Putting Your Site Under The Google Microscope

Ranking factors are changing

Google has publicly announced that the value of certain ranking factors are changing.  Link build is still relevant, however there is an increased importance on the quality and relevancy of those links.  SEO strategies are evolving into a creation of quality content and sharing of said content.

There is also a growing trend that is focusing on the quality of a website overall as a ranking factor that is becoming more prominent as time goes by.

With every update the Google releases, website quality receives more attention - it's nowhere near replacing the value of more prominent ranking factors, but at the same time its rising prominence is definitely something to watch out for.

What is a quality website and how can you get one?

Quoted from Google's Webmaster Tools page on Ranking:
"In general, webmasters can improve the rank of their sites by creating high-quality sites that users will want to use and share."
This has changed recently, with the previous version of the page mentioning links as one of the primary factors considered when ranking a website.

NOTE: This infographic is a long one! We've shortened it to it's header (what you see here) to avoid too much scrolling. If you want to see all 200 ranking factors (including website quality and other on page items) Click on this image please!
To see where this graphic was found, click here

Traits of a quality website:

• Navigation - Navigation on a quality website is going to be easy to locate and use, and will contain only as many elements as are necessary for users of the site to navigate quickly and efficiently. Navigation that is difficult to use or bloated with extra links (an obvious "for SEO only" move) will not have a positive impact on the perceived quality of your website.
• Presentation / Style - Emphasis should be on the content of the website and the experience of the user. Aesthetics and "cool features" should be taken care of last, following any layout or structural elements that are needed to make the website load correctly and function smoothly. In other words, priority should go Content > User experience > Structure / functionality > Extra features, effects, etc.
• Transparency - If you want to have a quality website, you need to make it clearly know who you are, what you do, and what your website's purpose is. This means that you need to have the contact information for your business clearly visible in at least one area of your website, and make sure that you let people know what sort of business you operate and what the goal of your website is. If you sell a certain product or are an affiliate selling someone else's product, let people know that right away to avoid any confusion or feelings of being misled on the part of web users.
• User satisfaction - This is a very important part of creating and maintaining a quality website. Quality is often in the eye of the beholder, and if users are consistently having positive experiences on your website you will notice it getting more exposure and perhaps even increased rankings just by virtue of offering a satisfactory experience for web users.

Your takeaway

A quality website is definitely something that you need to have if you want your website to perform and rank well in the long run. When combined with on page optimization, the traits of a quality website we've mentioned in this post can really help you make a positive impression on web users and search engines alike!

  Kris Dietz

About the Author:

I love creating something amazing then spreading the word about it!  My mission is to develop and mold SEO into an amazing outlet of sharing valuable resources.   I enjoy networking and meeting like minded individuals.