Updated Study Shows Most Important SEO Ranking Factors [Infographic]

We’ve written a lot of articles about SEO, and it’s a topic we are truly passionate about. In the blogging world, it’s a victory to see something you’ve written rank well in Google, or at least it is for me. SEO doesn’t have to be hard, and once you get the hang of it, it’s actually fun. There are so many bits and pieces that are involved when it comes to your SEO ranking, and some of them obviously weigh more heavily than others. This will help you know what weighs the most.

The thing about SEO that keeps it interesting is that it’s always changing. The things that were important to do last year at this time are not the same things that are important to do now. If you stay on top of the SEO trends, you know they’ll always keep you fresh and on your feet.

This infographic called 2013 Ranking Factors and corresponding chart are both from Searchmetrics. They are part of the Searchmetrics Rank Correlation 2013 Study For Google USA, which was just released a few days ago. As you can see by looking at both of these (especially the chart beneath the infographic), some of the most important factors are based on social media, and not on traditional SEO tactics.

For example, you’ll see by looking at this that putting the keywords in the body of your text is about halfway down on the list. However, Facebook shares are right up there towards the top of the list. If you are interested in SEO ranking factors, you’ll like looking at these charts. Some ‘SEO experts’ have already come out to say that they doubt some of the findings in this study. Searchmetrics has responded to each one of those doubts, and thoroughly explained where they derived this information. You can read that here on the Searchmetrics Blog. Enjoy!