Google, YouTube, and Facebook are the top 3 most visited sites in the world, according to Alexa. Have you ever thought why they’ve been at the top for past decade?

Surely, they are immensely popular websites and don’t need any ads or marketing, but there must be something special about them as they have retained their ranking for quite some time now.

So, what’s the answer?

Google is no doubt always on the list of top sites and for good reason as it is the most popular search engine. So much so that now we say “Google a thing” rather than “search for it on Google”. It is the basic features of Google that make it immensely popular even in the presence of other search engines, some of whom are older than Google.

Similarly, YouTube also leverages the power of Google and is undeniably the largest video sharing platform even though Vimeo, Metacafe, Dailymotion and others exist. But none of them come even a lightyear close to the success YouTube has been relishing.

After the terrific response, Tumblr and especially Orkut received, everyone thought this is the best social media outlet that people can enjoy. Little did people knew that will Zuckerberg come storming in with Facebook, which will annihilate its predecessors’ existence. Google+ tried to compete but had to kneel in front of the Goliath that Facebook had become.

Businesses who are looking to replicate the success of websites above need to consider some ranking factors. These factors are necessary for making sure how companies can rank their website high on Google. But there is a serious drawback for new entrants in the market.

In the beginning, all the companies have to make a name for themselves and need to consider SEO and other techniques so that they can increase awareness by ranking high on Google. And someday become as famous as YouTube or Twitter and rank in the top 100 or 1000 for a start. Below are the top 7 factors which every business must apply for best results.

While all of the factors mentioned below are important, according to Hubspot and other websites, some of these factors are critical so that companies need to be extra careful while handling them.

1. Inbound Links (Backlinks)

Backlinks or inbound links are hyperlinks that link your page from any other one on the Internet. But why exactly it is counted as a crucial step? The linking process is all about trust as a link from another website back to any of your page is a testament to the fact that they trust your content. Trust-worthy links from websites having good authority on a subject can make your links more worth for Google. Assistance from a digital marketing company having experience in this concern will be best case scenario for you.

2. Keyword Intent

In the SEO strategy, keyword optimization can be a great asset for a company looking to rank their website high on Google ranking. In the past, the exact match of keywords was used to make a website rank high as more keywords matched exactly what the user searched for was all that was required. But nowadays, an exact match is something else. An example here will make things clear for you.

Exact match now is referred to as using the exact keyword used at least once on a page and then offering examples of that keyword. For example, if a person has searched for “best jackets,” along with best jackets, the website that will show real examples of how their jackets are best in their category, from where you can buy them and further information, will be interpreted by Google. And it will surely detect that this has resulted in increased user engagement and as a relevant answer to the visitor’s question.

3. Domain Security

The “s” after the “HTTP” in the browser bar can make a lot of difference. This “s” tells you that your website is SSL protected, which would stop the hackers from deceiving you. The websites which don’t contain this are simply not secure. Your website must be secured whether you are running a simple grocery store online or a full-fledged shopping portal. Google, for sure, looks for this, and a non-secured website will certainly be penalized and get a low rank.

If you want to get a high rank for your website in this concern, a secure domain with the help of an SSL certificate is the answer.

4. Topic Authority

Getting a higher page authority and domain authority score, you need to lay the foundation in this concern with exceptional topics. You need to select topics which are simple yet really interesting and what online audience or specifically your target market wants to read. It’s simple; the more content you publish related to a particular topic, the higher each piece of it will make it rank on Google.

You need to make your website an authority on the topic/subject you are dealing with. This will automatically increase your rank as more people will get your site on top of their search results. This is because Google will conclude that your website is an authority on that subject. Take the example of news websites like BBC and CNN as many people type this in the address bar. Rest of them, get the sites in the result as they are considered an authority on the news worldwide.

5. Content Structure

Not just viral content can give a website topic authority. The structure of the content is a good measure of how much hard work you have put in to make your website’s content the best. The answer your blogs or content is providing to the visitors must be structured perfectly as this may be the difference and one of the best Google ranking factors 2019.

Dividing your content into headings and subheadings makes it worth a look and the structure then will hook up the visitors for the entire length. Use of numbered lists, bullet points, and images can make a content/answer for question really perfect. So, the longer a visitor stays on your website for reading the entire blog or content, session duration will increase and is a vital factor in the high ranking of a website/blog.

6. Page Speed

All of us have experienced pain when trying to access a website that takes ages to load. It refers to how quickly a page loads on a searcher’s screen after he clicks on it from Google search results. There are on-page factors that make a page load fast or slow. Needless to state, the faster the site, the higher it will rank on Google’s search results.

The average time in which a page load is around 3 seconds. Even a 1 or 2-second delay will make it look slow and greater than 10 seconds, most of the visitors will simply leave that website for good. Media-heavy websites featuring lots of videos and graphics can make a website virtually crawl. Even images can make a website load slowly. You need to compress your images to curb down the site’s loading time. So, from high-quality large image files that we get from a DSLR or even a smartphone’s 50 Megapixel image, which is the norm nowadays, compression will make it load faster.

7. Website Architecture

While not a critical factor, the website’s architecture and organization can have a great impact on the ranking of a website. It is because the architecture of a website is amongst the first few things that site owners or businesses need to address. Organizing your website into sub-directories and having clear strings of text at the end of each URL will make it easier for Google to understand two basic things. Who are you, as a company, and on what topics you want to become an authority on the subject.

Final Word

If you thought getting a high rank on Google is easy, I am sure you will change your mind now after reading this blog. While something like backlinks is easy to understand, domain security and content structure can be difficult for a layman to understand.

So, if you haven’t understood anything mentioned here or if you think you have something valuable to add this blog, please do not hesitate. You can also offer your feedback too by using the comments section below.