What are external website ranking factors and how they affect SEO

Whether your site will be noticed by search engines depends not only on its quality, but also on external ranking factors. Namely from the company's fame, mention of it on authoritative resources, incoming links, reposts in social networks, etc. In other words, the more often a brand is mentioned in the network, the more trust it evokes in search engines, which positively affects its position in the output. In this article we will talk in detail about the external factors of ranking the site and how they can be used to influence the entry of a web resource in the TOP issue.

What are external ranking factors

Ranking is the process by which search engines determine the order in which web pages from different sites will be displayed in search results.

Upon receiving a user's query, algorithms analyze different factors that help them determine which pages answer the question better. Based on this analysis, search engines generate a ranking of pages from different resources, which are arranged in a certain sequence. In the top lines - the most relevant, while less relevant ones go down.

The ranking of the resource depends on:

• internal factors - text content, photos, videos, keywords, portal structure, page load speed;
• external factors - incoming links from authoritative resources (online publications, news resources), brand mentions, activity in social networks.

External factors of site ranking are directly related to external links and advertising. And the way it interacts with the audience greatly affects its position in the search engine.

Examples of external website ranking

How external ranking factors affect SEO depends on the thoughtfulness of the strategy. Let's consider the most popular promotion options.

Inbound links

To unobtrusively place an external link, the copywriter writes an article for a magazine or other resource. In it, he carefully prescribes a link or anchor, clicking on which the user gets to the site.

What should be taken into account when working with such an external factor of SEO as incoming links:

• it is better to publish content in well-known sources, as search engines assess the credibility and reputation of sites that send to your resource;
• the more online publications and sites you engage, the higher the chances that search engines will perceive your site as a popular and relevant resource;
• links published on low-quality resources can negatively affect the reputation of the site.

Working with inbound links requires time, effort and financial costs, but it pays off. A quality link will not only bring the client to your resource, but will also increase the authority of the portal, thanks to which it will be noticed by search engines.

Brand mentions

The more famous the company, the higher the chances that search engines will pay attention to the site, so you should not be limited to links. About the brand should be talked about on forums, mentioned in articles, news, social networks, etc. For this purpose, it is recommended to:

• create useful content (text, video, audio) mentioning your brand;
• collaborate with well-known personalities and opinion leaders who work in your niche;
• participate in conferences, webinars, exhibitions that are of interest to media representatives, and they may mention your company in their materials.

It is important to monitor where and in what way your brand is mentioned, using special services (Awario, Google Alerts, Mention, Brand24). This will allow you to react properly and interact with authors if necessary.

Don't forget about reviews

External ranking factors such as reviews play an important role in building brand reputation, and therefore have a strong influence on search results:

• good comments increase consumer confidence in the company, encourage consumers to make purchases;
• if reviews are positive, search engine algorithms perceive your business as reliable and reputable, and increase its position;
• respond to both positive and negative comments. This demonstrates the company's willingness to dialog and improves its image.

Not all customers are ready to write a review, so they should be incentivized, for example, by offering bonuses or a discount on a product. This can be done through emails, surveys.

Behavioral and social external factors of page ranking

In this case, we are talking about the user's behavior on your portal. Search engines analyze different moments:

• The time that a person spends on the site - the main indicator of its quality. You can delay the visitor can not only with the help of text, but also with an interesting video, tables, graphs;
• the time of viewing the page. If the user closes it immediately, search engines may decide that the information does not correspond to the request, and will reduce the visibility of the resource;
• frequency of returning to the site - the more often the user opens your portal, the better, because it says that the site is interesting to him;
• total number of page views.

When they talk about external factors of page ranking, they also pay attention to the attitude of users to the resource through social networks, namely the brand page and the publication of posts on it. Likes, comments, reposts, the number of subscribers “make it clear” to search engines that the portal is interesting to users, and this contributes to improving its position in the search engine.

How to improve the position of the site, affecting the external factors of ranking

Do you want your resource to occupy leading positions in the search results? Contact IT-company MEGASITE! We offer comprehensive services for SEO site promotion. In our work our team uses the most modern tools and technologies that help to achieve the best results, namely - will bring the target audience to your site and increase sales.

To learn more about the service, contact a MEGASITE manager - we will offer customized solutions that will help your site get to the top of the search results!