“Add more keywords and links, and your landing page will be off the charts!”, used to be the most universal recipe for getting into the top 20 ranked pages on SERP. Yes, content and links are still important to Google. But now that search engines have become smarter, there are many more factors that influence the position of your site in search results.

You can and should rely on official recommendations from the network. But besides this, we have highlighted additional key points that are important when ranking pages. All the tips are right here in this article – be sure to put them into practice!

What does the March update mean?

Let’s start with what’s new: in March, Google announced updates that will make the work of SEO specialists more difficult. One of the key changes is an improvement to the system that identifies low-quality content.

The definition of spam has been expanded to include “low-quality content created primarily for ranking purposes.” There is also an active struggle with AI: it must improve (and not worsen) the information on your website, otherwise it will also be regarded as spam. Therefore, you won’t be able to simply generate text and paste it onto the site – you risk getting lower in the search results.

Content is key

Google is constantly changing, but there are some things that always remain important. Algorithms are still evaluating how reliable, interesting, and useful the information on a website is to the user.

Here’s what you should pay attention to:

Information depth. Study the topic thoroughly, use relevant keywords in your texts. If your page doesn’t have meaningful information, it won’t rank well.

Uniqueness. Especially after the March update, when Google announced that sites with content created by AI will now be shown less frequently in search results. Create unique, interesting and eye-catching material.

LSI keys. LSI keywords provide context to the page and help search engines better understand the content. Expand your semantics to cover all the nuances. The main thing is to avoid thoughtless inserts with complex phrases, so use key phrases organically.

Content relevance. Materials on the site can and should be updated: update the data, add paragraphs if necessary, and remove what is no longer useful.

E-E-A-T concept. The bottom line is that the content on the website should be created by an author who understands the topic. The more expert and useful the information, the more loyal Google will be to you.

High loading speed is the key to success

It is worth paying attention to website optimization. Use caching, image optimization, minification JavaScript, and CSS. Test download speed at the desired GEO. You can check it using PageSpeed Insights. And to speed up mobile loading, use AMP pages.

Mobile optimization is a must-have

Most users now access search engines from mobile phones. Google gives preference to sites that are optimized for them. Ensure correct display on all devices: ideally, your website should look the same on both smartphones and desktops.

Behavioral Metrics and UX

According to Google, content is also evaluated by user behavior: clicks, scrolling, time spent on the page, viewing depth, and returning to the search engine for clarification. If your content is carefully studied, the information is complete and reliable, the user does not need to go and google anything extra – the search engine encourages this. The quality of content and human behavior on the site are related to each other, so when working to improve one, it is important to keep the second in mind. Conduct A/B testing of various website elements to increase conversions.

Links

Some find that links have become less effective than several years ago. Google downplays their importance to avoid a lot of link spam. But remember that Google usually finds pages by crawling and then links to them. It is important to abandon questionable practices. Don’t buy links, spam, or use PBNs if maintaining your site is important to you. Avoid using expired domains and do not abuse the site’s reputation.

Conclusion

It’s still too early to evaluate the March updates. You need to give time to optimize all processes, configure algorithms, and fix errors. There is no point in refusing, for example, the help of AI; it is better to use it as a faithful assistant and adapt the content that it produces.

Although Google does not provide a clear list of facts that influence rankings, today we’ve identified the key factors that influence search results the most. All of these points are interconnected and together form a successful SEO strategy. By maintaining a balance between technical aspects, content, links, and social activity, you can satisfy the requirements of both search engines and users.