Search Optimization ( SEO ) Periodic Table of Ranking Factors

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page refers to both the content and HTML source code of a page that can be optimized, as opposed to off-page SEO which refers to links and other external signals.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to the actions taken outside of your own website to impact your rankings within search engine results pages (SERPs). Optimizing for off-site ranking factors involves improving search engine and user perception of a site's popularity, relevance, trustworthiness, and authority.

Best Practices:

• Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sites to improve site authority.
• Focus on link quality over quantity to avoid penalties from search engines.
• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize local SEO by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.

Bad Practices:

• Buying links or engaging in link schemes that violate search engine guidelines.

Content

Content is king. You’ll hear that phrase over and over again when it comes SEO success. Indeed, that’s why the Periodic Table of SEO Factors begins with the content “elements,” with the very first element being about content quality.

Best Practices:

• Create high-quality, original content that provides value to users.
• Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your content to improve search visibility.
• Write compelling meta descriptions to increase click-through rates from search results.
• Answer user questions with informative and engaging content to improve user experience.
• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.

Architecture

Search engines must be able to find, read and understand your content in order to index it. This means that your website needs to be built with search engine crawlers in mind. This is especially important for websites with many pages.

Best Practices:

• Ensure your site is crawlable by using a sitemap and submitting it to search engines.
• Optimize your site for mobile devices to improve user experience and search rankings.
• Use descriptive URLs that contain relevant keywords to help search engines understand your content.
• Avoid duplicate content issues by using canonical tags and 301 redirects when necessary.
• Improve page load times by optimizing images, minifying code, and using a content delivery network.

HTML

HTML tags are the building blocks of on-page SEO. They’re used to communicate to search engines what your website is about. They also help search engines understand the structure of your website and can be used to highlight important content.

Best Practices:

• Write unique and descriptive title tags for each page to improve click-through rates.
• Create compelling meta descriptions that summarize your content and entice users to click.
• Use header tags to structure your content and provide context to search engines.
• Optimize image alt text and file names to improve accessibility and search engine rankings.
• Avoid keyword stuffing and other black hat SEO tactics that can harm your rankings.

Quality

Quality content is the foundation of any successful SEO campaign. It’s what search engines are looking for and it’s what users expect. Quality content is original, well-written, and provides value to the reader.

Best Practices:

• Create high-quality, original content that provides value to users.
• Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your content to improve search visibility.
• Write compelling meta descriptions to increase click-through rates from search results.
• Answer user questions with informative and engaging content to improve user experience.
• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.

Crawl

Crawlability is the ability of search engines to crawl your website. If search engines can’t crawl your site, they can’t index your content. This can have a big impact on your search engine rankings.

Best Practices:

• Ensure your site is crawlable by using a sitemap and submitting it to search engines.
• Optimize your site for mobile devices to improve user experience and search rankings.
• Use descriptive URLs that contain relevant keywords to help search engines understand your content.
• Avoid duplicate content issues by using canonical tags and 301 redirects when necessary.
• Improve page load times by optimizing images, minifying code, and using a content delivery network.

Titles

Title tags are one of the most important on-page SEO elements. They tell search engines what your page is about. Title tags should be unique, descriptive, and contain your target keywords.

Best Practices:

• Write unique and descriptive title tags for each page to improve click-through rates.
• Create compelling meta descriptions that summarize your content and entice users to click.
• Use header tags to structure your content and provide context to search engines.
• Optimize image alt text and file names to improve accessibility and search engine rankings.
• Avoid keyword stuffing and other black hat SEO tactics that can harm your rankings.

Research

Keyword research is the foundation of any successful SEO campaign. It’s what helps you understand what your target audience is searching for and how to optimize your content to rank for those keywords.

Best Practices:

• Use keyword research tools to identify relevant keywords for your content.
• Focus on long-tail keywords that are less competitive and more specific to your target audience.
• Optimize your content for target keywords by including them in important areas like headings, body, and URLs.
• Monitor keyword performance and adjust your strategy based on search trends and user behavior.
• Use keyword research to inform your content strategy and create content that resonates with your target audience.

Mobile

Mobile-friendliness is an important ranking factor. With more people using mobile devices to search the web, it’s essential that your site is optimized for mobile. This includes having a responsive design and fast load times.

Best Practices:

• Optimize your site for mobile devices to improve user experience and search rankings.
• Use responsive design to ensure your site looks good on all devices and screen sizes.
• Improve page load times by optimizing images, minifying code, and using a content delivery network.
• Test your site on different devices and browsers to ensure it works properly for all users.
• Monitor mobile performance and make adjustments as needed to improve user experience.

Description

Meta descriptions are the short snippets of text that appear below the title tag in search engine results. They provide a brief summary of your page’s content and can have a big impact on click-through rates.

Best Practices:

• Create compelling meta descriptions that summarize your content and entice users to click.
• Use action-oriented language and include a call-to-action to encourage clicks.
• Keep meta descriptions under 160 characters to ensure they display properly in search results.
• Include target keywords in meta descriptions to improve search visibility and relevance.
• Regularly review and update meta descriptions to keep them fresh and engaging.

Words

Content length is an important ranking factor. Longer content tends to rank better in search engine results. However, it’s not just about quantity. Quality is also important. Your content should be well-written and provide value to the reader.

Best Practices:

• Create long-form content that provides in-depth information on a topic.
• Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your content to improve search visibility.
• Break up content with headings, bullet points, and images to improve readability.
• Write for your audience first, then optimize for search engines.
• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.

Duplicate

Duplicate content can harm your search engine rankings. Search engines want to provide users with unique and relevant content. If your site has duplicate content, it can be penalized by search engines.

Best Practices:

• Avoid duplicate content issues by using canonical tags and 301 redirects when necessary.
• Regularly review your site for duplicate content and take action to resolve any issues.
• Use tools like Copyscape to check for duplicate content and take corrective action.
• Optimize your content for target keywords by including them in important areas like headings, body, and URLs.
• Monitor keyword performance and adjust your strategy based on search trends and user behavior.

Structure

HTML structure is the way your content is organized on the page. It includes things like headings, paragraphs, and lists. A well-structured page is easier for search engines to read and understand.

Best Practices:

• Use header tags to structure your content and provide context to search engines.
• Organize content with headings, subheadings, and bullet points to improve readability.
• Use schema markup to provide additional information about your content to search engines.
• Optimize images with descriptive alt text and proper file names.
• Avoid keyword stuffing and other black hat SEO tactics that can harm your rankings.

Fresh

Content freshness is an important ranking factor. Search engines want to provide users with the most up-to-date information. If your content is outdated, it can harm your search engine rankings.

Best Practices:

• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.
• Monitor industry trends and news to identify opportunities for new content.
• Repurpose existing content to create fresh, engaging pieces for your audience.
• Use tools like Google Trends to identify trending topics and keywords for your content.
• Engage with users on social media to promote new content and drive traffic to your site.

Speed

Page speed is an important ranking factor. Search engines want to provide users with fast-loading pages. If your site is slow, it can harm your search engine rankings.

Best Practices:

• Improve page load times by optimizing images, minifying code, and using a content delivery network.
• Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify areas for improvement.
• Enable browser caching to reduce load times for returning visitors.
• Optimize images with descriptive alt text and proper file names.
• Monitor site performance and make adjustments as needed to improve speed.

Headers

Header tags are used to structure your content. They help search engines understand the hierarchy of your content. Header tags should be used to highlight important content and provide context to search engines.

Best Practices:

• Use header tags to structure your content and provide context to search engines.
• Organize content with headings, subheadings, and bullet points to improve readability.
• Use schema markup to provide additional information about your content to search engines.
• Optimize images with descriptive alt text and proper file names.
• Avoid keyword stuffing and other black hat SEO tactics that can harm your rankings.

Vertical

Vertical search is the practice of searching for information within a specific vertical or industry. It’s important to optimize your content for vertical search engines in order to reach your target audience.

Best Practices:

• Optimize your content for target keywords by including them in important areas like headings, body, and URLs.
• Use schema markup to provide additional information about your content to search engines.
• Monitor keyword performance and adjust your strategy based on search trends and user behavior.
• Engage with users on social media to promote new content and drive traffic to your site.
• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.

URLs

URL structure is an important ranking factor. Search engines use URLs to determine the relevance of a page. Your URLs should be descriptive, contain your target keywords, and be easy for users to read.

Best Practices:

• Use descriptive URLs that contain relevant keywords to help search engines understand your content.
• Keep URLs short, descriptive, and easy for users to read and remember.
• Avoid using special characters, numbers, and underscores in URLs.
• Use hyphens to separate words in URLs for better readability and search engine optimization.
• Optimize your content for target keywords by including them in important areas like headings, body, and URLs.

Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is the practice of overusing keywords in your content in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings. This can harm your search engine rankings and make your content difficult to read.

Best Practices:

• Avoid keyword stuffing and other black hat SEO tactics that can harm your rankings.
• Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your content to improve search visibility.
• Write for your audience first, then optimize for search engines.
• Focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that provides value to users.
• Regularly review and update content to keep it fresh and relevant.

Answers

Answering user questions is an important SEO strategy. Search engines want to provide users with the most relevant and helpful information. If your content answers user questions, it can help improve your search engine rankings.

Best Practices:

• Answer user questions with informative and engaging content to improve user experience.
• Use structured data markup to provide additional information about your content to search engines.
• Monitor keyword performance and adjust your strategy based on search trends and user behavior.
• Engage with users on social media to promote new content and drive traffic to your site.
• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.

Thin

Thin content is content that provides little or no value to users. Search engines want to provide users with high-quality content. If your content is thin, it can harm your search engine rankings.

Best Practices:

• Create high-quality, original content that provides value to users.
• Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your content to improve search visibility.
• Write compelling meta descriptions to increase click-through rates from search results.
• Answer user questions with informative and engaging content to improve user experience.
• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.

Cloaking

Cloaking is the practice of showing different content to search engines and users. This is a violation of search engine guidelines and can result in penalties. It’s important to ensure that your content is consistent for both search engines and users.

Best Practices:

• Avoid cloaking and other black hat SEO tactics that can harm your rankings.
• Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your content to improve search visibility.
• Write for your audience first, then optimize for search engines.
• Focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that provides value to users.
• Regularly review and update content to keep it fresh and relevant.

Hidden

Hidden text is text that is not visible to users but is still present on the page. This is a violation of search engine guidelines and can result in penalties. It’s important to ensure that all content on your site is visible to users.

Best Practices:

• Avoid hidden text and other black hat SEO tactics that can harm your rankings.
• Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your content to improve search visibility.
• Write for your audience first, then optimize for search engines.
• Focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that provides value to users.
• Regularly review and update content to keep it fresh and relevant.

Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that measure the user experience of a website. They include things like page speed, interactivity, and visual stability. Core Web Vitals are an important ranking factor and can have a big impact on search engine rankings.

Best Practices:

• Improve page load times by optimizing images, minifying code, and using a content delivery network.
• Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify areas for improvement.
• Enable browser caching to reduce load times for returning visitors.
• Optimize images with descriptive alt text and proper file names.
• Monitor site performance and make adjustments as needed to improve speed.

Trust

Trust is important for search engines. If your site is considered trustworthy, it will rank higher in search engine results. Trust is built by having quality backlinks from other reputable sites.

Best Practices:

• Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sites to improve site authority.
• Focus on link quality over quantity to avoid penalties from search engines.
• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize local SEO by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.

Links

Links are the currency of the internet. They act as votes of confidence from one site to another. The more quality links you have, the more trustworthy your site will be in the eyes of search engines.

Best Practices:

• Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sites to improve site authority.
• Focus on link quality over quantity to avoid penalties from search engines.
• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize local SEO by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.

Personal

Personal factors are those that are unique to the user. They include things like location, search history, and social connections. Personal factors can have a big impact on search results.

Best Practices:

• Optimize your site for local search by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.
• Use social media to engage with users and increase brand visibility.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize your content for target keywords by including them in important areas like headings, body, and URLs.
• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.

Social

Social signals are a measure of how active your site is on social media. The more people share your content, the more likely it is to be seen by others. Social signals can have a big impact on search engine rankings.

Best Practices:

• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize your content for target keywords by including them in important areas like headings, body, and URLs.
• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.
• Use social media to promote new content and drive traffic to your site.

Site Authority

Site authority is a measure of how trustworthy your site is. It is determined by the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to your site. The more quality backlinks you have, the higher your site authority will be.

Best Practices:

• Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sites to improve site authority.
• Focus on link quality over quantity to avoid penalties from search engines.
• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize local SEO by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.

Site Quality

Site quality is a measure of how trustworthy your site is. It is determined by the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to your site. The more quality backlinks you have, the higher your site quality will be.

Best Practices:

• Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sites to improve site authority.
• Focus on link quality over quantity to avoid penalties from search engines.
• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize local SEO by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.

Site Country

Site country is a measure of how relevant your site is to a specific country. It is determined by the location of your site and the location of your target audience. The more relevant your site is to a specific country, the higher your site country will be.

Best Practices:

• Optimize your site for local search by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.
• Use social media to engage with users and increase brand visibility.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize your content for target keywords by including them in important areas like headings, body, and URLs.
• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.

Site Reputation

Site reputation is a measure of how trustworthy your site is. It is determined by the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to your site. The more quality backlinks you have, the higher your site reputation will be.

Best Practices:

• Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sites to improve site authority.
• Focus on link quality over quantity to avoid penalties from search engines.
• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize local SEO by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.

Engage

Engagement is a measure of how active your site is. It is determined by the number of visitors to your site and the amount of time they spend on your site. The more engaged your visitors are, the higher your site engagement will be.

Best Practices:

• Use social media to engage with users and increase brand visibility.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize your content for target keywords by including them in important areas like headings, body, and URLs.
• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.
• Use social media to promote new content and drive traffic to your site.

Text In Link

Text in link is a measure of how relevant your site is to a specific keyword. It is determined by the anchor text of the backlinks pointing to your site. The more relevant the anchor text is to a specific keyword, the higher your site relevance will be.

Best Practices:

• Use relevant keywords in anchor text to improve search visibility and relevance.
• Focus on link quality over quantity to avoid penalties from search engines.
• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize local SEO by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.

Locality

Locality is a measure of how relevant your site is to a specific location. It is determined by the location of your site and the location of your target audience. The more relevant your site is to a specific location, the higher your site locality will be.

Best Practices:

• Optimize your site for local search by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.
• Use social media to engage with users and increase brand visibility.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize your content for target keywords by including them in important areas like headings, body, and URLs.
• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.

Shares

Shares are a measure of how popular your site is on social media. It is determined by the number of times your content is shared on social media. The more shares your content has, the higher your site popularity will be.

Best Practices:

• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize your content for target keywords by including them in important areas like headings, body, and URLs.
• Regularly update and refresh content to keep it relevant and up-to-date.
• Use social media to promote new content and drive traffic to your site.

History

History is a measure of how long your site has been around. It is determined by the age of your domain and the age of your content. The longer your site has been around, the higher your site history will be.

Best Practices:

• Focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that provides value to users.
• Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your content to improve search visibility.
• Write for your audience first, then optimize for search engines.
• Regularly review and update content to keep it fresh and relevant.
• Monitor keyword performance and adjust your strategy based on search trends and user behavior.

Numbers

Numbers are a measure of how many backlinks your site has. It is determined by the quantity of backlinks pointing to your site. The more backlinks you have, the higher your site numbers will be.

Best Practices:

• Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sites to improve site authority.
• Focus on link quality over quantity to avoid penalties from search engines.
• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize local SEO by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.

History

History is a measure of how long your site has been around. It is determined by the age of your domain and the age of your content. The longer your site has been around, the higher your site history will be.

Best Practices:

• Focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that provides value to users.
• Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your content to improve search visibility.
• Write for your audience first, then optimize for search engines.
• Regularly review and update content to keep it fresh and relevant.
• Monitor keyword performance and adjust your strategy based on search trends and user behavior.

Piracy

Piracy is the unauthorized use of copyrighted material. It is a violation of search engine guidelines and can result in penalties. It’s important to ensure that all content on your site is original and not copied from other sources.

Best Practices:

• Use tools like Copyscape to check for duplicate content and take corrective action.
• Regularly review your site for duplicate content and take action to resolve any issues.
• Optimize your content for target keywords by including them in important areas like headings, body, and URLs.
• Monitor keyword performance and adjust your strategy based on search trends and user behavior.
• Engage with users on social media to promote new content and drive traffic to your site.

Paid

Paid links are links that are purchased in order to manipulate search engine rankings. This is a violation of search engine guidelines and can result in penalties. It’s important to ensure that all backlinks to your site are natural and not paid for.

Best Practices:

• Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sites to improve site authority.
• Focus on link quality over quantity to avoid penalties from search engines.
• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize local SEO by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.

Ads

Ads are a measure of how many ads are displayed on your site. It is determined by the number of ads on your site and the placement of those ads. The more ads you have, the higher your site ads will be.

Best Practices:

• Use relevant keywords in anchor text to improve search visibility and relevance.
• Focus on link quality over quantity to avoid penalties from search engines.
• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize local SEO by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.

Spam

Spam links are links that are created in order to manipulate search engine rankings. This is a violation of search engine guidelines and can result in penalties. It’s important to ensure that all backlinks to your site are natural and not spammy.

Best Practices:

• Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sites to improve site authority.
• Focus on link quality over quantity to avoid penalties from search engines.
• Engage with users on social media to increase brand visibility and reputation.
• Monitor and respond to online reviews to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Optimize local SEO by claiming and updating business listings on directories and review sites.