Google Ranking Factors 2014

When creating a website, the Google ranking is always on the priority. Everybody desire  a Good ranking on Google search engine. This is why people are always trying  to make that happen. There have been various guidelines that people have been adopting to increase their chances of top rankings. However, these methods are not set in stone and are subject to vary. Here is a look at some of the factors that have influenced Google rankings in the year.

#1 – Title Tags with relevant keywords in start as opposed to being at the end. keywords in your title tag is as equally important as having them the content on your website.

#2 – Ensure that there are keywords in meta descriptions. A meta description tag is a short description of the contents on the web page and is also the snippet that shows up on the search engine results pages (SERPs).

#3 – Equally important are keywords in your header  tag or H1 tag. The first header tag is usually the second title tag of your web page. This usually allows the website visitor to navigate through the web page’s content easier.

** Before I move on, it’s important that I note that you don’t stuff your title tags, meta descriptions and H1 tags with keywords. Although, they are important, search engines like Google will penalize websites that stuff their pages with keywords. It’s important to be relevant and think from your website visitor’s perspective and how they will navigate around your site.

#4 – How long does it take to load your website or the pages of each of your site? Your page load speed an important ranking factor. Ensure that your website is optimized for different devices (be mobile friendly!) and aren’t crammed with very big images, big videos or very text-heavy.

#5 – Fresh content. Today, an average online users processes over 285 pieces of content daily. To be constantly relevant to your users, be sure to have relevant, good quality and fresh content on your website. Today’s websites are more than just static websites but a piece of the sales process that keeps consumers engaged through blogs and other means.

#6 – Optimize your images with proper alt and description tags. These will help Google determine the relevancy of the images on your site. Also, this is a ranking factor for users who are doing an images or site search for something related to your brand.

#7 – Delete or fix broken links on your website using tools like Google Webmastertools.

#8 – A responsive website designed for multiple screens, devices and browsers.This is a must-have for websites today. Users are constantly switching and using multiple devices when searching for your brand and it is important to keep your website experience consistent – much like your brand.

#9 – Having an intuitive website architecture is an important factor for Google. But a must-have is a sitemap. A sitemap allows Google to crawl your website and its pages and index them for website visitors.

#10 – Google has made it clear that having proper contact information appear on your website is an important ranking factor. Having contact information allows for consumers to be able to find about more about products and services and essentially close the sales process.