7 Confirmed Google Ranking Factors

For example, most of the top results for “air fryer” are blog posts with top picks. This indicates that searchers are in research mode, not buying mode. As a result, it probably makes the most sense to target this keyword with a blog post over an e-commerce category page.

If you then also plug these pages into Ahrefs' Content Gap tool, you can see their common keyword rankings. These often reveal important subtopics.

For example, five pages ranking for “air fryer” also rank for keywords relating to the best brands.

If you want to rank for this keyword, it probably makes sense to talk about brands in your post.

Further reading

The Beginner's Guide to Search Intent

How to Create SEO Content

Freshness is a query-dependent ranking factor. It's stronger for queries that call for fresh results. That's why the top results for “netflix new shows” are quite new, but the results for “how to solve a rubik's cube” are old.

If freshness is a big deal for your keyword, update your page often or publish new articles to keep up with demand.

Further reading

Republishing Content: How to Update Old Blog Posts for SEO

Content Refreshing: A Step-by-Step Strategy

HTTPS improves security for your website's visitors. It's been a lightweight Google ranking factor since 2014.

If your website doesn't use HTTPS, you'll see a “Not Secure” warning in your browser.

If it's an issue, install a TLS certificate.

Further reading

What Is HTTPS? Everything You Need to Know

HTTP to HTTPS: An SEO’s Guide to Securing a Website

Mobile-friendliness has been a ranking factor on mobile since 2015. When Google moved to mobile-first indexing in 2019, it became a ranking factor on desktop too.

Use the Mobile Usability report in Google Search Console to see if you have any issues.

Page speed has been a ranking factor on desktop since 2010 and mobile since 2018.

Google has used various signals to measure page speed over the years, but John Mueller recently confirmed that it now only uses Core Web Vitals (CWV).

Core Web Vitals measure a page's loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability. Google uses three metrics to do this: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).

Here's a quick way to get a sense of your site's CWV performance:

Get a free Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) account
Crawl your website using Site Audit
Go to the Performance report
Check the “Core Web Vitals” section

Sidenote

The “Core Web Vitals” report in Google Search Console provides a good overview, too.

Keep in mind, however, that when it comes to SEO, the name of the game isn't to make your site lightning-fast—just fast enough. That's because Google only demotes pages that deliver the slowest experience to users.

Further reading

What Are Core Web Vitals & How Can You Improve Them?

Core Web Vitals Data Study w/ CrUX & 5.2M Pages

How to Speed Up Your WordPress Website in 20 Minutes

How to Improve Page Speed From Start to Finish

Interstitials are page overlays. Google views them as intrusive when they obstruct a user's view of the content. This is because they interrupt and frustrate users, leading to a poor experience.

Google made intrusive interstitials a negative ranking factor in 2017. Now they're part of the Page Experience signals.

Here's Google's advice when it comes to interstitials:

Use banners instead of interstitials.
Don't obscure the entire page with interstitials.
Don't redirect the user to a separate page for their consent or input.

Further reading

Avoid Intrusive Interstitials and Dialogs

Understanding Page Experience in Google Search Results

Keep learning

Many other things can directly or indirectly affect your site's ability to show up and rank on Google. Learn more in these guides:

Post byJoshua Hardwick

Joshua Hardwick is the Head of Content at Ahrefs. He's been involved in SEO for 11 years and specializes in link building and outreach. Before working for Ahrefs, Joshua ran an SEO business providing link building and consultancy services.

His work has been referenced by many well-known publications including The New York Times, TechCrunch, The Independent and The Verge, and he's spoken at some of the industry's largest conferences including BrightonSEO, Digital Marketer Skill Share, Digital Olympus, and Benchmark Search.