GoogleMyBusiness signals
2. External local signals
3. Review signals
4. Social signals
5. Mobile signals
6. Link signals
7. On-page signals
8. Personalization
77. 10 Influential Local Search Ranking Factors
1. Domain Authority of Website
2. Quality/Authority of Inbound Links
3. Product/ Service in GMB Business Title
4. City/ State in GMB Landing Page Title
5. Consistency of Structured Citations
6. Topical Keyword Relevance of Domain Content
7. Diversity of Inbound Links to Domain
8. Geographic Relevance of Domain
9. Physical Address in City of Search
10. City/ State in Website Title Tags
78. Top 7 Local Competitive Difference Makers
1. quality/authority of structured citations
2. quality/authority of inbound links to domain
3. quantity of reviews by authority reviewers
4. consistency of structured citations
5. quantity of citations from industry relevant domains
6. domain authority of website
7. quantity of citations from locally-relevant domains
79. Localized Results vs. Pack Results
• No Organic for
Commercial Phrases
• Lead Gen Aggregators
80. Google +
• Create URL Best Practices for Subdirectory
• Document Internal Linking Structure
• Begin Migration Documentation
• Research & Document Link Reclamation
• Goal Value Attribution to Analytics
http://www.slideshare.net/WordStream - Larry Kim
83. What Changed in Google Black Box?
1. Increase in Rich Answers
2. CTR in SERPS
3. Mobile Growth & Distinctions
4. Vertical “Features” in Search
5. Heavier “Localized Organic” Integration
6. “SnackPack” Local Results
7. Google+ Changes
89. The 4 Dimensions of SEO
• Page QUALITY
• Domain AUTHORITY
• Keyword RELEVANCE
• Off site VALUE
Page
Quality
Domain
Authority
Off-Site
Value
Keyword
Relevance
90. The individual web page document being analyzed for the
search results. Page quality is made up a variety of factors
including:
• On Page Content
• Title Tag
• Meta Description
• Synonymous Language
• User Time On Page
Page Dimension – What is it?
91. The 4 Dimensions of SEO – why is it important?
• A webpage ranks in SERPs
• Page level link value
• Page level keyword relevance
101. The 4 Dimensions of SEO
• Domain dimension
• What is it
• Why is it important
102. Domain Dimension – What is it?
Any variables that relate to the trust, authority, or effects
on a webpage’s rankings relating to the entire domain
as a whole (including subdomains)
– Often called root level, site level, or top level
– Examples:
• Site Index Size
• Unique linking domains to the entire domain
• Social media mentions to the entire domain
• Total links to the entire domain
• Trust or authority of links to the entire domain
• Keyword in domain
106. Domain Dimension: Web Server / Site Platform
• Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP (LAMP)
• Internet Information Services (Windows IIS)
• Builtwith.com
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2013/10/02/october-2013-web-server-survey.html
112. Off-Site Dimension of SEO
Any factors that affect a webpage’s rankings that occur
off the domain that is in the search result
Examples:
• Inbound link metrics (quality, quantity, etc.)
• Root linking domains
• Strongest linked pages on a domain
• Keywords in anchor text
• Social mentions
– Tweets
– Facebook likes/shares
• Brand mentions/signals
113. Why is it Important?
• Link Authority
• Site Trust
• Social Signals
• Link Signals
• Brand Signals
116. Link Building Is Boring…and Hard…
https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/local-seo-industry-survey/
117. Negative Off Site Signals
• “Un-Natural”
– Anchor text distribution
– Domain authority distribution
– Amount of links from penalized sites
– Excessive amount of a single link type
– Excessive “run of site” links
• Lots of low quality links (negative SEO)
• Low clickthrough
• Low/No traffic validation (referral data)
• No social validation
118. The 4 Dimensions of SEO
Keyword/ Other Dimension
– What is it?
– Why is it important?
– Examples
119. Keyword/ SERP Dimension - What is it?
Any variables or factors including query features that
impact a web page or domain’s rankings for specific
keywords.
Examples:
• Bounce Rate
• User time on site
• Inbound linking anchor text
• Vertical/ Blended Search
• Local Search “Features”
• Use of Other Media (video, audio, images)
• Authorship
• Negative Factors
• Offsite Duplicate Content
• “Over-Optimization”
• Filters/ Penalties
120. Keyword/ SERP Dimension - What is it?
Any variables or factors including query features that
impact a web page or domain’s rankings for specific
keywords.
– Examples:
• Bounce Rate
• User time on site
• Inbound linking anchor text
• Keyword on page
121. Why’s Everyone Trying to Kill Keywords and SEO?
• Landing Pages + Rank Tracking
• Focus on Organic Visibility
122. Why’s Everyone Trying to Kill Keywords and SEO?
• Landing Pages + Rank Tracking
• Focus on Organic Visibility
126. Local Search “Features”
85 “Search Features”
– Maps
– Knowledge Graph
– Carousel
– Mobile Click to Call
– Etc…
https://moz.com/blog/google-glossary
127. Keyword Relevance Scoring
Comparing use of keywords and synonymous terms for 3 other
dimensions:
• On Page elements and content
• Domain wide elements and content
• Off site reference from links and mentions
Useful for:
• Improving results based on aggregate user data
• Understanding language patterns
129. On Algorithm Changes…
Google has stated publicly (under oath, in fact) that they made 516 updates
in 2010. The numbers for 2011 and 2012 appear to be on par with that.
On average, that’s 1.4 updates every day.
We’re chasing two runaway animals while an entire zoo is stampeding toward
Grandma’s house, and we’re too often doing bad SEO along the way.
http://moz.com/blog/the-bigfoot-update-aka-dr-pete-goes-crazy
131. The 4 Dimensions of SEO
• Page QUALITY
• Domain AUTHORITY
• Keyword RELEVANCE
• Off site VALUE
Page
Quality
Domain
Authority
Off-Site
Value
Keyword
Relevance