Search Ranking Factors
From SuperbHosting.net Support Wiki
There is no clear and simple science or formula that can be applied to ranking your website well in the search engines. There are general factors that can be agreed upon, but the significance of each specific element and the weight each should be given when addressing your search engine rankings is something that is still debated among the rockstars and gurus of search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). SEOmoz, one of the heavyweights in the world of SEO/SEM gathered 37 of the leaders in the SEO world to discuss, debate, and create a general overview of search ranking factors. From the article:
- This document represents the collective wisdom of 37 leaders in the world of organic search engine optimization. Together, they have voted on the various factors that are estimated to comprise Google's ranking algorithm (the method by which the search engine orders results). The result is a resource of incredible value - although not every one of the estimated 200+ ranking elements are included, it is my opinion that 90-95% of the knowledge required about Google's algorithm is contained below. ~ SEOmoz.org Search Ranking Factors
- The following main topics are broken down and covered in the article:
- Keyword Use Factors - These components relate to the use of the user's search query terms in determining the rank of a particular page (i.e. keyword use in title tag or body text).
- Page Attributes - These elements comprise how Google interprets specific data about a webpage independent of keywords (i.e. age of document, quality/relevance of links to external sites).
- Site/Domain Attributes - These factors contribute to Google's rankings based on the site/domain on which a page resides (i.e. quality, quantity, and relevance of links to the site, age of site).
- Inbound Link Attribute - These affect Google's weighting of links from external websites pointing to a page (i.e. Anchor text of inbound link, global link popularity of linking site).
- NOTE: The article linked to is not an attempt to reverse-engineer Google's algorithm and it does not try to inform web developers or marketers how to optimize their sites. The article is simple an overview of aspects of a web page and website that contribute to the ranking in search engines and weight that each of the aspects might have on search engine rank.
