The folks at SearchMetrics have released their SEO ranking factors for 2013. This is their ranking correlation study they worked on for the past 3-months, right after the second-generation Penguin update was pushed out by Google. Want to understand everything that was in it? They’ve got an infographic for that (click to enlarge):
The key takeaways from their study included:
Keyword domains and keyword links have lost relevance
Brands are the exception to many rules
Social signals continue to correlate very well with better rankings
Good content is always important: it comes to quality
The number of backlinks remains immensely important
On-page technology remains one of the basics
There’s been some criticism around this study on social networks, but like with any ranking correlation study, there are always critiques and there should be. You can download the study over here.
Also be sure to see our Periodic Table Of SEO Success Factors, which was freshly updated earlier this month, for our own take on ranking factors to consider.