Ranking factors

What is a ranking factor?

A ranking factor plays an important role in the position a website achieves within the search results. These are all the factors that play a role in the algorithm from Google. No one entirely understands exactly what this algorithm looks like. It is never revealed. However, online marketers have a good idea of what the algorithm looks like. Google also occasionally releases some information, but very few people in the world can tell exactly what the algorithm looks like. 

Fortunately. After all, this algorithm helps to ensure the quality of websites. If the algorithm were known to everyone, it would also mean that people would adapt their websites accordingly. This could mean that lower-quality websites would rank higher in search results, thereby damaging Google's good reputation as well. 

It is not precisely known what the ranking factors within Google are. After all, these are never officially confirmed. But don't worry, because most people have a good idea, and some ranking factors can still be confirmed with a little research. But what is a ranking factor and which factors have actually been confirmed? 

Definition of a ranking factor 

A ranking factor is therefore what Google bases the quality of a webpage on. This can therefore be many different factors. Anything that can influence the quality of the page. Think, for example, of the use of rich content, images, hyperlinks, SEO strategies, and so on. These factors help Google's algorithm understand, read, and index websites. The most relevant pages end up high in the Search Engine Results Pages from Google. 

Which ranking factor has been confirmed? 

We don't know exactly which ranking factors are used by Google. This will never be officially disclosed. However, we have a good idea of the impact of certain factors, largely due to numerous tests. To understand the precise workings, it's sometimes important to simply try something out and then read the results by doing a web analysis. If there haven't been many other changes and you see a clear difference in visitor numbers and conversions, this could be a sign that you've achieved a higher ranking in search engines. 

In theory, ranking factors shouldn't be necessary. Google is simply looking for websites with relevant, attractive, and unique information. If you can create a great website with relevant and unique content, that should be enough for a good position in the search results. However, in practice, it's not that easy. After all, Google cannot judge all websites in the online world on its own. That is simply impossible. That's why there are so-called Web crawlers that review the websites. These so-called ranking factors are then considered when determining the position within the search results. 

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