Download the slides here: www.searchmetrics.com/smx-advanced-2017
Marcus Tober's slides from SMX Advance Seattle: The Periodic Table of Ranking Factors - 2017 Edition
Marcus Tober 2017 SMX Advanced Seattle - Ranking Factors
1. #SMX @MarcusTober
SMX Advanced, Seattle
June 13th, 2017
THE PERIODIC TABLE
OF SEO RANKING FACTORS
2017 EDITION
Us Tc Ux Bk So Co
2. @MarcusTober#SMX
M A R C U S T O B E R
SEARCHMETRICS- THE CONTENT EXPERIENCE
Founder and CTO of Searchmetrics
• Studied computer science in Berlin,
so I´m the Techie!
• In love with SEO and SEARCH since 2001
6. @MarcusTober#SMX
RANKING FACTORS - DATA SET
RANKING FACTORS
Big Data
Searchmetrics
Research Cloud
Search Terms
Top search terms
by search volume
Google Positions
Top Google Positions
Ranking Factors
100+ Ranking Factors
7. Health + Finance + eCommerce + Media + Travel etc.
Overall Ranking FactorsGENERAL
NICHE
Our NEW Ranking Factors Approach
GENERAL vs INDUSTRY vs NICHE
INDUSTRY
Recipes/ SEO/ Celebrity News/ Dating/ Weather Forecast etc.
broad
specific
8. Health + Finance + eCommerce + Media + Travel
Overall Ranking Factors
NICHE
Our NEW Ranking Factors Approach
GENERAL vs INDUSTRY vs NICHE
INDUSTRY
Recipes/ SEO/ Celebrity News/ Dating/ Weather Forecast
GENERAL
15. @MarcusTober#SMX
Number of Images
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
User Experience
Ux
2
0
1
1
2
2
3
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2016 Desktop 2017
2
Top 10-
2017
1.5
Top 10-
2016
Webmasters are using more and more
images.
27. Health + Finance + eCommerce + Media + Travel
Overall Ranking FactorsGENERAL
NICHE
Ranking Factors Approach
GENERAL vs INDUSTRY vs NICHE
INDUSTRY
Recipes /SEO/Celebrity News/Dating/Weather Forecast
28. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
Industry Ranking Factors
eCommerce Finance Health Media Travel
Download for free: searchmetrics.com/industry-factors
32. @MarcusTober#SMX
tax calculator
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
HTTPS
#SMX @MarcusTober
7 pages WITH HTTPS on the 1st page!
Only 1 page WITHOUT HTTPS.
Would YOU hand over sensitive financial data?
35. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
HTTPS
#SMX @MarcusTober
arctic cruiseNone of the top URLs use HTTPS!
Why use HTTPS for Travel (offer landing) pages?
38. @MarcusTober#SMX
Number of Images
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
User Experience
Ux
2
0
1
2
3
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Finance Spalte2 Travel
2.15
Top 10-
Travel
0.92
Top 10-
Finance
Much more images in Travel than in Finance.
39. @MarcusTober#SMX
Avg. Word Count
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
User Experience
Ux
2
0
500
1.000
1.500
2.000
2.500
3.000
3.500
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Finance Spalte2 Travel
2,700
Top 10-
Travel
1,800
Top 10-
Finance
Much more Content in Travel than in Finance.
44. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Industries – Different Ranking Factors
Industry Ranking Factors
44
Images: 0
Word Count: 87
Images: 13
Word Count: 733
HUGE differences in image & word count!
But both URLs rank on #1!
„Cheap Airline Tickets“„Foreign Exchange“
46. Recipes /SEO/Celebrity News/Dating/Weather Forecast
Health + Finance + eCommerce + Media + Travel
Overall Ranking FactorsGENERAL
Ranking Factors Approach
GENERAL vs INDUSTRY vs NICHE
INDUSTRY
NICHE
48. #SMX @MarcusTober@MarcusTober#SMX
Each NICHE has to deal with different
SEARCH INTENTIONS
RANKING FACTORS
USER WANTS TO:
Find the best platform
USER WANTS:
Information and analyses
USER WANTS:
Easy and structured guidance
50. @MarcusTober#SMX
# of Keywords the URL ranks for
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
Content
Co
3
0
500
1.000
1.500
2.000
2.500
3.000
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Dating SEO Recipes
1.444 325
Top 10-
SEO
474
Top 10-
Recipes
Top Dating sites are ranking for many
keywords
Top 10-
Dating
51. @MarcusTober#SMX
how to tell if a guy likes you
# of Keywords the URL ranks for – Dating
Over 1,300 Keywords – 118 of them on #1!
55. @MarcusTober#SMX
Has Microdata (Schema.org)
RANKING FACTORS 2017-US
Technical
Tc
1
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Dating SEO Recipes
34% 60%
Top 10-
SEO
89%
Top 10-
Recipes
Recipes has most Microdata integrations.
Top 10-
Dating
56. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Niches – Different Ranking Factors
Niche Ranking Factors
56
#SMX#SMX @MarcusTober
8 out of the top 10 organic results
have Schema integrations!
57. @MarcusTober#SMX
Different Niches – Different Ranking Factors
Niche Ranking Factors
57
#SMX#SMX @MarcusTober
Just TWO URLs on the first page
have Schema integrations!
58. @MarcusTober#SMX
Use only what
is necessary/
relevant for
your audience
Learning
User intention is different depending on
industry/ niche
62. #SMX @MarcusTober
1. Specialize Content
2. Update Content
3. Technical Optimization
RANKING FACTORS
#SMX @MarcusTober
Content needs be tailored to
your audience, constantly
updated and be accessible by
search engines
Keep in mind!