7 Most Important Google Ranking Factors in 2025

Ever since Google prioritized mobile search in 2019, it’s key that your website be responsive on any size screen. Mobile-first means that Google will now use your website’s mobile version for indexing and ranking. Content length is an easy ranking factor to measure and understand. Another easy guideline to remember is that longer is generally better.

What are the best practices for using an SEO checker to improve my website’s ranking?

As part of the Search team, she enjoys creating content that helps you master SEO. For example, when I search for the term ‘sustainable phone case’, these results are shown by Google. Based on my search term and the intent behind it, Google deems these results the best ones found in its index.

Before we dive into the top SEO ranking factors, it’s important to note that these factors can and will change. BrightLocal’s study shows that 31% of SEOs deem links the most important signal for ranking on regular organic search. Beyond rankings, Google states that customers are 70% more likely to visit businesses with a complete Business Profile. So it’s clear that a complete and optimized Business Profile is essential if you want to attract more business. The Local Rank Tracker doesn’t just give you a one-time snapshot; it monitors your keyword ranking over time.

Additionally, using structured data (Schema markup) alongside the map can further enhance your local SEO by providing search engines with precise business location details. The more active and engaged you are with your reviews, the more trust you build with both Google and potential customers. A strong review profile will boost your rankings and make your business the obvious choice over competitors. Optimizing for these factors is the key to ranking higher, attracting more customers, and staying ahead of competitors. Next, we’ll walk through 12 proven strategies to improve your rankings in Google Maps SEO and get more customers through your doors. Whether you’re a single-location shop or a multi-location retailer, the right strategies can help you rank higher, attract more customers, and turn local searches into sales.

User behavior in search results

The robot-focused SEOs build pages with just the right keywords and title tags, hoping to attract the bots on relevancy. I say “try” to satisfy robots, because search engines are actually watching the users. Once these types of content start ranking, they tend to naturally earn more and more links over time, pushing them—and your site—even higher in search results. If you want to rank, you almost certainly need links, but you’ve got to know the rules. This means that you shouldn’t expect a rankings boost simply because you added schema to your page. Aside from content itself, Google employs a number of ranking signals to determine how authoritative and trustworthy a site is.

While we’re on the subject of mobile, mobile-friendliness is another major SEO ranking factor. More people use mobile devices than desktops to access the web, and that’s one reason there’ve been changes in how Google ranks search results. So before we get into the actual SEO ranking factors, let’s start by answering some basic questions most people have about SEO. We’ve created this handy table of contents if SEO Anomaly you want to skip ahead to the SEO ranking factors.

By default, search engines assume they can index all pages, so using the “index” value is unnecessary. The robots meta tag can be used within the of the HTML of your webpage. The following are the most common meta directives, along with what situations you might apply them in. You can tell search engine crawlers things like “do not index this page in search results” or “don’t pass any link equity to any on-page links”.

• Having a certain % of nofollow links may also indicate a natural vs. unnatural link profile.
• While head titles may not play a critical role in your overall SEO performance, it’s best to use them in your content along with your most important keywords.
• Content originality is paramount in the vast digital landscape, where the uniqueness and authenticity of your content can set you apart from the competition.
• Structured data is one of the best ways to increase click-thru rates and win rich snippets.
• It often appears at the very top of Google’s search results for local searches.
• We prefer to work using a “rank correlation coefficient”, and this necessitates an evaluated interpretation and a sound database.

Bing Webmaster Guidelines

Avoid spammy tactics like link farms, paid links, or excessive link exchanges, as these can get you penalized. Instead, create great content, build genuine relationships, and earn links properly. Engage in digital PR and outreach efforts to build relationships with journalists, bloggers, and influencers in your industry. You can earn coverage and backlinks from reputable media outlets and industry publications by providing valuable insights, expert opinions, or original research.