New UK Google Ranking Factor Insights

New Research Shows Key Ranking Factors for the UK

Value/Importance: [rating=4]

Recommended link: Search Metrics 2012 Ranking Factor Report

Our commentary

The volume of data and number crunching to form this guide is remarkable. It's based  on analysis of 10,000 selected top-keywords, 300,000 websites and millions of links, shares and tweets from within the Searchmetrics database.

It has been condensed well for a quick summary on SEO in the UK. The guide looks at the 6 trends / changes the research highlighted which are summarised in the diagram below.

Marketing implications

While the report probably won't show anything that most people will not have heard already it may hopefully spur you into action or debunk some of the SEO myths.  I have summarised the 3  I believe are most important below, but you can see the full guide here.

1. Time to be social

The research conducted by Searchmetrics suggests that activity in key social networks does influence search rankings. The research actually showed that Google+ was the most significant when it comes to influencing search rankings but it does not unfortunately have the volume yet to be at the core of your strategy. Facebook shares came a close second, in fact Facebook dominated the top 4 spots when it came to influence in SEO. Twitter behind all that. Ensure you have Facebook well integrated into your sites content as well as activity on your brand page is now more important than ever for SEO in the UK. You can find Facebook tools for your website here.

2. Backlinks rule

This is definitely not new but the data suggests that nofollow links still influence ranking I think is fascinating. Volume of links and utilising keywords in anchor text are still overwhelmingly important. This new data coupled with the social data above I think should help us refocus our efforts on effective content & marketing should be our priority, we shouldn't do things because it is "nofollowed" which I have heard so many times in the past. You can use these link analysis tools to analyse your backlink profile.

3. Stop obsessing about on-page

In my line of work, I get asked a lot of questions about SEO and it seems on-page factors seem to stress a lot of marketers and copywriters out. Hopefully this research will put some peoples mind at rest. On-page factors have been superseded by backlinks for years, but this latest research goes as far as saying some on-page optimisation tips are just not worth the time and effort. Having keywords at the start of titles instead of middle or the end will have no impact whatsoever, length of content is irrelevant and pictures are no bad thing.

I think this is a little misleading though since this chart and the previous suggest the title isn't important which is not the case. We still find that pages that include a title (particularly in a relevant phrase) will outrank those that don't "all other factors being equal".

I hope you find this interesting. It is worth noting that correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation, so what you find in your own experience is most important.