When you visit any of the top-ranking websites, do you ever wonder what really makes them that popular? Don’t you wish you could find out which SEO elements help them attain the highest ranks in Google search? Well, if these questions keep visiting your mind, then you must know that you are not the only one. For, every digital marketing expert also keeps pondering these questions. After all, the secret to stellar SEO performance is hidden in the answers to these questions.
In this article, let us find out the 5 most common elements that are shared by all the top-ranked sites on Google. So, what features do the top websites on Google have in common? Not just one, but there are many features that the top ranking sites share. It is not just their domain authority or age that matters here. Factors like these two are intrinsic elements, something that no other website can choose to copy. But there are several other website ranking elements that you can derive inspiration from to improve the rankings of other websites.
1. Quality backlinks
How many times have you heard SEO experts saying that high-quality backlinks indicate high SEO rankings, most of the time? And if you analyze the top-ranked websites on Google, you will find that all of them have many backlinks. In fact, research suggests that the first website in Google’s search results has almost 4 times the number of backlinks as the other sites that also feature among the search results.
And it is not just about having an incredible number of backlinks – if they are not of the right quality, then they do not serve any purpose. Backlinks must have topical relevance to the site and belong to an authoritative domain. So, both the number as well as the quality of backlinks matter here.
2. User experience
The top-ranked websites keep their users or visitors coming back; they are designed, keeping the user experience in mind. An attractive design, great content, smooth navigability, intuitive structure are the perfect ingredients for a premium browsing experience that visitors will fall in love with! And intrusive pop-up advertisements are an absolute no-no.
Since 2021, Google has included user experience as one of the top vital metrics to determine website SEO ranking. So how a website looks like, how it loads pages, how visitors can interact with it, browsing safety, mobile-friendliness, the layout of interstitials, and many other aspects are factored in to determine the overall browsing experience it offers to users.
3. High-quality content
There are many ways to create content that can actually leave a mark and stand out. It does not have to be deep, detailed content, or it might not be possible to publish top-quality content all the time. But innovation in content creation is what really makes the cut here.
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High-quality content acts as a magnet for backlinks and can boost other major factors that drive up the SEO performance of websites. It can reduce bounce rates and enhance the click-through rate. Along with the quality of the content, it is equally crucial to optimize it for better performance on Google, with proper use of keywords, header tags.
4. Page speed
The speed at which web pages load, has been one of the top determinants of SEO performance since 2010. And since 2018, Google included this factor for mobile searches too. So, very simply put – a slower website means poor SEO rankings.
The top-ranked websites have impressive page load speed; whether it is your desktop, laptop, or mobile, they will download and display at lightning speed. Page speed is vital in reducing bounce rates and boosting SEO performance.
5. User search intent
The top-ranking sites have a keen understanding of the search intent of the users, an aspect that Google immensely focuses on, to determine the SEO performance. Google aims to provide users with the most relevant and appropriate content for every query they place.
So gauging the search intent plays a super-important role, and sufficient time and technique should be allotted to understand it precisely. This can help result in a much higher volume of traffic towards websites, pushing up their SEO rankings considerably.
YouTube: SEO for Beginners: Rank #1 In Google
Photo credit: The feature image has been done by Kenchiro168.
