New Data on Google Search Rank Factors and How It Should Affect Your Content Strategy

Searchmetrics just released its 2014 Ranking Factors Study , which shows what factors affect organic search results on Google. MarketingProfs provided excellent analysis of this research.

There’s been a lot of talk in recent years, even from the Google C-suite, about how fresh, relevant content is essential if you expect to rank highly in search.

Because this study specifically analyzes what factors impact search rank, I’d like to highlight some of the data that directly relates to content and offer my takeaways based on these findings.

The presence of relevant words is the biggest factor when it comes to ranking on Google.

Just to clarify, this doesn’t mean your content must include keywords that mirror search terms. It just means your content should include words and information that are relevant to the search term.

Takeaway: Don’t kill yourself to work keywords into your content, especially if it doesn’t sound natural. Content should be optimized for a topic, not a keyword.

Write for your audience first and focus on making your content relevant to their problems, needs and desires. If it doesn’t sound right with keywords, use different words.

“High quality, relevant content” typically ranks better on Google, especially if you meet Google’s criteria for “high quality, relevant content.”

Google likes rich media, easily digestible language, in-depth analysis and high word counts. In fact, a higher number of sentences is now a sign of quality content in the eyes of Google.

I guess beauty and high quality are both in the eye of the beholder.

I’m glad easy-to-understand language is a plus. I don’t mind rich media, although I personally prefer to at least have the option to skim text for relevant information as opposed to watching videos or deciphering a clunky infographic.

But I’ll never understand how an arbitrary word count or sentence count is a measure of quality or relevance.

About a year ago, I wrote that Google’s in-depth articles feature is a joke because it gives preferential treatment in search rankings to content that has a minimum of 2,000 words.

As I said back then, there is no way for any mathematical formula to judge and quantify content quality. I admire Google’s desire to reward quality content, but the math is, dare I say, fuzzy.

Takeaway: Write for your audience and let them define high quality, relevant content. Not Google.

By the way, Google is not the sole source of discovery for your content. In many cases, it’s not the primary source of discovery.

People find your content through social media, email distributions and even advertising. Google’s criteria may not be ideal for other channels, much less your audience.

Websites for major brands tend to rank highest even though they don’t meet requirements that Google seems to demand from smaller websites.

You can jump through hoops to satisfy Google all you want, but you’ll never be on a level playing field with brands who wield influence with million-dollar marketing budgets. The only way to guarantee a spot at the top of search rankings is to pay for it.

Takeaway: It makes much more sense to jump through hoops to satisfy your customers and make sure your content matters to them , not an algorithm.

Social shares, comments and likes boost search rankings. The strongest social signals come from Google+.

Google+ activity has about 18 percent more of an impact on search rank than Facebook activity and almost 30 percent more than Twitter.

Yes, Google is trying to generate more activity with Google+ by rewarding users with better search rankings.

If you don’t like it, the door is to your left. It leads to Bing, Yahoo and Ask. Unfortunately, the vast majority of your customers don’t use that door.

Takeaway: Google can and will do whatever it wants with its search engine and its social networking platform – and the users of those tools.

But you shouldn’t let Google dictate where and how you share your content. Focus your efforts on the platforms used by your audience.

The Bottom Line

Google is a means to an end – the end being a purchase made by a real person, not an algorithm. Please resist the urge to overhaul your content strategy in response to the constantly evolving Google monster and its constantly changing best practices.

I’ve said it repeatedly in this blog, and I’ll keep saying it. Write for real people, not search engines.

Every time you think you’ve Google-proofed your content, they change the rules.

Remember setting up your blog for Google Authorship so your headshot would appear on Google? That’s gone.

Remember when you could get a boost in ranking by including keywords in your URL? According to Searchmetrics, this can actually hurt your search ranking now.

The only Google-proof approach to content is to focus on helping, educating and solving problems for your target audience. This approach will never get you in trouble.

It may not earn you the coveted number one ranking in search, but it will go a long way towards building trust, credibility and loyalty with real people.

What do you think? What are you doing to optimize your content for Google and for real people?