This article is more geared toward beginners. If you’re at an advanced level, feel free to skip it.

That said, this is the kind of article that every affiliate marketer needs to know about. Do you have a significant investment? Planning to outsource everything for your affiliate marketing business while you sit back and let workers handle all the tasks for your niche site?

If that’s your plan, STOP right now!

The days of passive, hands-off niche sites are long gone, dear brothers and sisters. Niche sites require hands-on attention and personal ownership to succeed. To truly excel, you must dive deep and understand the mechanics yourself.

Now that the introduction is out of the way let’s get to the core of the

What Are Google Ranking Factors?

Google is a search engine. While there are many other search engines in the online world, Google has reached such a dominant position that when we think of a “search engine,” we basically think of Google. It’s similar to how, in our country, people say, “Can you FlexiLoad 20 taka to my Banglalink number?” or “Can you send 2000 taka via bKash to this Rocket number?” even when they mean a different service. The brand becomes synonymous with the action.

Anyway, let’s focus on Google. We’ll continue to talk about it because we must. It’s the king of search. Now, if we define “Google ranking factors” in simple terms, it comes down to this: when we search for something on Google, we see a range of results. Some results appear on the first page, while others are buried far behind, maybe on the thousandth page.

Why?

Certain factors at play determine which results show up first, and these are the ranking factors. Think of it like a classroom, where one student ranks first, and another comes in last. The one who comes first performs well in all subjects, while the one who ranks last doesn’t perform well and may even fail in some areas.

In the same way, the factors that determine why one website appears first in Google search results and another appears much later are what we call “ranking factors.”

In this article, we will explore what those ranking factors are and how they work.

What Are Google’s Ranking Factors?

Google’s algorithm currently considers over 200 ranking factors. The most comprehensive and proven information about these comes from an article by Brian Dean, which serves as a reference for this discussion. However, I won’t cover all 200+ factors here. Instead, I’ll minimize the list and focus only on the factors I’ve applied to my niche sites that have yielded promising results.

Not all of these 200+ factors are effective. Some are proven (these are the ones I’ll emphasize), some are conflicting, and SEO experts haven’t fully explained to others they’re believed to be dead or irrelevant in today’s SEO landscape.

Additionally, in Brian’s article, you’ll notice some factors repeated or rephrased slightly differently. In my opinion, there’s no need to burden yourself with those.

I won’t be discussing all 200+ ranking factors because I believe not all of them are necessary. If you’re interested in learning about all of them, feel free to read Brian’s article. At one point, I even tried to memorize all 200+ factors out of sheer enthusiasm, but in hindsight, it wasn’t essential. Understanding the core Google ranking factors covers about 90% of SEO.

With that said, I’m going to focus on the most important Google ranking factors, along with my insights. If you master these key factors, you’ll have a solid understanding of what’s needed to rank a niche site. There’s no need to memorize anything—just a clear understanding of the essentials.

Here are the broad categories of Google ranking factors:

• Domain-related Factors
• Website Visibility Factors
• Backlink-related Factors
• Audience Engagement
• Google’s Special Algorithms
• Brand Visibility
• On-Page SEO Factors
• Off-Page SEO Factors

Let’s dive into these, point by point.

If you’re interested in learning more about SEO, affiliate marketing, or niche site creation, you can check out the Authority Aid YouTube channel for helpful tutorials.

1. Domain Age

Most SEO experts believe that the older a domain is, the more positive its impact on a site’s ranking. However, Google’s former head of webspam, Matt Cutts, downplayed the importance of domain age.

According to Matt, there isn’t much difference between an old domain and a new one. Domain age isn’t a major ranking factor.

My personal experience aligns with Matt’s statement. Yes, if an old domain has perfect metrics, it can undoubtedly be a positive factor. But the problem is, how do you determine if it’s truly “perfect”? Mistakes are common, especially for new niche site marketers.

Another issue is cost— a high-quality old domain can cost at least $500. I’ve seen many experienced marketers in our community working with domains worth $2,000–$3,000. But for a new marketer, that’s often their entire budget. So, starting with an expensive, old domain isn’t practical or necessary for beginners.

Thus, new marketers shouldn’t worry about the ranking factor related to domain age. It’s perfectly fine to start with a new domain as long as it’s not a dropped domain—be careful about that.

If you’re looking for tips on how to easily and accurately select a domain for your niche site, check out the quick video below for guidance.

2. Keywords in the Domain

Until recently, this topic was somewhat controversial, but now it’s more clear-cut. There are two important aspects when it comes to having keywords in your domain:

1. Having the full keyword in the domain
2. Placing the keyword at the beginning of the domain.

Let me give you some examples:

Let’s say your keyword is “best eggplant.” Your domain could be:

• BestEggPlant.com
• theBestEggPlant.com
• EggPlant.com
• BestEggPlantReviews.com
• BestEggPlants.com

Regardless of the structure, all of the examples above are mistakes. Any of these choices would be a wrong decision.

So, what should the domain look like in this case?

In my view, the best practice would be to choose a domain that is brandable and not overly focused on the exact keyword. Here are some better examples:

• EggMaker.com
• EggWorld.com
• EggLovers.com
• EggAid.com

These types of domains allow for more flexibility and sound professionalism and have better long-term value.

Some SEO experts have even experimented with creating strong subdomains using keywords. For instance, back in 2011, I worked on a client project where I made over 100 subdomains under the main domain, each targeting specific keywords. While this technique worked at that time, I now consider it an old-school tactic. It no longer holds much value in today’s SEO landscape.

Therefore, I’d advise my readers to avoid focusing on keyword-heavy domains or subdomains and instead opt for brandable names that will give your site more credibility and long-term potential.

3. Domain Character Length

Ah, now we’ve hit an exciting point! Hahaha! In my opinion, this is a critical factor. The length of your domain is a significant consideration. For example, 10beasts.com is a short, concise domain and a highly successful niche site. While you may be able to point out successful niche sites with longer domain names, my personal experience has shown that the shorter the domain length, the better it is for SEO.

The last site I flipped had a domain that was just 9 characters long. For my niche sites, I tend to use domains that are a minimum of 7 characters and a maximum of 13 characters.

I consider this a significant factor for domain selection. So, if you’d like, you can follow this rule of thumb and test it for yourself. A short, memorable domain name tends to perform better in terms of SEO and branding, making it an intelligent choice for niche sites.

4. Domain History

I’ve already touched on this topic, but it’s worth discussing in more detail. Additionally, if you check out the video linked earlier, you’ll get a clearer understanding of how vital domain history is.

Here’s the deal: let’s say you decide to register a new domain due to budget constraints or your inability to recognize an old domain’s value.

But after some time, despite targeting easy keywords, publishing high-quality content, and building solid backlinks, your site gets penalized after some initial progress.

Do you know what caused this penalty?

The likely reason is that someone previously owned the domain, and after being penalized or involved in spamming practices, they abandoned it. As per the rules, the domain eventually became available for re-registration, and you mistakenly thought it was brand new—so you bought it.

But the truth is, the domain has a tainted history.

How do you identify this issue?

Watch the tutorial to learn more about recognizing domain history and avoiding pitfalls. It’s crucial to check a domain’s history before purchasing it to avoid penalties that could set your site back.

5. Exact Match Domain (EMD) and Partial Match Domain (PMD)

I’ve already mentioned this in the domain section, but since it’s crucial to avoid both EMDs and PMDs, let me emphasize it again. If your domain name exactly matches your keyword, it’s called an Exact Match Domain (EMD). If it partially matches your keyword, it’s a Partial Match Domain (PMD).

For example, if your keyword is the best eggplant, then:

• An EMD would be: BestEggPlant.com
• A PMD would be: EggPlant.com

Neither of these should be used. Absolutely not.

In today’s SEO landscape, using EMDs or PMDs is considered outdated and ineffective. It can even come across as spammy. Instead, opt for a brandable, unique domain name that gives your site more credibility and flexibility.

6. Domain WHOIS Guard

Most domain registrars offer WHOIS Guard for free, which is why many people use it for their domains.

What is the WHOIS Guard or Protection?

When you register a domain, it’s linked to the name of an individual or organization. Through WHOIS records, anyone can find out who owns the domain. However, many people choose to hide this information, keeping the owner’s name private. This is what WHOIS Guard or Protection does—it hides the valid owner’s information.

Now the question is, should you use it or not?

According to Matt Cutts and several SEO experts, using WHOIS Guard could potentially lead to penalties for a website.

Why?

If, for some reason, the real owner’s identity is revealed and it turns out that they or their IP address is linked to spamming activities on the Internet, the site could be penalized.

So, should you avoid using WHOIS Protection?

It’s up to you. Even without WHOIS Guard, if your name is on a blocklist, your site could still be penalized. That’s why enabling WHOIS Guard right after purchasing your domain is a smart move. This way, your real name will never be recorded publicly.

Personally, I always use WHOIS Guard for my niche site domains. Since I buy my domains from Namecheap or Namesilo, and they offer free WHOIS Guard, I enable it as soon as I register the domain. Recently, ExonHost has been selling domains at a low price, including free WHOIS Guard. You can consider purchasing from them as well.

(And no, I don’t earn a commission if you buy a domain from them. 😉 However, if you’re purchasing hosting, let me know! I can provide you with a special discount link, which is exclusive to Authority Aid readers. If you use that link, you’ll get a great discount, and I’ll receive a small bonus. Haha!)

7. Domain Extension

A common question many people ask is: “Is it a problem if I work with an extension other than .com?” The short answer is: No, it’s not a problem. However, I would advise against working with .info domains. Apart from that, you can use almost any domain extension.

Google has made it clear that the domain extension doesn’t really matter for SEO. But here’s the thing—if your niche site’s target audience is in the United States, and you’re working with a .com.bd or .co.uk domain, how does that look?

Right, this is where common sense comes in. If you can apply this logic, you’ll avoid issues. Personally, I recommend sticking to .com domain extensions. There’s no specific technical reason behind this. However, most people still associate websites with the .com extension, especially in the U.S. It’s what people are most familiar with, so choosing .com is often the safer and more trusted option.

So, if your target audience is global or specifically in the U.S., it’s wise to go with a .com extension.

8. Keyword Usage

When working on a niche site, we often use targeted keywords in various places, such as in the article’s title tag, within the article itself (especially in the first paragraph), in H-tags, and even in calculating keyword density. How important is it to count and optimize keyword usage in these ways?

Most SEO experts consider these techniques to be old-school. In the current SEO landscape, placing too much emphasis on these tactics is unnecessary. If Google detects that the keyword placement feels forced or unnatural, it won’t hesitate to penalize the site. So, keyword usage should be done thoughtfully and strategically.

However, in my personal opinion, it’s still beneficial to use the keyword at the beginning of the title tag if possible. Additionally, you can place it at the start of the article, though it doesn’t necessarily have to be in the very first paragraph. If you don’t use the keyword within the body of the article at all, that’s fine, too, as long as the overall content is optimized, natural, and readable.

The key is to focus on creating an engaging and well-optimized article rather than overloading it with keywords. A well-written, user-friendly article is what matters most for SEO success.

9. Content-Length

Content length is a significant ranking factor. You might see one person ranking for a keyword with just a 1,000-word article while someone else with a 3,000-word article struggles to rank.

Why does this happen?

This is a common question, and the answer is quite simple. Yet, many newbies still ask: “How many words should my article be?”

The truth is, only you can answer this question—no one else can. Why? Because you’ve done your niche and keyword research for your site. If you look closely, you’ll already have your answer. Check the average length of articles ranking on the first page of Google for your targeted keyword. Look at your competitors’ content length. Ensure that your article is longer and more comprehensive than the one with the highest word count.

However, there’s one thing to consider—if you notice that most sites on the first page for that keyword have excessively long articles (e.g., 4,000–5,000 words), then I would suggest avoiding that keyword unless you’re a super expert in that field.

This explains why someone might rank with a 1,000-word article while another can’t rank with 3,000 words. It’s because the latter didn’t do proper competitor research. If they had, they would’ve seen that their competitors had even longer, more in-depth articles.

Personally, I write between 1,750 and 5,000 words, with a few exceptions, for my niche site’s money articles. For informational articles, I find 550 to 1,250 words sufficient.

A Word of Caution: If you focus solely on article length without considering content quality, you’re making a grave mistake. So, be careful!

10. Table of Contents (TOC)

Nearly every SEO expert believes that a Table of Contents (TOC) is an important ranking factor. The reason is simple: having a TOC in your article makes it much easier for readers to navigate through the content. When content is user-friendly and easy to navigate, it increases audience engagement. The more you engage your audience, the more Google will “love” your site.

So, you can see how valuable a TOC is for improving both user experience and SEO.

On a personal note, I prefer not to use a plugin to create a TOC. Instead, I make it manually in my articles. You can do the same if you’d like—it’s a more hands-on approach and avoids any plugin-related issues.

11. Keyword Density

One of the most common questions from beginners is: How many times should I use the main keyword in an article? I feel like I’ve answered this question hundreds of times on Facebook. There was a time when the more you used the main keyword in your article, the better. But now, Google labels such articles as thin content or spam articles. Can you believe it? Hahaha. But it’s true. You can even assess the quality of a writer by how they use the main keyword in an article. If they’ve forced the keyword into the text unnaturally, you can quickly tell they’re not very skilled.

So, what should the keyword density be?

1%?
3%?
0.5%?

My answer is none of the above. And by that, I mean what most modern SEO experts will tell you. Google’s algorithm today has evolved to the point where keyword density isn’t as important as it once was. In fact, an article can rank for a keyword even if that keyword isn’t explicitly present in the article.

Why?

Because Google now places a heavy emphasis on AI. Google’s bots are intelligent enough to understand the quality and intent of an article without needing repetitive keywords. If you want to know how an article can rank without the keyword, you need to learn about RankBrain, Google’s AI-driven algorithm.

12. LSI Keywords

Many refer to LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords as long-tail keywords or keyword variations. As an affiliate marketer, understanding how many different ways a keyword can be used is almost a responsibility. The actual skill of a writer is often revealed by how effectively they incorporate LSI keywords into their article.

So, it’s clear that LSI or long-tail keywords hold significant importance in SEO. Some people even use LSI keywords in the meta descriptions and titles instead of the main keyword. I don’t think that’s a good practice. I still prefer to use the primary keyword in both the title and meta description.

If you’re experimenting and testing things out, that’s different, but for me, the main keyword remains crucial in those areas. LSI keywords should complement the content, but the core keyword should maintain its priority in critical spots like the title.

13. Article Depth

If you’ve studied the RankBrain method in detail, you’ll understand just how important Google places the depth of an article nowadays. Let’s say your article has some underlying issues—no matter how much effort you put into ranking it, it might achieve temporary success but will soon drop in the rankings. And once it falls, it’s typically tough, if not impossible, to bring it back—unless you’re a true SEO expert.

So, don’t make the mistake of opting for low-quality, shallow articles just because they’re cheaper. Of course, cheap doesn’t always mean bad, but you need to be able to distinguish when an article lacks depth and quality.

14. Website Loading Speed

Another critical ranking factor is your website’s loading speed. Google has made it clear that a site’s loading speed has a direct impact on its ranking.

Now, there’s a common misconception among many people: they believe that if they invest in an expensive, high-quality hosting service, their site’s loading speed will automatically improve. Let me clarify that this is a wrong assumption.

So, does hosting affect your site’s loading speed?

Yes, it does. But loading speed isn’t solely dependent on hosting. There’s more to it. What’s that? It’s the optimization of your website. How well-optimized your site is plays a significant role in determining its loading speed.

So, simply buying expensive and high-quality hosting isn’t the end of the story. Just like optimizing an article improves its effectiveness, optimizing your website improves its loading speed. The faster it loads, the better its performance will be.

Always keep these two things in mind to improve your site’s loading speed:

1. Good hosting
2. Proper site optimization

And remember, improving your site’s loading speed can have a positive impact on its ranking almost immediately.

15. Image Optimization

Image optimization is another important ranking factor, yet it’s often overlooked, especially by new marketers. I’ve seen niche websites where images are directly taken from Google and placed on the site without even changing the image name. And very few people bother to add an alt tag to their images.

However, this is critical for SEO. What should you do to optimize images properly?

First, use any image editor to resize the image and save it in a web-friendly format like JPEG or PNG. After that, make sure to adjust the following in the image properties:

• Image Title
• Image Rating
• Change the Owner Information (if applicable)

Once you’ve done that, the next step is to upload the image to your site and give it the appropriate alt tag. Not optimizing images this way is like ignoring Google’s guidelines—and Google doesn’t look favorably on that.

If you don’t want to use paid images and are sourcing them from Google, make sure to choose ones that come with proper usage permissions. Alternatively, you can use images from free stock sites like Free Images, Pexels, or Pixabay, where you can use the photos freely without needing to give credit.

16. H Tags

I’ve written a detailed article about H tags, which you can read here. I believe it will clear up any doubts you may have about using H tags. Since they play a role in Google’s ranking factors, it’s essential to understand how to use them properly.

Another critical point is that the correct usage of H tags improves the structure and design of your article. This enhances the readability and overall user experience, which is why it’s crucial to follow proper H tag practices.

17. Outbound Link Quality

Including outbound links in an article can be a positive SEO signal because it creates strong relevance in Google’s eyes. However, if not done correctly, it can also harm your site’s SEO. So, you need to understand which outbound links are beneficial and which ones can have a negative impact.

How can you determine this?

If you’re unsure, the safest approach is to link to high-authority websites like Wikipedia, Google Scholar, or similar trusted sources. The critical rule is that you should avoid linking to sites with lower authority than yours. Linking to lower-authority sites can negatively affect your SEO.

18. Outbound Link Relevance

This is a subtle but important point. The relevance of the site you’re linking to plays a crucial role in how Google categorizes your site. According to Brian Dean, if your niche site is focused on cars and you link to a movie website, Google may interpret your site as not being about automobiles but rather about movies related to vehicles.

The takeaway is clear: always ensure that the outbound links you include are relevant to your niche. Irrelevant links can confuse Google about your site's purpose, negatively affecting your SEO. Keep your outbound links contextually aligned with your content for the best results.

19. Plagiarized Articles

Google’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) bots are now highly advanced and can easily detect whether your article is original or if it has been copied/pasted or even spun from other sources. It can also catch spelling mistakes and grammatical errors with ease.

Therefore, you need to be extremely cautious about these aspects when writing your articles. Otherwise, it will be nearly impossible to rank your content.

Lately, many people have been complaining that their articles aren’t getting indexed or, worse, that they were indexed but got de-indexed after a few days. In 90% of these cases, Google has likely identified plagiarism or duplicate content in the article.

Before you move forward, make sure to review your existing articles thoroughly. If you don’t address this issue, you risk losing both your rankings and your website’s potential success.

20. Nofollow and Dofollow Outbound Links

In any article, significantly money articles, it’s essential to include both nofollow and dofollow outbound links. These articles tend to be lengthy, and I’ve noticed that many people make the mistake of marking all authority outbound links (like Wikipedia links) as nofollow. The result is that the article ends up without a single dofollow outbound link.

Typically, affiliate links in money articles are marked as nofollow. So, to maintain a balance, it’s a good practice to have at least one dofollow link to an authority site. This helps create a solid positive relevance for your site in the eyes of Google.

These small but significant details will make your niche site stand out positively, setting it apart from others in Google’s ranking algorithm.

Note: This will be a long series. Today, I’ve written the second part. Insha’Allah, I plan to complete the remaining parts by the end of this month. From the rough outline I’ve created, there will be around 100+ ranking factors discussed. If you can thoroughly understand and internalize these 100 factors, I’m confident that no one will be able to stop you from mastering SEO.