Google’s Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Factors

Writing by Nick Stamoulis Tweet

Search engine optimization hints and tips are everywhere on the net these days, perform a simple search on the topic and you will get millions of results. Every now and then you come across something that is either worth repeating, or worth commenting on. This article from Lorna Li, whilst reporting on SEOmoz’a research, is well worth a read. The content certainly is food for thought.

Lorna has listed the top 10 search engine optimization factors that Google uses (out of an estimated 200) to rank pages. I was struck by the number 1 places factor although on second thought could understand its importance. Many of the top ten involve inbound links.

It is interesting to note the many different ways inbound links are assessed by Google. It is not a simple – there is a link, it is worth xxx, move onto the next link. See for yourself the top 10 search engine optimization factors according SEOmoz:

• Keyword use in title tag. We know that keywords are important and that putting them into the title tag was important. It seems it may be the top rated requirement for search engine optimization programs.
• Anchor text of inbound links. Ranked at number two, the anchor text used to link to your page and how relevant it is to the page. It seems adjacent text is also checked for relevance.
• Global link popularity of site. Whilst inbound links are important, I was surprised to see this rated at three particularly as there are still dodgy link exchanges in operation.
• Age of site. This old monkey keeps popping up. Older sites will obviously have developed some authority, however, quality young sites still need to battle with this factor.
• Internal link popularity. Number and quality of links to particular pages. This is one area that is under utilized on many sites and yet so easy to manipulate and it rates at number five.
• Topical relevance of inbound links. Is the link from a well ranked topically related site?
• Link popularity of site in topical community. “Link love from the popular hoods in the neighborhood”.
• Keyword use in body text. All the way done at number eight. Probably expected in the top three but apparently not. Whilst it may be down at number eight, everything in the top ten is important.
• Global link popularity of linking sites. Once again, how popular is the site linking to yours.
• Topical relationship of linking page. Links from topically indexed pages can carry more weight.

As you can see, there are quite a few that relate to inbound links. The interesting points from this list is the relatively low position of keywords in content and the higher value of internal links, particulalry since you can play with them to get the most benefit from any search engine optimization program.

This list is not definitive and is not an ‘official Google’ list. This list has however been developed through the canvassing of 37 leading organic search engine optimization specialists. Lorna’s article is certainly well worth a read, particularly if you are new to search engine optimization.