SEO Made Simple: What It Takes to Rank on Google

SEO Isn’t Just One Thing — It’s a Combination of Many Factors.

When people talk about SEO, they often focus on a single element — keywords, backlinks, or content creation.

But there are multiple SEO Ranking Factors, each playing a role in how well your website ranks on Google.

I would say, think of SEO like a recipe — if you focus on just one ingredient, the final result won’t turn out right.

Instead, each part contributes a percentage to the overall success of your website.

I’ll break it down for you here.

1. Technical SEO (20%)

The Foundation of Your Website

Before Google can rank your website, it needs to find, access, and understand your website. This is where technical SEO – a crucial SEO ranking factor, comes in.

If your website is slow, not mobile-friendly, or has indexing issues, no amount of great content or backlinks will help you rank.

The Technical SEO Factors

✅ Website Speed

Faster websites keep visitors engaged.

Google prioritizes sites that load in under 3 seconds.

It signals to them that their users will not have to wait for your site to load when they are referred by Google and will get the answer to their query quickly.

✅ Mobile-Friendliness

With 60% of searches coming from mobile devices, Google definitely favours mobile-friendly websites.

Even if Google sends users to your website and the website is not mobile-optimized, the traffic will not get converted into leads, which in turn will signal to Google that the user did not get what they were looking for.

✅ Crawlability & Indexing

Listing on Google Search is free for you, but it costs money to Google – server costs, database storage and so on.

Let’s consider this – if it costs Google $0.01 to crawl and index a page, there are a billion pages on the internet, then it will cost Google $0.01 x 1,000,000,000 = $10,000,000 per day to crawl and index all web pages every day.

Trust me, even a trillion-dollar company like Google would not like that!

So, we have to ensure that we minimize Google’s crawl budget and make it easier for them to read our website.

✅ Security (HTTPS)

Google does not like unsecured websites. Period!

If your website does not have an SSL certificate, then even if it has great content and authority, it will not rank well on Google.

Simple reason – Google does not want its users to go to a website that can be spammy, at least, that’s what Google thinks of a website that is not secured.

Getting an SSL these days is easy and cheap, in fact, most hosting providers like Cloudways already provide free SSL included in their hosting.

2. On-Page SEO (30%)

On-page SEO is all about helping Google understand what each page is about, making it a vital SEO ranking factor.

Google does not read a web page the same way a human does. It picks on words and key phrases to quickly scan through the page and categorize/tag it for future searches.

On-page SEO includes optimizing titles, descriptions, headings, and keyword usage — all signals that tell search engines how to rank your content.

A well-optimized page makes it clear, structured, and relevant for both Google and its users.

The On-Page SEO Factors

✅ Meta Titles & Descriptions

Meta titles are usually the first thing people see in search results. It is important to ensure that they are precise and clear.

A meta title should not be more than 60 characters, else it will not show completely and can affect SEO rankings.

The key to writing the perfect meta title for a local service-based business is to include “service” and “location” in the meta title of the page.

For example, a good meta title for a home inspection business in Vancouver would be “Home Inspection Services in Vancouver”.

Meta descriptions are typically an extension of the meta title and should talk about your USPs, benefits, or results of your service.

Ensure that the meta descriptions are not longer than 160 characters.

For example, a good meta description for the above meta title would be “Home inspection services in Vancouver to prevent costly repairs. Reliable, thorough, and trusted by buyers, sellers, and homeowners”.

✅ Headings & Structure

Headings and overall page structure are extremely important for Google to learn about the page quickly – trust me, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of it.

Ensure that you have the keywords i.e. “service” and “location” in one of the heading tags on your website.

Also, a very common mistake that many web designers make is not following the Headings hierarchy, i.e. H1-H6 tags.

✅ Content Optimization

Gone are the days when you could just add your keywords multiple times, and Google would directly rank you on Page 1.

These days, that will, in fact, hamper your rankings due to “Keyword Stuffing”.

We need to ensure that we use the right keywords, including LSI (Latent Semantically Intent – basically keywords having the same meeting like home inspection & house inspection) Keywords, naturally in our content.

Forcing the use of keywords will make Google’s algorithm think that you are trying to do Keyword Stuffing, and it will penalize the page for wrongful practices.

✅ Image Optimization

Ensure every image on your website has a meaningful name.

Do not have any image file with a name like img0001.jpg, instead have a file name like home-care-shylo-healthcare.jpg

Google uses Vision AI to understand the objects present in an image, but it is not accurate all the time.

To help Google understand better, logical file names and alt text for images make it easier for Google and help us provide more information to it.

3. Content Relevance (20%)

Even if your website is technically perfect, it won’t rank unless your content is useful and relevant to what people are searching for.

Google’s goal is to show the most relevant result for every query.

If your content doesn’t answer people’s questions, they’ll leave your site — and Google will take notice.

Having said that, knowing the type of content to create for the respective target keyword is also important.

Content Relevance Factors

✅ Keyword Relevance

Are you using the right terms for what people are searching?

For example, people could be searching for junk removal and junk disposal, but which one do you target as your primary keyword?

This could differ based on location, and hence, knowing which one is more searched with less competition is key.

✅ Search Intent Match

Are you providing the type of information users expect?

For example, if you create a blog article for the keyword “home inspection vancouver”, then it will not be useful as the intent of the keyword for the user to hire someone for that service.

So, a Service Page would be an ideal thing instead of a blog article.

✅ Readability & Engagement

If the content is too hard to read or too generic, visitors leave — hurting your rankings.

This happens a lot when AI tools like ChatGPT are used to create content on their own without any human input & proofreading.

Ensure your content is useful to your user, and yes, do not be salesy all the time.

No one likes to be sold to; people want to be informed to make their own decisions.

4. User Experience (UX) (15%)

Google tracks how visitors interact with your site.

Yes, this was revealed in one of the lawsuits against Google in the US, where they had to share documentation about their algorithm.

This concept is termed as NavBoost.

If people click on your page but leave quickly without taking action, like clicking on a link/button to contact you or submitting a form (high bounce rate), it’s a sign that your page isn’t useful or engaging.

Google wants to rank sites that people actually use — this is where UX comes in.

UX Factors

✅ Easy Navigation

Can users quickly find what they’re looking for?

If visitors land on your website and can’t immediately figure out where to go, they won’t stick around.

A clear menu, logical page structure, and well-placed links help users (and search engines) move through your site effortlessly.

Home, About, Services, Locations, Blog, Contact – these should be your main header menu links most of the time.

If there are more links/pages, then I would advise categorizing them under one of these main links.

✅ Fast Load Times

No one likes waiting for a slow website.

A page that takes more than 3 seconds to load increases the chance that visitors will leave before it even appears.

Google considers this a bad user experience and may rank faster sites higher.

Even small delays can cost you potential customers. If your site feels sluggish, consider reducing large image sizes, fixing unnecessary scripts, or using better hosting.

✅ Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)

A great website doesn’t just provide information — it guides visitors toward an action.

Every page should have a clear next step that tells the user what to do.

Whether it’s calling your business, booking a service, filling out a form, or making a purchase, your CTA should be easy to find, simple to understand, and direct.

For example, instead of a vague “Learn More” button, use something more specific like:
✔ “Get a Free Quote”
✔ “Book Your Appointment”
✔ “Call Us Now”

✅ Mobile Responsiveness

As you already read above, over 60% of searches happen on mobile devices, and if your site isn’t optimized for smaller screens, you’re losing potential customers.

Common mobile issues include:
❌ Text that’s too small to read
❌ Buttons that are hard to tap
❌ Pages that require zooming or scrolling sideways

5. Backlinks & Authority (15%)

Google doesn’t just look at your website—it looks at who is linking to it.

Backlinks act like votes of confidence from other websites, signalling to Google that your site is trusted, credible, and worth ranking higher.

However, not all backlinks are equal.

A few high-quality, relevant links can be far more valuable than hundreds of spammy or irrelevant ones.

Imagine if I gave you advice on running a multi-million dollar business vs. Richard Branson gave you advice on the same, then of course you would listen to him more than me.

But if Richard Branson gave you advice on websites and SEO, then of course you would trust me more 🤞

Backlink Factors

✅ Backlink Quality

One high-quality link is worth more than 100 spammy links.

If a well-known industry website, news site, or local organization links to you, it tells Google that your business is credible. These links carry weight because they come from trusted sources.

On the other hand, low-quality, spammy links (from shady directories, irrelevant blogs, or paid link schemes) can hurt your rankings instead of helping.

Google’s algorithm is smart enough to tell the difference, and in some cases, bad backlinks can get your site penalized.

✅ Local SEO Signals

For local businesses, backlinks from local directory websites can have a huge benefit.

If a chamber of commerce, local newspaper, or community website links to your business, it strengthens your local SEO authority.

Think of it this way: If you’re a plumber in Vancouver, getting a link from a local real estate website, a home improvement blog or a directory like YELP in your city will be far more valuable than a random website from another country.

✅ Google Business Profile (GBP) & Reviews

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) isn’t just a business listing — it’s a huge ranking factor for local SEO.

A complete, well-optimized profile helps your business appear in Google’s Local Pack (the map listings that show up for local searches).

But beyond just having a profile, reviews play a major role.

Google considers businesses with more positive reviews and higher engagement as more trustworthy and deserving of better rankings.

Final Thoughts

SEO is About Balance, Not Just One Factor

A well-optimized page addresses multiple SEO ranking factors, making it clear, structured, and relevant for both Google and its users.

A fast and secure website (Technical SEO), well-structured pages (On-Page SEO), relevant and engaging content (Content Relevance), good user experience (UX), and high-quality backlinks – all play a role in how well your website ranks on Google.

For local businesses, the key is to focus on what matters most:
✔ Make sure your site is easy to navigate and mobile-friendly.
✔ Optimize your titles, descriptions, and headings with relevant keywords.
✔ Provide useful content that answers customer questions.
✔ Improve website speed and security to build trust.
✔ Earn quality backlinks and local citations to boost credibility.

SEO takes time, but small improvements in these areas can increase visibility, drive more traffic, and ultimately bring in more leads.

It is difficult to outrank a competitor who has been doing the right things consistently for more time than you have, but that does not mean you should not try.

The best approach? Think long-term, stay consistent, and always put the user experience first.

If you understand how these SEO factors work together, you’ll make better decisions for your website — and Google will reward you for it. 🚀