We spoke with Giulio Stella, SEO Consultant, for a complete analysis of Google's ranking factors.
Semrush has released a study on the ranking factors that determine the positioning of sites in Google search results. 300,000 URLs and 16,000 keywords were analyzed, so what conclusions can be drawn? Let's take stock with Giulio StellaSEO consultant of Gstarseo.it
According to the study, what are the factors that most influence positioning in search results?
If I were to identify the main ranking factors for getting a good ranking on Google, I would highlight content optimization, building quality backlinks, page loading speed and mobile optimization, as well as tracking of competition.
Content optimization remains crucial, as it ensures that a site meets the expectations of users and search engines. This involves paying close attention to title tags, meta descriptions, structuring content with relevant titles, and judicious use of keywords.
At the same time, acquiring high-quality backlinks strengthens your domain's authority and helps improve your search rankings. Additionally, page loading speed and mobile friendliness have become essential criteria for a satisfactory user experience, with recommendations such as compressing images and reducing the use of plugins.
Finally, monitoring the competition is often overlooked as a tactic, but it can have a significant impact. Monitoring your competitors' actions allows you to discover keyword and backlink opportunities, as well as stay informed about industry trends, which will allow you to adapt your strategy and stay competitive in your field of business.
Google now prefers “relevant and quality” content. But what is it actually about?
When Google favors “relevant and quality” content, it means that the search engine evaluates the correspondence between the content of a website and users' search queries. Content relevance is determined by various criteria, including text, images, videos, as well as meta elements such as title, meta description and alt tags.
Google also evaluates technical aspects such as loading time, internal links and other characteristics of websites to determine the relevance of content to user needs. By focusing on understanding the meaning of the text on the website, Google seeks to provide search results that effectively answer users' questions, thus promoting a more satisfying and relevant search experience.
Thanks, Giulio, you told us before that images can add value to content. How?
Images can add value to content in several ways. First, they can illustrate and reinforce the information presented in the text, making the content more attractive and engaging to users.
Images can also help explain complex concepts in a visual way, making them easier for readers to understand. Additionally, well-optimized images can help improve user experience by making content more user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing.
When it comes to what types of images to prioritize, we recommend choosing relevant, high-quality images that match the topic of your content. Images should be clear, crisp and visually appealing.
It is also important to favor original and unique images where possible, as this can help differentiate the content and make it more memorable for users. Finally, it's crucial to ensure your images are properly optimized for search engines by using descriptive file names, relevant alt text, and ensuring they don't slow down page load times.
The concept of EEAT has become a mantra for specialists. Concretely, what actions can be implemented?
To effectively demonstrate the EEAT of a website, in my opinion, several strategies can be implemented. First of all, it is essential to focus on creating high-quality content. This means providing original, informative, well-written content that goes beyond simple repetition. It is important to offer detailed explanations, concrete examples and in-depth information to arouse interest from users.
Highlighting content authors and ensuring transparency regarding their expertise is essential. Creating “About Us” pages to present the team and individual pages for the authors allows you to highlight their skills and experience, strengthening the credibility of the site.
Using credible sources and supporting content with references, studies and research from trusted sources is also essential to building site authority. I also recommend trying to get quality backlinks from reputable and relevant sites, as well as building reputable citations by being mentioned on other reputable sites. We must not forget to encourage sharing on social networks by creating engaging content and interacting with users to increase site engagement and visibility, for example by sharing UGC content.
According to the study, backlinks also remain important for good positioning. In this area, what advice can you give?
As mentioned in the study, it is clear that backlinks play a vital role in improving a website's SEO. I recommend giving priority to the relevance of the reference sites, looking for links from domains related to the sector of activity. Furthermore, the quality of referring sites is crucial, as backlinks from high-quality sites have a more significant impact. It is also advisable to opt for DoFollow links and look for opportunities on pages well positioned in search results, avoiding abusive backlinking practices. Diversifying the sources of backlinks, searching for them on different types of platforms, also helps to strengthen the credibility of the site.
The SEO world has its eyes on SGE, Google's new AI experience. But will the impact be as strong as we think? What can SEO experts do to prepare?
There Search Generative Experience in fact, it represents a significant evolution in the SEO landscape. This new AI experience, which delivers AI-generated responses at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs), has the potential to transform how users interact with search results.
While the exact impact of EMS on SEO remains to be seen, it is undeniable that this technology will require adjustments in SEO strategies.
To prepare for the arrival of EMS, SEO experts must take a proactive approach. First, they should focus on creating clear, concise, and direct content that comprehensively answers users' questions. Additionally, optimizing responses based on AI and machine learning should be a priority, with a focus on including conversational keywords and relevant phrases in your content. Furthermore, SEO experts have a vested interest in continuing to closely monitor SGE developments. By staying informed and flexible, they will be better prepared to navigate this ever-changing SEO landscape.
Does PPC affect search engine rankings?
While it's true that PPC doesn't have a direct impact on SEO ranking, it can indirectly impact organic search performance. This is because, when you run PPC campaigns, your ads appear at the top of search engine results pages. By design, this can increase a brand's overall visibility, leading to higher click-through rates and potentially more visits to your website. As a result, when users interact with a site through a PPC ad, they may explore other areas of the site as well. When this happens, this engagement event can signal to search engines like Google that your website is providing valuable, relevant information. Using this data, search engine algorithms can increase the ranking position of certain brand pages and content. In this way, this increased user engagement generated by PPC can indirectly help improve your SEO ranking over time.
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