Whether you have a website or just a blog, search engine optimization – and I’m not referring only to Google, but also to Bing and others – is ongoing. The target of any site is the audience, and the easiest and most reliable way to reach them is through these engines. That’s why everyone aims for a higher position in search results. Unfortunately, many do not understand that both Google and the others should be seen only as tools and not as the ultimate goal. Therefore, many focus their attention on meeting online criteria without considering the final reader, the client their business targets.

I will now make a short list of factors that influence the ranking of a website or blog online.

1. The domain. Over time, the importance of the domain has fluctuated, but there are some characteristics that remain high on the list of elements influencing a site’s position. Thus, the domain’s age is taken into account, its hosting (free or paid), the number of owners over time, its history (whether it was penalized, inactive, constantly evolving, etc.), the extension (if it is .ro it will be better “seen” in Romania but limited abroad).

2. URL structure. It is good for URLs to be clear and contain keywords moderately.

3. User experience. Until now, there have been elements related more to the hidden, technical side; now we return to the user. Google, even though it is a tool, analyzes the site from the perspective of a person visiting it and wanting to obtain information, thus appreciating its navigability. Therefore, search engines consider page loading speed, how they are structured, and how easy it is for a person to reach certain content. In other words, ease of use of the respective site is very important. The visitor must find what interests them after one or two clicks, no further. That’s why some blogs and sites have multiple buttons, categories, archives, catalogs, etc., to make information easy to access. To improve the user experience, page loading times, appearance, smoothness, and logical arrangement of elements must be improved, as well as removing unnecessary content or images (regardless of format) if they are not optimized themselves.

4. Internal links - are important, but their anchors are equally important. Google takes these into account and pays special attention to those expressions or keywords. However, these must be as natural as possible, avoiding fixed phrases (e.g., using the anchor words “creating presentation site” because it is more than obvious that there cannot be a sentence containing exactly this phrase).

5. Back-links. More precisely, external links, whether to our site or from our site. The quality of back-links influences ranking both positively and negatively. If these links are of quality, come from quality sites related to our field of activity, with a good history, then they are welcome. On the other hand, it is not advisable to populate our site with links to generalist domains or those focused on a completely different domain than ours. Google will notice the discrepancy and may penalize you. In both cases, moderation is more than necessary.

6. Content quality. Beyond what I mentioned above, content is very important; search engines track: quality, optimization of keyword usage, uniqueness, quantity and relevance of content, quality of photos and images used. Also included here are text length, readability (how it is presented on the page, its structure, use of fonts, bold formatting, paragraphs, etc.).

7. Mobile-friendly. Starting from April 2015, Google introduced the criterion or requirement that a site be responsive or have a mobile version. Considering that more and more users come from smartphones, this requirement is very welcome. As I said at the beginning of this article, the visitor is what matters, so we must adapt to their expectations.

8. Traffic. A site or blog that attracts a large amount of traffic means it is a good one, and search engines will consider it as such (if there are no strong negative signals). The more visited a site is and the longer visitors spend navigating from one page to another, the better the page’s ranking improves. The secret is therefore to attract quality traffic, visitors spending a lot of time reading, even commenting or appreciating the content, and then returning.

9. Social Media. As expected, social media is involved in the algorithm used for online positioning, with the quantity and quality of interactions on social networks being relevant here: Facebook, Twitter, Google+. These also have the advantage of bringing us the traffic we mentioned earlier.

Things to avoid!

Search engines can also receive negative signals from sites, both from the less visible side and sometimes harder to control, as well as from deliberate actions taken by their owners.

Actions that can jeopardize the correct positioning of a blog/site:
1. Using a domain banned by Google
2. Malicious manipulation actions
3. Buying links on sites known for this
4. Spam links on various sites or pages
5. Server problems: site inactive for a long time or repeatedly
6. Hiding text on a background of the same color (thus becoming invisible)
7. Using the same anchors in a given text or page
8. Excessive keyword stuffing in texts, titles, meta-descriptions

I have reviewed here only a few general elements that can affect online ranking. Some of them can be easily checked, especially if we have some basic tools like Analytics or Webmaster Tools. Others can be avoided if the domain we use is registered directly in our name and not purchased from another entity.

In any case, good online positioning requires a lot of work, a lot of involvement, and continuous action.