SEOmoz just released their Search Engine Ranking Factors for 2009. This report is a result of 72 SEO professionals answering surveys about their research and/or understanding of search engines. Although the most important data that surfaced may not be particularly surprising, it’s nevertheless useful to see comparative and quantified perspectives from the top practitioners in the industry. Following are a few of the points.
On-Page (Keyword-Specific) Ranking Factors
- Keyword Use Anywhere in the Title Tag: 66% very high importance
- Keyword Use as the First Word(s) of the Title Tag: 63% high importance
Effectiveness of Link Building Tactics for SEO
- Linkbait + Viral Content Creation: 67% very high value
- Blogging and Engagement with the Blogosphere: 66% high value
- Classic “Create Valuable Content” Strategies w/o Promotional Marketing: 58% high value
- Public Relations (beyond just press release publication): 56% high value
Additional SEO Data
- Question: Which of the following statements best represents your opinion of how Google will treat links as part of their ranking algorithm over the next 5 years?
- 48%: Links will decline in importance, but remain powerful, as newer signals rise from usage data, social graph data & other sources to replace them.
To read all the compiled data, click the following link:
http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors
