SEO TL;DR #11: Ranking Factors VS Ranking Systems, Clarity on EEAT and Gemini Updates

SEO TL;DR - 12/02/2024

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The difference between ranking signals, factors amp; systems

I’m going back to basics slightly here, but as someone who talks to clients daily about how to rank, I’m still staggered by the misinformation which still exists…

• “I’ve heard that page speed and CWV are the most important thing for SEO?”
• “What’s the optimal amount of times to repeat a keyword on a page?”
• “How many meta keywords should we be listing?”

The truth is, there is no silver bullet; no one element of your page is massively more important than the other, and no one knows all of the current ranking factors. A known factor 2 years ago may not be considered today.

To clarify the language, Danny Sullivan recently gave an analogy on the difference between ranking factors, ranking signals and ranking systems, which I came across at Search Engine Roundtable.

Signals and ranking factors are the fuel that you give to the machine and the machine is the system.

Google says there are 5… let’s call them things… which help them determine which results show for a query, but within each of these, there are potentially 100s of other factors which are not disclosed and mostly guesswork in the SEO industry.

1. The meaning of your query - the intent behind your search Suppose you used words like 'cooking' or 'pictures', showing recipes or images best matches your intent. When you search for 'pizza', you get results about nearby businesses that deliver.
2. The relevance of the content - assessing whether the content on a page contains information relevant to the intent. If your query’s keywords appear in the headings or body of the text. Google’s systems analyse if the content is relevant to a query in other ways; e.g. when you search for 'dogs', you don’t want a page with the word 'dogs' on it 100 times; you want other relevant content such as pictures of dogs, videos or even a list of breeds.
3. The quality of the content - which content demonstrates expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness (more on this below)
4. The usability of the web page - technical SEO; when all things are relatively equal, content that people will find more accessible may perform better. For example, is the content mobile-friendly, and does it load quickly?
5. The context and settings - information such as your location, past Search history and Search settings If you’re in Chicago and search 'football', Google will show you American football and the Chicago Bears. If you’re in London, Google might show you results about the Premier League.

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What are the most important Ranking Systems

So now that we’ve clarified that Google has systems comprised of many different factors - what are the most notable systems to consider when writing content you want to rank well?

Google has listed 16 of their most notable ranking systems, but again, the importance of each depends on the type of content you’re putting out there. However, I find that the following four are pretty universal across all industries:

1, BERT - an AI system that allows Google to understand how combinations of words express different meanings and intent.

?? What type of results show up for your desired query? If the top 10 websites for the term “best electric toothbrush” are all from third-party review sites, writing a guide as a retailer in the hopes it will rank highly for this keyword will be almost impossible.

2, Deduplication systems - searches may find millions of matching web pages that are very similar to each other. In such cases, their systems show only the most relevant results to avoid unhelpful duplication.

?? Duplication can happen within your own site too, so ensure pages are not cannibalising each other. Combine similar pages for a better user experience.

3, Freshness systems - does the query deserve freshness? If so, fresher content is shown. e.g. a search for “earthquake" might bring back results about preparation and resources, but if an earthquake has recently happened, fresher news articles may appear.

?? Always update your best-performing blogs as and when new information comes out, particularly if it’s dated content such as “the best travel systems for 2024”.

4, Helpful content system - designed to better ensure people see original, helpful content written by people, for people.

?? How to self-assess your content and why your self-proclaimed helpful content may not be ranking well.

What about EEAT?

Since Google initially told us how expertise, experience, authority and trust (EEAT) help them determine which content is useful, SEOs have clung to this like it’s the holy grail of ranking.

While Google’s official documentation states that “E-E-A-T itself isn't a specific ranking factor”, many still believe there is some kind of background score.

Danny Sullivan recently reiterated that:

EEAT is not a score, is not a ranking factor, it is not an algorithm and Google will keep repeating this message.

For all the worry some spend trying to figure out how to "prove" their pages have E-E-A-T, I would sincerely urge them to just ask themselves; "if someone comes to my page from search, are they satisfied with what they get, from the content to the experience?"

Learn more about EEAT

Bard becomes Gemini

A busy week for Google: rebranding Bard to Gemini, launching Gemini Advanced, and a mobile app which can sync with all of your other Google apps like Sheets, Docs and Gmail. But don’t get too excited yet if you’re outside of the US, as we’ve had no solid release date for other countries yet ??

Everyone can chat with the free version today, like you could with Bard here: ?? https://gemini.google.com/app

Gemini Advanced will cost you $19.99, the same as GPT Plus, but Google claims they can beat GPT in all tasks - read more about its capabilities here.

They are offering a 2-month free trial in an attempt to gain subscribers on GPT, but as this is currently only available for US accounts, I’d hold out until the trial is available in your country.

LinkedIn Algorithm Insights Report - 2024

Something a little more off-topic, but as a LinkedIn newbie and the platform most of you are likely reading this on, I thought it might be interesting.

The 123-page report was put together by Richard van der Blom and shares the crucial changes since 2023, strategies for using the best-performing formats and tips for improving reach, follower growth, and conversions.

View the 2024 Report

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