While search engine optimization (SEO) involves many major factors like content, backlinks, site speed, etc., there are several little things on your website that could also impact your search engine rankings.
Although these minor factors may not have a huge individual impact, addressing them can provide small ranking boosts that accumulate over time. In this article, we will explore 13 such little yet potentially impactful factors.
1 – Page Titles
The title tag of a page is one of the key on-page SEO elements that search engines use to understand what the page is about. Ensure your page titles are unique, descriptive and optimized for search engines and humans. Try to keep titles around 50-60 characters with focus keywords. Duplicate or thin titles could negatively impact rankings.
2 – Meta Descriptions
The meta description provides a brief summary of the page content. Search engines may display it in search results to help users identify relevant pages. Meta descriptions that are unique, engaging and optimized for keywords help increase click-through rates and improve rankings over time. Keep descriptions under 155 characters.
3 – Images
Images on pages should have appropriate ALT text specifying what is shown in the image for both visual impaired users and search engine crawlers. ALT text matching focused keywords can provide additional ranking signals. Images without ALT tags are essentially invisible to search engines.
4 – Internal Links
The anchor text and distribution of internal links across pages affects how search engines evaluate and associate different sections of a site. Carefully implemented internal linking using primary keywords strengthens topical relevance and trust signals within the site structure.
5 – Page Speed
Faster page loading speed provides a better user experience and is also a potential subtle ranking factor. Optimizing images, compressing files, minifying codes, lazy loading, etc. can boost speed. Google sees speed as an indicator of quality. Aim for under 3 seconds loading time on desktop and under 5 seconds on mobile.
6 – Mobile friendliness
With over 50% of search coming from phones, having a responsive and accessible site optimized for mobile is becoming crucial for SEO. Test pages using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. Address any issues flagged to avoid potential mobile ranking penalties.
7 – URL Structure
Clean, descriptive and static URLs help search engines and users understand page topics easily. URL parameters impact crawler’s ability to analyze content depth. Avoid unnecessary redirects which could confuse search engines.
8 – Site Architecture
The internal linking structure and information architecture of a site impacts how users navigate and search engines crawl/assess topical relevance. Properly planned IA with logical menus, categories and tagged internal links boosts usability and discoverability.
9 – Sitemaps
Submitting an XML sitemap for search engine crawlers lets them know about new/updated pages quickly and comprehensively. Sitemaps enable bots to find content faster and prevent ranking delays. Verify sitemap submitted and re-submit periodically.
10 – Anchor Text Diversity
Majority of inbound links using same anchor text like “click here” provides weaker contextual signals than diverse anchors matching focused keywords. Ask link partners to include relevant anchor text from your title or content when linking to pages.
11 – Error Pages
Page not found (404) and other error pages should be properly configured to prevent potential usability/SEO penalties. Custom 404 pages explaining errors pass ranking strength; whereas generic server error pages do not.
Conclusion
While no individual factor can significantly boost rankings overnight, optimizing all details holistically over time strengthens every positive signal for search engines. The combined effect of improvements to titles, speed, error handling etc. cumulatively impacts search visibility in a meaningful way. Monitor and refine periodically for ongoing ranking gains.