How Google picks the order
In one line
Google ranks pages by matching them to a query's intent, then ordering them by relevance, content quality, authority (links and trust), and page experience.
The main factors
- Relevance: does the page match the query and its intent?
- Quality: is the content genuinely helpful, accurate and in-depth?
- Authority: do trusted sites link to and reference it?
- Experience: is it fast, mobile-friendly and easy to use?
- Freshness: for some queries, how current it is
What to take from it
You can't game the algorithm, but you can align with it: match intent, be the best answer, earn trust, and offer a good experience. Do those and rankings follow.
Frequently asked
How many ranking factors are there?
Hundreds, but they cluster into relevance, quality, authority and experience. Focus on those rather than chasing individual signals.
Can I control my ranking?
You influence it by being the best, most trusted answer, not by tricks. Sustainable ranking comes from genuine quality and authority.
Put this into practice
Grade your site against our 250-point AEO/GEO checklist and see exactly what to fix, free, no signup.