Ranking Signals I briefly mentioned ranking signals above, so I’ll cover them in more detail as they are what we’re trying to influence with SEO. Search engine ranking signals are the factors that search engines use to determine the relevance and authority of a web page or website for a particular search query (or keyword). These signals are used to rank the results of a search engine query in order of relevance and usefulness to the user. Now, as you’d expect, search engines don’t want you to know what their ranking factors are. Doing so would allow websites to manipulate their search engine ranking by optimising specifically for those factors. This could result in a decrease in the relevance and quality of search engine results, which would ultimately be harmful to the user experience. However, what is widely accepted as the most important ranking factors (as of writing this) are quality content, keywords and backlinks. That being said, search engines use a variety of ranking signals to determine the relevancy and authority of a web page or website. Some of the most common ranking signals include; these are in no particular order:
Keywords
The presence and relevance of keywords on a web page or website.
Backlinks
The number and quality of external links pointing to a web page or website.
Content
The quality, relevance, and uniqueness of the content on a web page or website.
User experience
The ease of use and accessibility of a web page or website, as well as the user engagement metrics.
Page speed
The speed at which a web page loads, which can affect user experience and engagement.
Mobile-friendliness
The compatibility of a web page or website with mobile devices, which is becoming increasingly important as more people access the internet on mobile devices.
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