periodic table of seo ranking factors: 2015 edition by marcus tober
TRANSCRIPT
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
The Periodic Table Of SEO Ranking Factors: 2015 Edi>on
MARCUS TOBER
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Founder and CTO of Searchmetrics
In love with SEO and search since 2001
Study of computer science in Berlin, so I‘m the techie!
MARCUS TOBER
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Made with love in Berlin
180 passionate people
Innovator in SEO SoMware & more since 2005
San Mateo London Paris
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
2015
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Correla<on ≠ Causa<on
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Correla>on vs Averages 𝜌↓2014 =0.00
𝜌↓2015 =0.00
Ø = 96%
Ø = 20%
Share / Co
unt o
f…
Ranking
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
ROADS?
Where we‘re going, we don‘t need Roads.
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Number of Backlinks
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2014 =0.31
𝜌↓2015 =0.28
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Backlinks with Keyword/ anchor
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2014 =0.17
𝜌↓2015 =0.17
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Backlinks with anchor = Domain Name
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2014 =0.16
𝜌↓2015 =0.16
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Backlinks from News Sites *to Homepage of URL
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2014 =0.20
𝜌↓2015 =0.22
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Keyword in External Link
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2014 =0.11
𝜌↓2015 =0.03
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Keyword in Domain Name
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2014 =−0.02
𝜌↓2015 =−0.02
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober KEYW
ORD
2015 Machine Learning
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Filesize
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2014 =0.15
𝜌↓2015 =0.15
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Flesch Readability
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2014 =0.00
𝜌↓2015 =0.02
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
AdSense
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2014 =−0.03
𝜌↓2015 =−0.03
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Word Count
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2014 =0.13
𝜌↓2015 =0.07
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Number of Images
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2014 =0.05
𝜌↓2015 =0.04
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Video Integra>on
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2014 =0.05
𝜌↓2015 =0.07
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Proof Terms
65%
70%
75%
80%
85%
90%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2015 =0.03 Ø = 78% (same for 2014/ 2015)
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Relevant Terms
35%
40%
45%
50%
55%
60%
65%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Desktop 2015 Desktop 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2015 =0.15
Ø2015 = 51%
Ø2014 = 49%
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Seman>c Content Op>miza>on It is all about the consumer intent and not keywords anymore
Basis: Searchmetrics Suite – Feature: „Content Op>miza>on“
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Content be good!
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Presence of Unordered Lists
62%
64%
66%
68%
70%
72%
74%
76%
78%
80%
82%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
2015
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2015 =0.08
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Number of Interac>ve Elements
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
2015
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2015 =0.08
Menus, Bubons, etc.
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
hbps
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Desktop 2015
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓2015 =0.05
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
What about MOBILE? RANKING FACTORS
2015 MOBILE
Mobile Desktop ≠
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Number of Backlinks
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Mobile Desktop
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑘𝑡𝑜𝑝 =0.28
𝜌↓𝑀𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑒 =0.11
MOBILE
ØDesktop = 2.500
ØMobile = 1.300
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Doc, what if I tell you there will be linkless rankings in
the future???
Great Scob, Marty!
LINKS?
Where we‘re going, we don‘t need LINKS.
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Crea<ng Links via Smartphone?
Have you seen/done this?
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Number of Internal Links
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Mobile Desktop
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑘𝑡𝑜𝑝 =0.09
𝜌↓𝑀𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑒 =0.03
MOBILE
ØDesktop = 132
ØMobile = 81
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Filesize
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Mobile Desktop
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑘𝑡𝑜𝑝 =0.15
𝜌↓𝑀𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑒 =0.08
MOBILE
ØDesktop = ~22.000
ØMobile = ~18.000
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Max. Size of Image on the Page
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
700000
800000
900000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Mobile
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝑀𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑒 =−0.06
MOBILE
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Keyword in Title
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Mobile Desktop
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑘𝑡𝑜𝑝 =0.00
𝜌↓𝑀𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑒 =−0.02
MOBILE
ØDesktop = 76%
ØMobile = 60%
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Keywords in Body
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Mobile Desktop
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑘𝑡𝑜𝑝 =0.07
𝜌↓𝑀𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑒 =0.01
MOBILE
ØDesktop = 11
ØMobile = 7
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Keyword Police
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Word Count
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Mobile Desktop
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑘𝑡𝑜𝑝 =0.07
𝜌↓𝑀𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑒 =0.01
MOBILE
ØDesktop = 1.140
ØMobile = 775
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Google+ (+1)
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Mobile Desktop
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑘𝑡𝑜𝑝 =0.31
𝜌↓𝑀𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑒 =0.22
MOBILE
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Pinterest (Pins)
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Mobile Desktop
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑘𝑡𝑜𝑝 =0.23
𝜌↓𝑀𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑒 =0.13
MOBILE
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Search Results are Different Depending on Context
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
“#Mobilegeddon“
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
71%
68%
29%
32%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
After
Before
mobile-friendly
not mobile-friendly
*Basis: Searchmetrics Research Cloud SERPs 1-3
Share of Mobile-‐Friendly URLs
Mobilegeddon, April 21st, 2015
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Share of not Mobile-‐Friendly URLs
27%
26%
36%
30%
29%
37%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
SERP 3
SERP 2
SERP 1
Before After
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Share of Mobile-‐Friendly URLs
64%
66%
68%
70%
72%
74%
76%
78%
80%
82%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
POST Mobilegeddon PRE Mobilegeddon
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝑃𝑂𝑆𝑇 =0.00
𝜌↓𝑃𝑅𝐸 =0.01
MOBILE
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Average Posi>on Change of URLs
-‐0,21 +0,20
not mobile-friendly mobile-friendly
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Redirect
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
POST Mobilegeddon PRE Mobilegeddon
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝑃𝑂𝑆𝑇 =−0.04
𝜌↓𝑃𝑅𝐸 =−0.07
MOBILE
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Ø Font Size En>re Page
14.00
14.20
14.40
14.60
14.80
15.00
15.20
15.40
15.60
15.80
16.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
POST Mobilegeddon PRE Mobilegeddon
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝑃𝑂𝑆𝑇 =0.03
𝜌↓𝑃𝑅𝐸 =0.02
MOBILE
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Has Flash
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
POST Mobilegeddon PRE Mobilegeddon Mobile 2014
RANKING FACTORS
2015 MOBILE
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Has Flash
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
POST Mobilegeddon PRE Mobilegeddon Mobile 2014 Desktop 2015
RANKING FACTORS
2015 MOBILE
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
Ø hbps
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
POST Mobilegeddon PRE Mobilegeddon
RANKING FACTORS
2015
𝜌↓𝑃𝑂𝑆𝑇 =0.01
𝜌↓𝑃𝑅𝐸 =0.03
MOBILE
#SMX #11a @MarcusTober
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