What Does Google Look for and How to Improve Your Ranking

What Does Google Look for?

The optimal title contains between 30 – 60 characters. This is to make sure the title is visible in the Google result and also has a description of the content on the web page. The keyword should be mentioned in the title one to two times. The first mention of the keyword should be made as early as possible.

• Title exists 7/7
  Title was found.
• Entire keyword in 6/6
  Complete keyword in title.
• Part of the keyword in the title 2/2
  Amount of keywords in the title: 3
• Length of the title 6/6
  Perfect amount of characters in your title! Amount: 50
• Keyword position in title 6/6
  Keyword position in title: 1

Every web page should have a h1 heading with less than 40 characters that describes the content of the web page. The content of the title and h1 should differ from one another. Only one h1 should exist on a page. The keyword should be mentioned in all headings and the sooner it’s mentioned the better.

• Entire keyword in <h1> 3/3
  Complete keyword in <h1>.
• Part of the keyword in <h1> 2/2
  Amount of keywords in the title: 3
• Length of the <h1>-tag 2/2
  Perfect amount of characters in your <h1>-tag! You have: 14
• Keyword position in the <h1> 5/5
  Keyword position in the <h1>: 1
• Number of <h1>-tags 4/4
  Your page contains one <h1>-tag.
• Different content in title and <h1>-tag 2/2
  Perfect, your title and <h1>-tag contain different content.
• Keyword in subheadings 2/2
  Keyword was found in multiple subheadings.

Every web page should have at least 500 words in the body text. This shows Google that there is actual content on the web page. The keyword should be mentioned at least three times throughout the body text.

• Word count 14/14
  Your web page contains more than 500 words. Word count: 689
• Keyword in body text 7/7
  Your web page mentions the keyword more than 3 times in the body text. Mentions: 7
• Keyword partially in body text 5/5
  More than 70% of the keyword appears
• Every word in the keyword mentioned. 2/2
  All words found.

The meta description is the description of your web page as shown in the Google-results. That’s why it’s important to mention your keyword as early as possible here.

• Keyword in meta description 5/5
  Perfect, the meta description contains the keyword.

Having images of the keyword on your web page is important, it is equally important to mention the keyword in the alt-tag of the image containing the keyword. Also make sure the alt-tag is describing the image.

• Keyword found in an image’s alt-text 4/4
  Your web page mentions the keyword in the alt-text of an image.

A well structured web page should always have an external CSS-file according to Google. The bigger percentage of your source code is visible to visitors the better. Google doesn’t want to go through code that won’t even be visible to your users. Try to have at least 2% visible.

• Separate CSS-file 3/3
  Perfect, your web page has a separate file for CSS. That’s evidence of a well structured web page.
• Percentage of visible source code 3/3
  Perfect! 4.72%

An optimal URL contains the keyword and uses HTTPS encryption to ensure a secure connection.

• Keyword in URL 5/5
  Perfect, the URL either contains the keyword or you’re checking the root path.
• HTTPS 5/5
  Uses secure HTTPS encryption.