What are the most important Google ranking factors?
SEO Basics
Google has 200+ signals, but in 2025, five stand out:
1) Helpful content & EEAT (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)—Google’s Helpful Content system prioritizes real-world expertise.
2) Page Experience—Core Web Vitals (speed, responsiveness, visual stability) remain important.
3) Relevance & intent match—Semantic search and AI Overviews demand content that directly answers conversational queries.
4) Backlinks & mentions—Still a top trust signal, but unlinked brand mentions and AI-source citations are rising.
5) Structured data & crawlability—Proper schema and indexability ensure Google understands your site. For example, a health site with content written by certified doctors, fast-loading UX, and strong backlinks will outrank generic content farms. Focus on quality over quantity.
Further Reading:
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide