10 SEO Rules for Higher Google Rankings

Why is it actually important to reach the top positions on Google? Anyone with even basic knowledge of website optimization will tell you that the top positions in Google search results receive the most attention. The first position in particular brings the most traffic to a website or online store. That is why we usually immediately ask ourselves the following question – how can we achieve the highest positions on Google?

Google takes into account a variety of different SEO rules when ranking websites based on keywords. There are more than 200 SEO rules in total! But don’t worry, some are more important than others, and to reach the top positions, it is highly recommended that you follow 10 key SEO rules. Before you start optimizing your website, consider whether you know and follow these 10 SEO rules to achieve better rankings or positions on Google.

10 SEO rules you must not overlook:

• Backlinks
• Updated content
• Topical authority
• Search intent
• Content comprehensiveness
• Page speed
• HTTPS – secure connection
• Mobile-friendly websites
• Good user experience
• Content accuracy and credibility

1. Backlinks

A backlink is a link on another website that points to your website. It is one of the most important factors Google uses to rank websites and determine their relevance for specific keywords. When it comes to backlinks, Google examines and evaluates two things: relevance and authority.

Link Relevance

It is extremely important how well a website corresponds to the backlink. The more a page matches the search term or keyword, the more likely it is to appear among the top results on Google.

Let’s look at a real-life example. Suppose someone scratched our car in a parking lot. We turn to two friends for advice on where to get the dent repaired. One is a car mechanic, the other is a veterinarian. We would most likely rely more on the advice of the friend who is a mechanic, since they have more experience and knowledge in this area.

And vice versa. If we want to know which food is best for young puppies, we would ask our veterinarian friend for advice.

Link Authority

Google’s algorithms are also designed to best evaluate backlinks from the most relevant and high-quality websites that also have high authority. We consider such sites and links as “strong.” The greater the authority of an external website linking to our site, the greater the value we will have not only in Google’s eyes but also in the eyes of any website visitor.

2. Updated Content

Fresh, updated content is not actually essential in every case. It depends on the keyword itself. When we search for news, it goes without saying that the most important results are those published recently.

In other cases, current content is important but to a lesser degree. Let’s illustrate with an example. We want to know how to bake bread. A bread recipe doesn’t exactly change, so Google can rank both new and old posts among the top search results.

3. Topical Authority

Google also ranks websites based on the relevance of the entire website. It determines what authority the site has in a particular field (topical authority). Relevance is assessed based on quality, authoritativeness, and the level of user trust. A website that may have fewer backlinks but is deemed more relevant and authoritative by Google will certainly rank higher in search results.

For example, if we’re interested in how to install parquet flooring, the top result might be a company specializing in parquet sales. In addition to selling parquet, the company shares tips on how to care for different types of flooring, how to choose the right wood based on preferences, installation instructions, and more.

Google ranked the website describing how to install parquet in the first position not only because it matches the keyword, but also because it is part of a website that specializes in flooring and is recognized as an authority in its field.

4. Search Intent

In addition to the keyword we type into Google, the intent behind the search has become very important: search intent. Search intent is part of semantic search, which has recently become one of the key rules of SEO optimization.

Google’s algorithms are extremely advanced and can distinguish between different intents. They can easily differentiate between search queries like “buy a car” and “how to change tires.” The first query expresses a purchase intent, while the second expresses a learning intent. In the first case, car dealerships will appear at the top of the search results, while in the second, blog posts or videos showing how to change tires will appear.

5. What Does the Page Content Cover?

Google’s goal is to display the most useful results based on the keywords entered. The usefulness of a website is not always related to the length of the text but much more to what the text is about.

Let’s say we’re interested in “best smartphones.” Based on the keyword, it’s clear that the user is thinking about buying a mobile phone and is looking for a list of the best smartphones.

But exactly what information should such a list contain? Let’s look at what the top five results have in common:

• Price – it’s perfectly logical that a website about the best smartphones should include pricing information. When making a purchase decision, the price of a product plays a major role.
• Brand – the brand of a mobile phone is certainly one of the decisive factors before making a purchase.
• Technical details such as screen size, battery life, etc.

See What the Competition Is Doing and Be Better

Before you start optimizing your website, look at the competition. Don’t just look at how long the text on the page is – analyze what questions it addresses (and answers). This doesn’t mean you have to copy the content, just compare what the top-ranked pages have in common. Only then create or adapt your own website content based on that.

6. Page Speed

Technological advancement has also led to changes in user behavior. Research shows that users are becoming increasingly impatient, and page speed plays an important role.

How Does Page Speed Affect User Behavior?

• If a website doesn’t load fast enough, users will leave it.
• Consequently, something that annoys users certainly does not bring a good rating from Google.
• It’s not crucial to compete with others and make your website a millisecond faster. What matters is that the page loads and displays fast enough.
• It’s essential to ensure that the website is fast enough not to deter users from searching and browsing.
• As a general rule, the entire page should load within two seconds.

7. HTTPS – Secure Connection

HTTPS is the successor to the HTTP standard and its more secure version. It is used for secure communication on the web. If we visit a website that uses the HTTP standard, Google Chrome displays a message that the site is not secure.

Regardless, HTTPS is not the strongest factor contributing to reaching the top of Google. So why mention it? Because among all the SEO rules mentioned, it is certainly the easiest and fastest to achieve.

Review your website, and if you’re not yet using an HTTPS secure connection, it’s high time to change that.

8. Mobile-Friendly Websites

Research shows that more than two-thirds of Google searches are conducted via smartphones. Therefore, a website today must be adapted to mobile devices, which we call a responsive website.

How do we adapt a website for mobile phones? By ensuring correct display on screens of various sizes, which is best considered already in the initial phase of website development.

Experienced web designers create the mobile version of a website first for this very reason. This ensures it is adapted to smaller screens. Only then do they create the website for larger screens (laptops, desktop computers, etc.).

9. Good User Experience

Google’s goal is to provide users with a good user experience, to answer search queries as well as possible, and to offer the most useful results. This is no secret and is explained in detail in Google’s SEO starter guide.

What Contributes to Good User Experience?

• Easily readable content
• Good content layout on the website
• Interesting and useful text
• Responsive web design, adapted for mobile phone display
• The website provides what the user needs based on its activity or topic
• The page must not contain inappropriate ads

It’s actually difficult to answer what constitutes a good user experience. Why? Because it’s made up of many different factors. That’s why it’s also difficult to measure and it’s not entirely known what Google’s algorithms take into account in their evaluation.

Generally, if the user experience of a website is good, it’s reflected in:

• Click-through rate (CTR).
• Dwell time – the time between when a user clicks on a result on the search results page and visits the selected website.
• Time on page – the time a user spends anywhere on the page before leaving it.
• Bounce rate – the percentage of users who visited only one subpage and then left the website because it didn’t meet their expectations.

By observing these different criteria, we can at least roughly assess whether users are satisfied with the website or not. If we notice deficiencies, we fix them and will certainly notice improvement.

How to Achieve Good User Experience?

• Logically organize the content on your website.
• Text should be easily readable and credible.
• Define keywords based on your business and try to represent them as well as possible on your website.

10. Content Accuracy and Credibility

Google places great value on the worth, accuracy, and relevance of information. Why? Because they are directly related to user satisfaction.

If you have a website or online store, let this become your mantra. The more accurate and credible the content on any page is, the more likely it is to help users. Accordingly, you will reach the top positions on Google and increase your website traffic.

Content accuracy is especially important when we talk about products or services that directly affect users. A good example is the use of dietary supplements or medications. If Google ranked websites with inaccurate information at the top of search results, it could be not just unpleasant but also dangerous for users.

How Does Google Verify Content Credibility?

• Through backlinks. No one will place a link to a page that is not relevant and has inaccurate information.
• Through its own databases. Google has enormous databases in which information about people, places, objects, and other things is interconnected. Content and data from one website can thus be compared with related content to assess whether the site is trustworthy.

Conclusion

What can we learn from this article? We learned that to succeed online, it’s not enough just to be present on the web – we must also be successful. Success is measured by the number of visitors to a website or online store. As a rule of thumb, the more visitors a site has, the greater the chances of (more) conversions.

Website visitor numbers are measured by the number of clicks. It has been proven that the top three pages showing in Google search results receive the most clicks (two-thirds). To rank among the top few results on Google, make sure to address at least the basic and most important elements of your website, or entrust the work to SEO experts.