Ranking high on the search engines is the goal of any search engine optimization efforts to get found. Local search, personalized search, live search, mobile search and location search … the way that people search has changed and the search engines have to match quality, relevant results with queries to increase user experience. Google continues to rule the search volume, while Bing is slowly gaining some volume, especially with the recent Bing-Yahoo marriage. It used to be optimize for Google and you will rank and get found but now with Bing stepping in and ranking pages utilizing different criteria, it is important to identify the SEO factors that affect page rank across both search engines. While the algorithms remain under lock and key, we have been able to gain some insight into how they rank and the factors that affect rankings.
1. External Link Anchor Text. Sites linking in utilizing keywords that match your content is one of the biggest factors in ranking for Bing and Google. Google seems to put more weight on the quality of the link where Bing likes to see content matching content. We cannot control what terms will be used when our content is linked however content that remains on topic and industry relevant will not give the author many choices.
2. Title Tags with Keywords. Keywords in the title tag is a given however the placement sees to be a topic for discussion. the location of the keyword in the title tag does not seem to affect the rankings a whole lot, it is always best to have the keywords at the beginning to let readers and the spiders know what the page is about.
3. Recent/Fresh Content. New, fresh content weights highly when seeking rankings for popular queries. The search engines like new content as it gives a lot of authority to sites that are updated frequently however new content is not going to increase your rankings in the long term unless there are backlinks. It is always best to have new content especially with a blog as the content is searched more frequently providing more chances to rank even if the higher ranking is short lived.
4. XML Sitemap. Sitemaps do not affect the rankings by their mere existence but they do become a factor when the site is crawled. Site maps identify broken links that need to be fixed. Broken links not only stop the site from being crawled, they send a message to users that the site is not well maintained.
5. Niche Directories. Niche directories hone in on specific topics and not a one directory fits all industries. Niche directories have a lower number of links in each category as most companies register with the general directories. These are crawled the same way as the general directories so there is opportunity to rank from these directories. These are a really good way to increase your ranking locally.
6. Contextual Links. Contextual links via article marketing, squidoo’s and Hubpages. The content is matched to the page with the importance being the content matching the topic.
7. NoFollow Links. These are not a huge factor unless there is an overabundance. Nofollow links were created by Google to prevent sites from receiving links just to get links (ex: dofollow links from blog comments). While they are indexed and quantified, they are not qualified. Too many nofollow links will not necessarily lower your rankings especially if you have quality follow links however if there is not a balance between the follow-nofollow links, the rankings will be lower.
8. Social Media Platforms/Tools. Social media sites will not increase your rankings just for having a profile but the promotion and the links count.
Search engine optimization will continue to evolve as with user experience and technology advancements. Close monitoring of keywords to see where you can maximize efforts by increasing rankings for certain pages after they have been indexed and settled into a more permanent position is ongoing. There is always opportunity to increase rankings for highly searched terms once you have gained some authority. Ultimately, great content will always prevail so paying close attention to the content is more important to keeping up with what parts you are missing in your SEO.
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Thanks for the post Suzanne! I love that you added no-follow links as part of this article, I think it is highly overlooked!
.-= Keith Bloemendaal´s last blog ..Thinking Outside The Box: Linkbuilding =-.
Keith
I did spend quite a bit of time on that portion in researching and observing the nofollow links. They do not hurt as they are recognized as a link so the search engines do know where it is coming from so and the quality of that site. I do understand why you and others have nofollow as people will comment to get the link as part of a link building strategy. Better strategy – write great posts and have incredible, relevant and valuable copy and people will want to link.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to guest blog!
@SuzanneVara
Great list Suzanne! I agree with pretty much all of these points, but am still trying to work out where I stand out the whole ‘do-follow affecting page rank’ discussion. I was reading this post over at Blogussions http://www.blogussion.com/seo/google-eliminates-nofollow-change-search-algorithms/ (Sorry Keith, hope you don’t mind the link) and it mentions that Google has changed the way it looks at No Follow. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
.-= Tom | Build That List´s last blog ..The 4 Reasons People Unsubscribe Mailing Lists =-.
Tom
NoFollow vs DoFollow is great debate. While the percentage of nofollows is not very high (vs dofollow) it is still something to think about. The nofollow was pretty much created to decrease spammers. Ultimately enabling the nofollow you are saying that your site does not vouch for the link. Google does see the link and the nofollow attached to it. It does not give any page ranking boost but it does know the link is there. Also if the link is found elsewhere as a dofollow, it will count that one.
It is a tough call for a site owner. First and foremost you want to avoid spam and for a blog the “Good post” comment so they can get the link. For a site trying to build links it is an extra step to take to determine of the site is nofollow or dofollow.
The article referenced is a good one and does have a lot of information to consider. As nofollow only stops following links from one page to another it is feasible that the link may appear elsewhere and also it is indexed (unless the noindex is instituted). Google’s position has not changed since they created the nofollow links however as bigger sites have put this into place, Google has pretty much said that yes they see it and no it will not boost your ranking. It has never said to avoid sites with them as they have come out and said that they ignore the meta descrip. It is more of what they have said as opposed to what they are not saying.
My thoughts are that nofollows are a measure afforded to block spammers and those that you do not necessarily trust. Links are extremely important for rankings but I do see Google openly stating that they will ever have an effect on page rank.
Hope this helps.
@Tom | Build That List, Tom, I have read that article, and I do want to go further into this topic, as it is obviously a hot one!
Here are a couple of point I want to make about what has been going on since i made the change to no-follow:
1. I am getting less comments, therefore I have less outgoing links which still (even with what the article you posted says) means that my outbound links in my posts have better value. The ones that stopped commenting, were obviously here for a link only, so I don’t miss them one bit. I want commentors that are looking to add value, ask questions, as well as have healthy debates (like this one).
2.My traffic is continuing to rise at the same pace as before I removed do-follow, which shows me that most readers don’t even know the difference anyway.
3. One other point I would like to say, if you go back to my post and listen to Matt, he says that linking out to “scuzzy” sites with do-follow links can hurt your site. The obvious ones are porn, warez etc… but he said “debt consolidation” as one of those scuzzy sites, I would not have considered a debt consolidation site scuzzy. So, now the question becomes, how do I know who Google looks at as scuzzy? I don’t, so at least in my content I can have real control over who I am linking to, and I can be more careful to not link to bad neighborhoods.
Hope this helps…. and I don’t think do-follow is a bad thing, I am just trying to do the best I can for my site.
.-= Keith Bloemendaal´s last blog ..Bloggers That Influence Me =-.
Suzanne,
As you know I read your own blog and comments on openforum. To my surprise, I found this article retweeted in my timeline on Twitter by a friend—designer/blogger. It confirms the strategy you are writing about. And I am learning.
Jan
Jan
So great to see you over here! Keith has a great blog and for me the guest blogging here is a great way to bring exposure to a new audience and also link back to the my blog.
Look forward to seeing you in other places as well as you continue to learn. Thanks so much for dropping in and commenting. Be sure to check back here with Keith to see what he is stirring up.
@SuzanneVara
I recently started my own blog so I find this information very helpful. There is so much to learn about search optimization and it takes a lot of patience and hard work too. Thanks a lot!
.-= Natalie´s last blog ..10 Inspirational Japanese Digital Illustrators and Artists =-.
Natalie
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. SEO is very important however as a new blogger I would pay careful attention what is hot in your industry and things that are on the horizon. Blogs rank high initially and then take a bit to settle into their actual position. A blog article that has a higher ranking intially and then a few more and a few more that all get high rankings (1-5) will let Google know that you are someone to keep coming back and seeing. Also, with the site itself it is important to go for some long tail keywords that you know you can rank in the top 3 for as again it is authority and tells google you are someone. Ex. I ranked #1 in a matter of a week for ad agency contact form. I know that it has a low search volume but add on the other terms I got a #1 ranking for in the 1st month, it is a building block to start getting rankings for terms with a higher search volume. It is a slow process and a commitment but it comes and when it does the rewards are more traffic!
@SuzanneVara
Keith,
Good post on SEO bro!! Keep up the great work. The site’s also looking very nice.
BTW, I mentioned you in my post, “Glory is Hidden in Life’s Overlooked.”
Keep on keepin’ on bro!
.-= Travis´s last blog ..Glory is Hidden in Life’s Overlooked =-.
@Travis, Thanks Travis, I saw the article and it is a great one. Glad to see you moving forward with everything..
PS I didn’t write this article, was a guest post.
.-= Keith Bloemendaal´s last blog ..Social Media Etiquette =-.
I always find SEO posts interesting and yet, apart from the basic stuff, I don’t really bother with it all that much. I suppose it’s partly to do with the fact that it can be pretty time consuming but it’s also because I find it rather tedious and takes away the enjoyment factor of blogging.
.-= Sire@WassupBlog´s last blog ..Membership Drive For Where Bloggers Meet =-.
SEO is a commitment that does improve rankings,no doubt. Blogs, especially ones that cover hot topics do rank well in the short term. Many of the plaforms, like wrodpress have plugins to assist with the efforts but the research and the work involved to bump up rankings for blogs or to rank for website pages is extensive. Blogging needs to be enjoyable and too many get wrapped up in the numbers. The numbers are great and inviting to constantly check however if the joy of blogging is gone then there will be no numbers to look at.
@Suzanne Vara, Also, I guess that would fall under whether or not you are blogging as a business (trying to make money) or just blogging for personal enjoyment.
.-= Keith Bloemendaal´s last blog ..Update on Hot Blog Tips Future =-.
Very simple and plain listing and I completely agree with the last line: it’s ultimately the great content that drives most… Moreover: I think that all new innovative platforms and search will derive from trust as a currency, so thatll be even more relevant, see also http://www.vue-royale.nl/comments/trust_marketing
[...] 8 Main Factors that Affect Search Engine Rankings – HotBlogTips Ranking high on the search engines is the goal of any search engine [...]
I was going to write some of my own views on do/no follow, but figured I’d save the space for my revision of war and peace. lol
Instead, here’s two anchor text questions. “We cannot control what terms will be used when our content is linked…”
Oh so true, sooo…
1. Bad etiquette to contact said blogger and ASK them to change it? I never mind it but some might.
2. Bad etiquette to have a page on your blog titled, “this is how to link to me” with explanations? I’ve been thinking of doing just this.
Lookin’ forward!
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..$100 – 10 Winners – Comment Contest! ‘Till Months End… =-.
Dennis
it is a tough one when someone does link and the anchor text is just not what you had hoped for. It is not bad etiquette to contact them. They may be a bit taken back but most will understand that you are trying to gain momentum (aka rankings) for a certain term.
The page I think is a good idea. We see people all the time telling folks how to contact them so having a page or something at the bottom of the blog on how to link to you is beneficial. If we are not provided instructions on how to do something we create out own ways and that is when anchor text is not what we wanted it to be.
Great questions as I know that others have been hesitant to reach out to a blogger about the anchor text. If it is a term that is on your radar to rank for, then let them know. The worst is that they will not do it and think you are wrong for asking.
@SuzanneVara
@Suzanne Vara, and then decide their not going to link to you anymore…yes that is bad.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..$100 – 10 Winners – Comment Contest! ‘Till Months End… =-.
Yeah that would be a problem but at the same time if it is a serious blogger you would think that they would understand unless it is a term they are going after as well. If someone asked me I would change it as to me if they were nice about asking then why not do it.
.-= Suzanne Vara´s last blog ..Social Media Shortfall Case Study: Summerlin =-.
@Suzanne Vara,
Yes, a serious blogger knowing the value of outward relationships over their own needs.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..$100 – 10 Winners – Comment Contest! ‘Till Months End… =-.
@Dennis Edell, I would not be hesitant to reach out to a blogger, only if the term they used for anchor text was completely out in left field though. If the anchor text has anything to do with the niche I am writing about, then it is a good link and I am thankful someone liked my content well enough to link to it.
[...] 8 Main Factors that Affect Search Engine Rankings – HotBlogTips Ranking high on the search engines is the goal of any search engine [...]
Nice post Suzanne, I agree with it all, especially using the keywords in the title, in exact order of course. The real pro is able to do everything you listed and still write a great piece. Some bloggers are writing for Google and forget that real people are there.
.-= Brian D. Hawkins´s last blog ..Connect With Me – Leave Your Links =-.
Brian
That is the challenge for new bloggers who are still grasping the process of blogging and finding their niche. There is more to it than writing as you are correct, many try and write the hero piece and forget that real people will be reading it. For me, the rankings are great do not get me wrong but when I post an article I care more about what are the readers getting out of it and I take the point real well when there are fewer comments and also the article is not read or shared. Generally what happens is that when you write for readers you rank for things that you never expected to.
Blogging for business needs not to be a job, it is more about identifying why you are there and what can you give to readers that they will walk away with something.
.-= Suzanne Vara´s last blog ..Social Media Shortfall Case Study: Summerlin =-.
This is the first time i know that the number of nofollow link will affect our ranking too. Thanks for sharing!
.-= Kok Siong Chen´s last blog ..Anti-angiogenic Therapy to Treat Cancer =-.
A lot of nofollows without dofollows is going to affect your ranking as the nofollows are not counted for rankings. They are telling the search engines that the site where link would come from does not trust you or wishes to give you a link. Ultimately you want as many high quality, but yet relevant to your industry links that are dofollow.
@SuzanneVara
.-= Suzanne Vara´s last blog ..Social Media Shortfall Case Study: Summerlin =-.
Hi Natalie,
Thank you so much for this constructive post… I like this…and maybe more in near future…need lots of it…
.-= Terrence´s last blog ..Construction Life Could Be Fun =-.
Hi Suzanne,
Thanks for the great post! For a novice blogger SEO is a never ending battle, so you’ve just given me a few more things to add to my to do list.
Thanks for providing some direction.
.-= Shannon O | Confessions of a Loving Wife´s last blog ..Reasons Why I Love My Husband =-.
Shannon
SEO is a battle when you need immediate results. Blogs do rank higher and faster but once the dust settles and the article gets in its proper ranking, that is when really the optimization continues. We can set out to rank for a certain term or collection of terms and through that get rankings for something we were not even trying for.
The key is to enjoy what you are doing and yes keep in mind the rankings but great content where readers are sharing always will rank well. Keep on blogging and writing the best that you can to your audience. They will appreciate and the search engines will reward you for your efforts.
@SuzanneVara
.-= Suzanne Vara´s last blog ..Social Media Shortfall Case Study: Summerlin =-.
“Ultimately, great content will always prevail so paying close attention to the content is more important to keeping up with what parts you are missing in your SEO.” This is so true. Even if you use all the SEO tricks in the book and get #1 spot in the search engines, if people click through and find only rubbish they will simply click off – and probably be quite grumpy about you in the process.
.-= LynnetteFowler@OnlineBusiness´s last blog ..Five Strategies to Profit Online =-.
Lynette
Yes they will click off and unless they found what they needed or what they were looking for, they will not return. The numbers are important and ranking gets you found but we know that better content gets found too.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment.
@SuzanneVara
.-= Suzanne Vara´s last blog ..Social Media Shortfall Case Study: Summerlin =-.
Awesome post, thank you very much…
Very nice put all together this list.
I wonder about “if there is not a balance between the follow-nofollow links, the rankings will be lower”. What means, we must make as rule, to ckeck the sites where we post comments, if there are follow or nofollow links? Im confused here…
.-= Sheryna Classifieds´s last blog ..Clothes/Shoes/Bags: Ladies sliper, RM20 – Kuala-Lumpur, Malaysia =-.
Sheryna
It does not necessarily mean to look at every site, but more to keep an eye on your rankings as well as the sites linking in. If you see that there are more nofollow than dofollow links, analyze this and see where you can build more follow links.
The percentage of nofollow links is extremely low as compared to follow links. Google created them as a tool for websites do not give links to those they did not trust and also for spammers. Wikipedia is nofollow as if they were follow, people would try and link to them so to alleviate it, they are not follow. Many site are dofollow though.
.-= Suzanne Vara´s last blog ..Social Media Shortfall Case Study: Summerlin =-.
Good article. One question I do have on this is if it is worth it to pay an SEO company to market your website?
I am personally a web programmer, and the SEO aspect of websites is not something that I am familiar with. It has changed so much in the last 10 years. I appreciate articles like this!
.-= Chris Roane´s last blog ..Code Formatting and Coloring in WordPress without a Plugin =-.
@Chris Roane,
Be extremely careful hiring any “SEO Company”; seriously, so many are simply full of crap with their “we’ll get you to page one in 6 seconds, woohoo!” garbage.
My personal advice if you wish it (or even if you don’t apparently, lol)…find a fellow blogger or two that you trust, that knows their SEO.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..$100 – 10 Winners – Comment Contest! ‘Till Months End… =-.
@Dennis Edell, that is great advice. I’m definitely not looking for the easy way (because there is no such thing as the easy way to the top). It is not like I have much extra money to spend on this type of thing anyway (lol), but I was thinking maybe if I had some cash if this was worth pursuing.
I’ll have to keep a list of possible bloggers to pursue on this.
.-= Chris Roane – MontanaProgrammer.com´s last blog ..Code Formatting and Coloring in WordPress without a Plugin =-.
@Chris Roane – MontanaProgrammer.com,
Glad I could help a bit.
I get my contact form spammed constantly by these companies promising the #1 slot on Google.
I was bored one day and replied to one of them asking exactly how many #1 spots were available?
Alas, no response. LMAO!
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..UPDATED – $100 – 10 Winners – Comment Contest! ‘Till Months End… =-.
Chris
I agree and somewhat disagree with Dennis here. There are some very slimy SEO companies out there that are not very ethical, talk a good talk and just have bad business practices. While this is a good portion of them, there are some good ones out there that will meet your needs. Do you research on them, ask for references, check their activity and rankings. It is about finding the right company for you. I do agree with Dennis in finding a good blogger and also asking around.
SEO has changed a lot but there are is a lot that you can learn from reading and keeping up with so that if you are interested in considering hiring a company, you are able to speak with them with some good knowledge.
Dennis – thanks so much for jumping in and answering to Chris.
@SuzanneVara
.-= Suzanne Vara´s last blog ..Social Media Shortfall Case Study: Summerlin =-.
@Suzanne Vara, Happy to help where I can. I didn’t really mean to imply all, but I know how many spam their useless services.
Personally I’ve never gone to a “company” for anything, at least not a corporate one. I just find someone doing better at what I need.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..How Contextual Links will Open On DEDC – My Setup FINALIZED! =-.
This is excellent. I’m actually going through all my posts tonight to do all the SEO keywords etc. It’s something I have neglected till now but this has prompted me to get it sorted, gonna tak me hours though!
.-= TheInfoPreneur´s last blog ..Make This Weekend Count + Video =-.
It will take quite a bit of time to go back and optimize however the it will help in the long run and after doing it, you will always optimize each article. It does make a difference in page rankings. I recently changed platforms for my blog and had to go in and manually enter in all keywords, tags and meta descrips so I do understand where you are coming from. I will not say it was a pleasant experience however it was necessary.
@SuzanneVara
.-= Suzanne Vara´s last blog ..Google Mobile: How to Check In-Store Product Availability =-.
@Suzanne Vara,
Ah yes, one of the most exciting factors in me moving everything to a new blog to republish one by one….update and get the SEO right, right from the jump!
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..48hr Downtime – Lots Done-LOTS More To-Do! =-.
@John Sullivan@The Blog No One Reads,
Now that struck me funny.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..$100 – 10 Winners – Comment Contest! ‘Till Months End… =-.