Anna Crowe from Search Engine Journal staff gives out information on top seven ranking signals of 2018.

In 2014, HTTPS became a ranking signal.

In 2015, mobile usability became a ranking signal.

Then, 2016 shifted content development as RankBrain came onto the scene.

And, in 2017, there was a more significant push for more HTTPS websites.

Now, in 2018, mobile page speed looks to be the next big ranking factor to focus on.

But, with over 1 billion websites online today, how do you create awesomeness?

One thing I know for sure is that all of these ranking factors are all shaped to create a better, more awesome user experience.

With Google evaluating sites based on hundreds of ranking factors, knowing where to aim your SEO strategy in 2018 for the biggest bang might seem impossible.

But good news: Ranking signals are going to continue to adapt to the user.

This means that new SEO trends already surviving have roots in the current algorithm — and with a little creativity and SEO savvy, it’s entirely possible for you to rank well in 2018.

While ranking signals are far from limited to just seven, the factors highlighted in this post are ones I consider to be the most important for this year.

Here are the ranking factors that will really matter in 2018, and why.

Public High Quality Content

“I don’t need quality content on my website to rank,” said no one ever.

The quality of your website and blog content is still crucial for 2018. Content still reigns as king.

As Rand Fishkin pointed out in a Whiteboard Friday, content that is optimized for keywords still holds valuable SEO power.

Your content needs to provide valuable information. Creating pages with no real value can come back to haunt you, thanks to Google’s Panda and Fredalgorithm updates.

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