An updated study highlights the top organic search ranking factors in 2017.
For clarification, this study differentiates from the one covered earlier in the week that focused on local search specifically.
The results have been distilled into a list of the top 17 ranking factors, many of which are associated with on-page engagement.
Direct website visits stand out as the most influential ranking factor in organic search, followed by various other user behavior signals.
Here is a summary of the top ranking factors:
### Top 17 Ranking Factors
1. Direct website visits
2. Time on site
3. Pages per session
– Around 3 pages are viewed per session when a user lands on a website from search
4. Bounce rate
– Domains in the top 3 positions have roughly a 49% bounce rate
5. Total referring domains
– Pages in the 2nd position have 20% more referring domains than pages in the 1st position
– Pages in the 2nd position have roughly 10,000 more referring domains than pages in the 10th position
6. Total backlinks
– 2.2 times more backlinks lead to pages in the 1st position than the 2nd position
7. Total referring IPs
8. Total followed backlinks
9. Content length
– Content in the top 3 positions is 45% longer than content in the 20th position
10. HTTPS
– 65% of domains ranking for high-volume keywords are HTTPS
11. Total anchors
12. Keyword in anchor text
– 3% of backlinks contain a keyword in the anchor text
13. Keyword in body of content
– 18% of pages ranking for high-volume keywords do not have the keyword in the body
14. Keyword density
15. Keyword in title
16. Keyword in meta description
17. Video on page
Here is a more detailed look at these results, broken down into individual categories:
### Website Visits
The study indicates a correlation between the number of website visits and page rankings. A high number of direct visits may signal to Google that the page is authoritative.
### User Behavior Signals
High-ranking pages typically have lower bounce rates. A high bounce rate may indicate less relevant content compared to a page with a low bounce rate.
### On-page SEO Elements
Traditional SEO practices remain prevalent—over 75% of top 20 pages feature keywords in the body, and over 60% have keywords in the title. However, these elements appear to have a limited impact on rankings.
### Content
Longer content tends to correlate with higher rankings. Nonetheless, ensuring that the content is high-quality, relevant, and well-optimized remains crucial.
### Website Security (HTTPS)
Search results for high-volume keywords are mostly dominated by HTTPS domains. Securing an HTTPS domain is crucial when competing in the high-volume keyword space.
### Backlinks
Top positions for high-volume keywords are usually held by large sites with extensive backlink profiles. Extra link building efforts likely make a greater impact when targeting lower volume keywords.
For further details, refer to the full study.
