Why general ranking factors are dead
The ephemeral nature of SEO means that there are constantly changes that you need to embrace – an SEO consultant’s work is never done! As ranking algorithms are continuously being refined and improved, search engine ranking factors are continuously evolving.
All businesses are looking to boost their page load ties and whilst this isn’t a significant ranking factor, it can be useful to know where you stand amongst your competitors so that you’re keeping your head above water.
Tober found that keywords in titles are that important, with only 48% of top-ranking websites including their keywords in the title tag. This indicates that Google is getting better at judging relevance without the need for this factor.
Industry-specific trends
Sober also found that different ranking factors appeared to be weighted differently depending on the query itself.
An example of an industry specific trend would be finance sites using HTTPS but this is not necessary for industries such as dating and recipe sites. Tober’s research was that ranking signals are relative to your niche and industry so you need to look at how your structure your site and create relevant content for your pages.
Some key differences:
- Page load time: 5.8 secs in 2017 vs 7.8 secs in 2016.
- Keyword in title: 48% in top 10 (2017) / 55% in top 10 (2016) / 75% in top 10 (2015).
- Word count: 1900 top 10 (2017) / top 1600 top 10 2016 / 1300 top 10 (2015)
- HTTPS: 23% Top 10
If you would like to speak to us about improving your ranking in the search engine, please do not hesitate to contact us.
