Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a constantly evolving field and understanding Google’s ranking factors is crucial for any website to perform well in the search engine results pages (SERPs). However, with over 200 known variables that contribute to a website’s performance, it can be difficult to know which factors are actually confirmed, rumored, or just myths.
In this article, we will break down all of the known, confirmed, rumored, and absolute myth-level Google ranking factors in an easy-to-read and highly condensed way.
Confirmed ranking factors
These are all the ranking factors that have been confirmed by Google as true. They have a direct impact on your website’s performance in Google’s search engine.
Core Web Vitals: Google confirmed in 2021 that they use Core Web Vitals to assess the user experience and that it is a ranking signal. Make sure your website has a “good” ranking standing.
Anchor text: Google uses concise anchor text to understand the content on your pages, which can lead to higher placement in the SERPs.
Domain history: Google takes into account the history of a domain and can penalize a website if a sketchy business was using the domain before.
E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness): While not a direct ranking factor, many of the factors that go into