Google Ranking Factors - SEO Checklist

There are "1001 SEO factors" that Google uses to rank pages in the Google search results (SERPs). What are the search engine optimization rules?

Here is the speculation - educated guesses by SEO webmasters on top webmaster forums. Should you wish to achieve a high ranking, the various confirmed and suspected Google Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Rules are listed below.

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Terdapat lebih dari '1001 SEO faktor' yang digunakan google untuk memberi peringkat dalam hasil penelusuran mesin pencarinya. Apakah aturan dalam SEO itu? Bagaimana setingan terbaiknya?

Saya coba berspekulasi disini - yang merupakan hasil pemikiran dan diskusi terbuka oleh para ahli Webmaster SEO di dunia maya. Jika situs atau blog kita ingin mendapatkan peringkat tinggi, coba perhatikan aturan tips dan trik dibawah ini.

Google Ranking Factor Checklist

1. Positive ON-Page SEO Factors.

2. Negative ON-Page SEO Factors.

3. Positive OFF-Page SEO Factors.

4. Negative OFF-Page SEO Factors.

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1. Alleged POSITIVE ON-Page SEO Google Ranking Factors

(Keeping in mind the converse, of course, that when violated, some of these factors immediately jump into the NEGATIVE On-Page Ranking Factors domain.)

POSITIVE ON-Page SEO Factors

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KEYWORDS : Google patent - Topic extraction For keyword selection, try Google Ad Words - Google Trends

• Keyword in URL : First word is best, second is second best, etc.
  
• Keyword in Domain name : Same as in page-name-with-hyphens.

Keywords - Header

• Keyword in Title tag : Keyword in Title tag - close to beginning. Title tag 10 - 60 characters, no special characters.
  
• Keyword in Description meta tag : Shows theme - less than 200 chars. Google no longer "relies" upon this tag, but will often use it.
  
• Keyword in Keyword metatag : Shows theme - less than 10 words. Every word in this tag MUST appear somewhere in the body text. If not, it can be penalized for irrelevance. No single word should appear more than twice. If not, it may be considered spam. Google purportedly no longer uses this tag, but others do.
  

Keywords - Body

• Keyword density in body text : 5 - 20% - (all keywords/ total words). Some report topic sensitivity - the keyword spamming threshold % varies with the topic.
  
• Individual keyword density : 1 - 6% - (each keyword/ total words).
  
• Keyword in H1, H2 and H3 : Use Hx font style tags appropriately.
  
• Keyword font size : "Strong is treated the same as bold, italic is treated the same as emphasis" . . . Matt Cutts July 2006.
  
• Keyword proximity (for 2+ keywords) : Directly adjacent is best.
  
• Keyword phrase order : Does word order in the page match word order in the query? Try to anticipate query, and match word order.
  
• Keyword prominence (how early in page/tag) : Can be important at top of page, in bold, in large font.
  

Keywords - Other

• Keyword in alt text : Should describe graphic - Do NOT fill with spam (Was part of Google Florida OOP - tripped a threshold - may still be in effect to some degree as a red flag, when summed with all other on-page optimization - total page optimization score - TPOS).
  
• Keyword in links to site pages (anchor text) : Links out anchor text use keyword?
  

NAVIGATION - INTERNAL LINKS

• To internal pages- keywords? : Link should contain keywords. The filename "linked to" should contain the keywords. Use hyphenated filenames, but not long ones - two or three hyphens only.
  
• All Internal links valid? : Validate all links to all pages on site. Use a free link checker. I like this one.
  
• Efficient - tree-like structure : TRY FOR two clicks to any page - no page deeper than 4 clicks.
  
• Intra-site linking : Appropriate links between lower-level pages.
  

NAVIGATION - OUTGOING LINKS

• To external pages- keywords? : Google patent - Link only to good sites. Do not link to link farms. CAREFUL - Links can and do go bad, resulting in site demotion. Unfortunately, you must devote the time necessary to police your outgoing links - they are your responsibility.
  
• Outgoing link Anchor Text : Google patent - Should be on topic, descriptive.
  
• Link stability over time : Google patent - Avoid "Link Churn".
  
• All External links valid? : Validate all links periodically.
  
• Less than 100 links out total : Google says limit to 100, but readily accepts 2-3 times that number. ref 2k.
  

OTHER ON-Page Factors

• Domain Name Extension. Top Level Domain - TLD : .gov sites seem to be the highest status -- .edu sites seem to be given a high status -- .org sites seem to be given a high status -- .com sites excel in encompassing all the spam/crud sites, resulting in the need for the highest scrutiny/action by Google.
  
• File Size : Try not to exceed 100K page size (however, some subject matter, such as this page, requires larger file sizes). Smaller files are preferred <40K (lots of them). Check your site here.
  
• Hyphens in URL : Preferred method for indicating a space, where there can be no actual space. One or two = excellent for separating keywords (i.e., pet-smart, pets-mart). Four or more = BAD, starts to look spammy. Ten = Spammer for sure, demotion probable?
  
• Freshness of Pages : Google patent - Changes over time Newer the better - if news, retail or auction! Google likes fresh pages. So do I.
  
• Freshness - Amount of Content Change : New pages - Ratio of old pages to new pages.
  
• Freshness of Links : Google patent - May be good or bad. Excellent for high-trust sites. May not be so good for newer, low-trust sites.
  
• Frequency of Updates : Frequent updates = frequent spidering = newer cache.
  
• Page Theming : Page exhibit theme? General consistency?
  
• Keyword stemming : Stem, stems, stemmed, stemmer, stemming, stemmist, stemification.
  
• Applied Semantics : Synonyms, CIRCA white paper.
  
• LSI : Latent Semantic Indexing - Speculation, no proof.
  
• URL length : Keep it minimized - use somewhat less than the 2,000 characters allowed by IE - less than 100 is good, less is even better.
  

OTHER ON-SITE Factors

• Site Size - Google likes big sites : Google has caught on and dumped millions of pages, or made them supplemental.
  
• Site Age : Google patent - Old is best. Old is Golden.
  
• Age of page vs. age of site : Age of page vs. age of other pages on site. Newer pages on an older site will get faster recognition.
  

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2. Alleged Negative ON-Page SEO Google Ranking Factors

NEGATIVE ON-Page SEO Factors

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• Text presented in graphics form only. No ACTUAL body text on the page : Text represented graphically is invisible to search engines.
  
• Affiliate site? : The Florida update went after affiliates with a vengeance - flower and travel affiliates were hit hard - cookie-cutter sites with massive inter-linking, but little unique content. Subsequent updates have also targeted affiliates.
  
• Over optimization penalty (OOP) : Penalty for over-compliance with well-established, accepted web optimization practices. Too high keyword repetition (keyword stuffing) may get you the OOP. Overuse of H1 tags has been mentioned. Meta-tag stuffing.
  
• Link to a bad neighborhood : Don't link to link farms, FFAs (Free For All's). Also, don't forget to check the Google status of EVERYONE you link to periodically. A site may go "bad", and you can end up being penalized, even though you did nothing. For instance, some failed real estate sites have been switched to p0rn by unscrupulous webmasters, for the traffic. This is not good for you, if you are linking to the originally legitimate URL.
  
• Redirect thru refresh metatags : Don't immediately send your visitor to another page other than the one he/she clicked on, using meta refresh.
  
• Vile language - ethnic slur : Including the George Carlin 7 bad words you can't say on TV, plus the 150 or so that followed. Don't shoot yourself right straight in the foot. Also, avoid combinations of normal words, which when used together, become something else entirely - such as the word juice, and the word love. See why I wrote that zero? I don't even want to get a proximity penalty, either. Paranoia, or caution? You decide. I always want to try to put my "best foot forward".
  
• Poison words : The word "Links" in a title tag has been suggested to be a bad idea. Here is my list of Poison Words for Adsense. This penalty has been loosened - many of these words now appear in normal context, with no problems. But watch your step.
  
• Excessive cross-linking : - within the same C block (IP=xxx.xxx.CCC.xxx). If you have many sites (>10, author's guess) with the same web host, prolific cross-linking can indicate more of a single entity, and less of democratic web voting. Easy to spot, easy to penalize. "This does not apply to a small number of sites" .. (this author guesses the number 10, JAWG) . . . "hosted on a local server". . Matt Cutts July 2006 .
  
• Stealing images/ text blocks from another domain : Copyright violation - Google responds strongly if you are reported. ref egol. File Google DMCA.
  
• Keyword stuffing threshold : In body, meta tags, alt text, etc. = demotion.
  
• Keyword dilution : Targeting too many unrelated keywords on a page, which would detract from theming, and reduce the importance of your REALLY important keywords.
  
• Page edit - can reduce consistency : Google patent - Google is now switching between a "newer" cache, and several "older" caches, frequently drawing from BOTH at the same time. This was possibly implemented to frustrate SERP manipulators. Did your last edit substantially alter your keywords, or theme? Expect noticeable SERP bouncing.
  
• Frequency of Content Change : Google patent - Too frequent = bad.
  
• Freshness of Anchor Text : Google patent - Too frequent = bad.
  
• Dynamic Pages : Problematic - know pitfalls - shorten URLs, reduce variables (". . no more than 2 or 3", M.Cutts July 2006), lose the session IDs.
  
• Excessive Javascript : Don't use for redirects, or hiding links.
  
• Flash page - NOT : Most (all-?) SE (Search Engine) spiders can't read Flash content. Provide an HTML alternative, or experience lower SERP positioning.
  
• Use of Frames : Spidering Problems with Frames - STILL.
  
• Robot exclusion "no index" tag : Intentional self-exclusion.
  
• Single pixel links : A red flag - one reason only - a sneaky link.
  
• Invisible text : OK - No penalty - Google advises against this. (The text is the same color as the background, and hence cannot be seen by the viewer, but can be visible to the search engine spiders.) I believe Google does penalize for hidden text, since it is an attempt to manipulate rank. Although they don't catch everyone.
  
• Duplicate content (YOUR'S) : OK - No penalty - Google advises against this. Google picks one (usually the oldest), and shoves it to the top, and pushes the second choice down. This has been a big issue with stolen content - the thief usurps your former position with YOUR OWN content.
  
• HTML code violations. (The big G does not even use DOCTYPE declarations, required for W3C validation.) : Doesn't matter - Google advises against this. Unless of course, the page is totally FUBAR. Simple HTML verification is NOT required (but advised, since it could contribute to your page quality factor - PQF).
  
• Phrase-based ranking, filters, penalties : Feb. 2007 - Google patent granted. Do not use phrases that have been associated and correlated with known spamming techniques, or you will be penalized. What phrases? Ahh, you tell me.
  

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3. Alleged POSITIVE OFF-Page SEO Google Ranking Factors

POSITIVE OFF-Page SEO Factors

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INCOMING LINKS :

• Page Rank : Based on the Number and Quality of links to you. Google link reporting continues to display just a SMALL fraction of your actual backlinks, and they are NOT just greater than PR4 - they are mixed.
  
• Total incoming links ("backlinks") : Historically, FAST counted best (www.alltheweb.com). No more - Yahoo (parent) broke it.
  
• Incoming links from high-ranking pages : In 2004, Google used to count (report) the links from all PR4+ pages that linked to you. In 2005-2006, Google reported only a small fraction of the links, in what seemed like an almost random manner. In Feb. 2007, Google markedly upgraded (increased) the number of links that they report.
  
• Acceleration of link popularity : Google patent - Link acquisition speed boost - speculative. Too fast = artificial? Cause of -30 penalty? Sandbox penalty imposed if new site?
  

FOR EACH INCOMING LINK :

• Page rank of the referring page : Based on the quality of links to you.
  
• Anchor text of inbound link to you : Contains keyword, key phrase? #1 result in SERP does NOT EVEN need to have the keyword(s) on the page, ANYWHERE!!! What does that tell you? (Enables Google-bombing - search for "miserable failure").
  
• Age of link : Google patent - Old = Good.
  
• Frequency of change of anchor text : Google patent - Not good. Why would you do that?
  
• Popularity of referring page : Popularity = desirability, respect.
  
• # of outgoing links on referrer page : Fewer is better - makes yours more important.
  
• Position of link on referrer page : Early in HTML is best.
  
• Keyword density on referring page : For search keyword(s).
  
• HTML title of referrer page : Same subject or theme?
  
• Link from "Expert" site? : Google patent - Big time boost (Hilltop Algorithm). Recently reported to give a big boost !
  
• Referrer page - Same theme : From the same or related theme? BETTER.
  
• Referrer page - Different theme : From different or unrelated theme? WORSE.
  
• Image map link? : Problematic?
  
• Javascript link? : Problematic- attempt to hide link?
  

DIRECTORIES :

• Site listed in DMOZ Directory? : This is a tough one. Google's directory comes STRAIGHT from the DMOZ directory. You should try to get into dmoz. But you can't. Be careful whom you approach with the old spondulix - Formal DMOZ Bribe Instructions.
  
• DMOZ category? : Theme fit category? General or geographic category? Both are possible, and acceptable.
  
• Site listed in Yahoo Directory? : Big boost - You can get in by paying $299 each year. Many swear it is worth it - many swear it isn't.
  
• Site listed in LookSmart Directory? : Boost? Another great vote for your site.
  
• Site listed in inktomi? : Inktomi has been absorbed internally by Yahoo.
  
• Site listed in other directories (About, etc.) : Directory listing boost (If other RESPECTED directories link to you, this must be positive.)
  
• Site Age - Old shows stability : Google patent - Boost for long-established sites, new pages indexed easily. The opposite of the sand box.
  
• Site Age - Very New Boost : Temporary boost for very new sites - I estimate that this boost lasts from 1 week to 3 weeks - Yahoo does it too.
  
• Site Directory - Tree Structure : Influences SERPs - logical, consistent, conventional.
  
• Site Map and more site map : Complete - keywords in anchor text.
  
• Site Size : Previously, many pages preferred - conferred authority upon site, thus page. Bigger sites = better SERPs. Now, fewer pages preferred, due to proliferation of computer-generated pages. Google has been dropping pages like crazy.
  
• Site Theming : Site exhibit theme? Use many related terms? Have you used a keyword suggestion tool? A thesaurus?
  

PAGE METRICS - USER BEHAVIOR :

• Page traffic : Google patent - # of visitors, trend.
  
• Page Selection Rate - CTR : Google patent - How often is a page clicked on?
  
• Time spent on page : Google patent - Relatively long time = indicates relevance hit.
  
• Did user Bookmark page? : Google patent - Bookmark = Good.
  
• Bookmark add/removal frequency : Google patent - Recent = Good?
  
• How they left, where they went : Back button, link clicked, etc.
  

SITE METRICS - USER BEHAVIOR :

• Site Traffic : Google patent - # of visitors, increasing trend = Good.
  
• Referrer : Authoritative referrer?
  
• Keyword : Keyword searches used to find you.
  
• Time spent on domain : Relatively long time = indicates relevance hit. Add brownie points.
  

DOMAIN OWNER BEHAVIOR :

• Domain Registration Time : Google patent - Domain Expiration Date. Register for 5 years, Google knows you are serious. Register for 1 year, is it a throw-away domain?
  
• Are associated sites legitimate? : Google patent - No spam, ownership, etc.
  

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4. Alleged NEGATIVE OFF-Page SEO Google Ranking Factors

NEGATIVE OFF-Page SEO Factors

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• Traffic Buying : Have you paid a company for web traffic? It is probably low quality traffic, with a zero conversion rate. Some providers of traffic for traffic's sake may be considered "bad neighborhoods". Can Google discount your traffic (for true popularity), because they know it's mostly phony? Have you read about Traffic Power?
  
• Temporal Link Analysis : In a nut shell, old links are valued, new links are not. This is intended to thwart rapid incoming link accumulation, accomplished through the tactic of link buying. Just one of the sandbox factors.
  
• Change of Meanings : Query meaning changes over time, due to current events.
  
• Zero links to you : You MUST have at least 1 (one) incoming link (back link) from some website somewhere, that Google is aware of, to REMAIN in the index.
  
• Link-buying (Very good IF you don't get caught, but don't do it - when caught, the penalty isn't worth it.) : Google patent - Google hates link-buying, because it corrupts their PR model in the worst way possible. (1) Does your page have links it really doesn't merit? (2) Did you get tons of links in a short time period? (3) Do you have links from high-PR, unrelated sites?
  
• Prior Site Ranking : Google patent - High = Good.
  
• Cloaking : Google promises to Ban! (Presenting one webpage to the search engine spider, and another webpage to everybody else.)
  
• Links from bad neighborhoods, affiliates : Google says that incoming links from bad sites can't hurt you, because you can't control them. Ideally, this would be true. However, some speculate otherwise, esp., when other associated factors are thrown into the mix, such as web rings.
  
• Penalties - resulting from Domain Hijacking (work with Google to fix) : Should result in IMPRISONMENT, forthwith! Grand Theft, mandatory minimum sentence. The criminal COPIES your entire website, and HOSTS it elsewhere, with . . . a few changes.
  
• Penalty - Google TOS violation : WMG is the worst offender - gobbles up tons of Google server time by nervous Nellie webmasters. Google even mentions them by name. I think that Google will spank you when you cross the threshold, of say, 100 queries per day for the same term, from the same IP. Google can block your IP. Get a Google API.
  
• Server Reliability - S/B >99.9% : What is your uptime? Ever notice a daily time when your server is unavailable, like about 1:30 AM? How diligent must Googlebot be? This is the worst reason to get dropped - you just aren't there! An ISP maintenance interruption can cause delisting.-

Sources

"These optimization opinions are too strong -

Too much speculation - I wanna see your SEO data!". . . OK. Here it is -

Google Search Engine Optimization Forums

Google SEO by: MMI