Key Insights:
- User engagement is crucial; focus on average engagement time, scroll depth, and session duration.
- EEAT signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) are paramount for Google.
- Maintain content freshness by updating key articles every 6-12 months.
- Prioritise a stellar user experience through site speed and mobile-friendliness.
- Cultivate brand queries and signals to boost your authority.
- Strategically use both internal and external links for SEO and user navigation.
- Craft clear H1 tags for user clarity and search engine understanding.
- Implement descriptive image alt text for accessibility and semantic SEO.
- Leverage structured data to help AI understand your content and improve visibility.
So you want to rank better in the SERPs?
Below, I present what I believe to be the 10 most important Google ranking factors for 2025.
After more than 18 years SEO experience working as a private consultant and also some time within an agency environment, it has become clear that despite Google telling us there are hundreds of ranking signals, there are in fact just a handful you should be focusing on if you want to see significant progress.
While the core principles remain, Google’s sophisticated algorithms continue to prioritise a more holistic view of website quality and user value. Here are some essential strategies to help your content rank in 2025.
One important thing that is important to remember about SEO. Google is NOT your customer – humans are. If you focus too much on what you think Google wants, you lose sight of the real goal, which is to create a site that offers a great user experience and content that is helpful and solves a problem. Shift your focus from Google-centric to user-centric.
If you focus on that, you can’t go far wrong in the SEO game!
Ok, let’s crack on and take a look at my top-ranking signals.
1. User Engagement: The Ultimate Metric
Google is increasingly focused on how users interact with your content. Metrics like average engagement time, scroll depth, and session duration are powerful indicators of content quality. If users are staying on your page, reading your content, and interacting with it, that sends a massive signal to search engines that your content is valuable.
2. EEAT Signals: Building Trust and Authority
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (EEAT) are more important than ever. Google wants to serve up content from credible and trusted sources. Ensure your content demonstrates deep knowledge, is written by experts (or clearly references them), and is trustworthy. This can involve author bios, citations, and a clear ‘About Us’ section.
3. Content Freshness: Keep It Current
Even evergreen content benefits from regular review. Aim to update your key articles and blog posts every 6-12 months. This ensures accuracy, keeps information relevant, and signals to Google that your site is active and up-to-date. A quick refresh can often provide a very nice ranking boost.
4. User Experience: Speed and Mobile-Friendliness
A fast-loading, mobile-friendly website isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a fundamental ranking factor in 2025 and beyond. Core Web Vitals highlight the importance of page speed, interactivity, and visual stability. Ensure your site offers a seamless experience on all devices, as a poor UX will inevitably lead to higher bounce rates, poor engagement (see point 1) and lower rankings.
5. Brand Queries and Signals: Cultivating Authority
Strong brand recognition translates directly to SEO benefits. When users actively search for your brand, it signals to Google that you are a reputable and authoritative entity.
Brand signals are one of the biggest ranking signals and have been so for many years.
Focus on building brand awareness through various marketing channels, as these brand queries contribute significantly to your overall search visibility. Think about not only using SEO but PPC and social which will lead to more branded queries.
6. Internal Links: Guiding Users and Spreading Authority
Don’t underestimate the power of a robust internal linking strategy. Thoughtfully linking between your own content helps users navigate your site, discover related articles, and spreads “link equity” throughout your website. It also aids search engines in understanding the structure and hierarchy of your content.
This is incredibly underestimated. Just improving internal linking can really give your rankings a boost.
7. External Links (Backlinks): The Vote of Confidence
Backlinks, or external links pointing to your website from other reputable sites, although not as important as they used to be, remain a cornerstone of SEO. Think of them as a “vote of confidence” from other websites, signalling to Google that your content is valuable, authoritative, and trustworthy. Building a natural and diverse backlink profile through high-quality content and strategic outreach is crucial for enhancing your organic visibility and domain authority.
Tip: Make sure you focus on quality over quantity!
8. H1 Tags: Clarity and Scent Trail
Your H1 tag remains crucial for both users and search engines. It should clearly summarise the main topic of your page, acting as a direct “scent trail” for what the content is about. Google still places significant value on H1s for understanding page context and relevance.
9. Image Alt Text: Semantic SEO and Accessibility
Beyond making your website accessible to visually impaired users, descriptive image alt text contributes significantly to semantic SEO. It helps search engines understand the context of your images and, by extension, the content of your page. Be specific and include relevant keywords naturally.
10. Structured Data: Speaking Google’s Language
Implementing structured data (like Schema markup) helps search engines, and increasingly AI, to better understand the content on your pages. This can lead to rich snippets in search results, improving your click-through rates and giving your content a significant advantage in how it’s presented and interpreted by algorithms.
Boom! You just got an insight into what I believe are the top ranking factors for 2025 and beyond.
Need Help to Get Your Site Noticed?
With more than 18 years of experience as an SEO consultant, I can help drive more relevant, high-quality traffic to your site.
I offer packages to suit every business and every budget. Get in touch today and start getting noticed online.