Top 10 SEO Ranking Factors to focus on in 2021

By Stephanie Ross

Google uses a wide range of SEO ranking factors to determine where your website appears on its search results pages. Not only are some of those ranking factors more important than others, but the level of importance changes as the Google algorithm evolves. So, staying on top of the most important SEO ranking factors is crucial for your Seo company, whether you want to find customers in New Zealand or further afield.

Here are the ranking factors you should concentrate on in 2021.

  1. Quality Content

There are some people who try to use SEO to game the system. Then there are others who make SEO more complicated than it is.

However, the straightforward reality is that Google puts websites that have the best content at the top of its search results pages.

It looks at a range of factors to help it understand the content it finds on websites, and then to determine which website is best. Looking at those various ranking factors is important for your SEO strategy but everything – everything – starts with having good quality content.What does good quality content look like? Here are six components of high-quality website content:

  • Unique – the pages on your website should have 100 percent unique content.
  • Useful – your content should genuinely help visitors and not just be a continuous sales pitch.
  • Fresh – the content on your site should be as new and up to date as possible.
  • Original – having original content with your own ideas is essential too. After all, why would Google rank your page higher than any other page if yours is saying essentially the same thing as everything else that is out there?
  • Long enough – the pages that rank the highest in Google are often the pages with the highest word counts.
  • Well organized with a good structure – this point covers several areas, including ensuring the text is easy to read, including header tags, and making sure you include keywords in the right places.

  1. Publish Consistently

Google likes fresh content as its users prefer accessing content that is recent. So, consistently publishing high-quality content on your site will also improve SEO and attract more visitors.

Regularly publishing content will also increase the number of keywords you target, both standard keywords and longtail keywords.

  1. Backlinks

Backlinks have always been important in SEO, and they will continue to be important in 2021.

Backlinks help Google’s algorithm understand the relevance and authority of your content. Getting backlinks is not always easy, although the above two points will help, i.e., regularly publishing high-quality content on your site.

This approach will generate new backlinks naturally, but you will probably also have to proactively seek high-quality backlinks as well.

  1. User Experience

The user experience you offer on your website has a bearing on your rankings in Google. Therefore, you should make the user experience as good as possible. Elements you should look at include the structure of your site, the navigation, how you internally link your content, etc.

  1. Optimize Page Titles and URLs

The page titles on your website should be optimized, as should your URLs. Including the main keyword of the page in both the page title and URL is crucial.

  1. Mobile Optimised

We are long past including a point on a list like this that your website should be mobile responsive. In 2021, that is a given. What you should be doing over the coming months is making sure the mobile experience of your website is as good as possible.

  1. Search Intent

Search intent is one of the big things that Google is focusing on right now. The aim is to not only understand the words being typed into a search box, but the meaning behind those words.

So, you should consider search intent in relation to the keywords you target. Does your content fit with that search intent? Will a person using a specific keyword that you want to target be satisfied with what they find on your site based on their intent?

  1. Site Speed

This SEO ranking factor is another one that has always been important, and it will continue to be so in 2021. So, if the pages on your site load slowly, you will need to take action to speed them up.

  1. Keyword Optimised

Targeting the right keywords is a cornerstone of good SEO. You then need to use those keywords properly. Here are some pointers:

  • Include target keywords in your content, headers, page titles, and URLs.
  • You should also use target keywords in page meta descriptions, image alt text, and keyword anchor text on internal links.
  • Use LSI keywords to add context.
  • Don’t stuff your pages with keywords.
  • Don’t forget longtail keywords, as they can be a goldmine.

  1. Site Security

Website security is another big priority for Google, so make sure your site uses SSL encryption.

Focus on the Most Important SEO Ranking Factors First

Any top SEO company in New Zealand will focus first on the SEO ranking factors that will deliver the best and fastest results. You should do the same if you want to improve the position of your website in Google search. The 10 on this list are the best places to start.

Interesting Related Article: “What is SEO and why do you need it?“