Guide to Minimum Organic Search Requirements
May 20, 2015
I'm often asked about the minimum organic search requirements for ranking on the major search engines. While search engine optimization (SEO) may appear like an overwhelming mystery, it often comes down to these basic elements.
- 750 or more words
- A headline on the page that is relevant to the topic (main or subhead)
- Original images (1 to 2 minimum, more is better)
- A link that is internal to the site or that links to a high credibility external source
That's it. Beyond these easy to implement requirements, consider:
- A title tag that contains the focus keyword or topic, preferably at the beginning of the title
- A meta description that also contains the keyword to topic.
Google uses over 200 factors to rank pages. The key is to have great content that when compared to content from others. Think about how a computer would determine whether one piece of content is better than another. In this context, factors such as length, the presence of visuals, video and measured engagement (clicks) start to make sense.
To go a step further, think about what the reader would want in a mobile environment and in a desktop environment. Plan for both.