Search Engine Ranking Factors
Since the beginning of modern search, search engines have interpreted links a sign of popularity. The more inbound links pointing at a website represent the web’s opinion about how important and popular that specific web page is. Inbound links aren’t everything, but SEO professionals believe link based factors comprise a large portion of the algorithms. By analyzing link data, search engines can also measure metrics like trust, authority and spam. Trustworthy sites will often receive links from other trusted sites while spammy sites do not.
Link Signals
Search engines analyze link data in many different ways. Although no one really knows all of the factors considered in the algorithms, we can draw upon intelligent assumptions isolated by SEO professionals to determine some of the most important factors. Below is a list of notable factors worth your consideration. These signals, and many more, are considered by professional SEOs when measuring link value and a site’s link profile.
READ: Through the analysis of patent applications, years of experience and experimentation, intelligent assumptions regarding linking factors can be identified. Find out more in the article by Rank Fiskin (Moz.com founder): All Links are Not Created Equal: 10 Illustrations on Search Engines’ Valuation of Links.
Popularity
As a website grows in popularity, the more links it will receive. The more links, the more popular. The more popular, the more importance and influence. Another term for a websites importance and influence is PageRank (PR).
A site like WebMD has 1000’s of diverse sites linking to it which means it’s a very popular and trustworthy website. WebMD has a PageRank of 8 (out of a possible 10) so it is a very important website. If you were to receive a link (a vote) from a site like WebMD, you would receive a portion of its importance to your website – this is often to as “link juice.”
In order for your website to earn trust and authority with search engines, you will need links from important sites (similar to WebMD). The higher your websites PR, the more importance and influence your site will have.
Topic Specific Popularity
In order to receive the most benefit from a link, it is important for that link to be from a website within your niche.
Continuing with the WebMD example, if your website sells acne treatments, earning a link from WebMD matters more than links from an off-topic site like rollerskating.com.
Anchor Text
Search engines consider the text found in Anchor Text links as a signal indicating a website’s focus. If dozens of links point to a web page with similar keywords, that page has a very good probability of ranking well for the targeted phrase in that anchor text.
You can see an example of anchor text influencing rankings with searches like “download now” – you will see websites ranking that don’t even have the phrase “download now” in their source code… There are many websites which rank solely for a term embedded within anchor text of inbound links.
TrustRank
Some estimates suggest that as much as 60% of the available web pages are spam. As you can imagine, eliminating irrelevant content has become a priority. Search engines analyze websites using systems for measuring trust, many of which are based on the link graph. By earning links from highly trusted domains (like WebMD), you can gain a significant boost to this scoring metric.
Freshness
If a website stops earning new links, it becomes “stale.” This decline in link signals will result in the website dropping in the search rankings. By creating new content, you will continue to earn new links and you will remain relevant to your niche. Search engines use these signals, called “FreshRank,” to gauge current popularity and relevance.
Link Neighbors
It’s just as important to pay attention to the websites that are sending you links as it is choosing which site you link to. These relationships – called Link Neighbors can influence how your website ranks.
Link based factors comprise a large portion of the search algorithms. By analyzing a websites’ link relationships, search engines can determine the “link neighborhood” that website exists in. If a website links to spam websites, that website is more likely to be a spam site with other spam sites linking back to it.
Sharing and Social Media
SEO professionals debate exactly how search engines factor social link signals into their algorithm, but there is no denying the rising importance of these social signals as ranking factors in determining social interaction and behavior. This shift towards social media allows marketers a huge opportunity to get their message in front of a targeted audience.
There is evidence to suggest that the social influence created by Tweets, Likes, and Pluses affect website rankings. Google and Bing have begun incorporating social media signals into their search results, however, the SEO community maintains that anchor text links links are still superior and more lasting way to promote the popularity of your content than any other method.
Just like the trust and authority ratings associated with a website, social accounts have a reputation too. Concentrate your marketing efforts on relevant social platforms – just as you would with your website. By gaining references from social accounts with good reputations, you will be able to maintain a social presence that is well regarded.
Getting social links from high quality reputable social shares is ideal, but any positive share that is widely viewed is still helpful. The more people who see your brand or product – the better. Participation in social media is crucial and if you’re not actively publishing content and engaging your audience on social sites – you’re missing out on traffic and conversions.
READ: There’s more to driving traffic than backlinking. Yes, off-page factors like links still weigh more heavily than on-page efforts but this article, 12 Ways to Increase Traffic From Google Without Building Links, by Cyrus Shepard examines how SEO’s have a number of options to gain increased search traffic without ever building a link.
READ: SEO is insane… In spite of all the advice, strategic discussions, blog posts, “insider” insights and conference talks, we digital marketers are still algorithmic thinkers. That’s especially true when you think of SEO. The problem, we apply this same thinking to our content strategies. Produce a certain amount of content, move up a certain number of spaces. Unfortunately, it often doesn’t work that way. In this article, Distance From Perfect, Ian Lurie illustrates the point and offers some “clarity” to the B.S..