Now that you’ve covered the basic on-page factors, you need to think about the off-page factors that influence where your website will rank in the SERPs.
So, keep these off-page SEO statistics in mind when planning a new strategy:
11. The average page in position #1 has more than 35,000 external backlinks ( Backlinko )
Here at SEOptimer, this is a statistic we like business owner database to report loudly about.
Backlinko’s data proves that more backlinks equal higher Google rankings, and the explanation goes back to Google’s main priority of displaying the most relevant results for a search query.
Think about it: If you were Google, which of these websites would you trust more?
A) A website with four backlinks from a referring domain
B) A website with 150,600 backlinks from thousands of referring domains
I would choose option B every time.
Since thousands of other people trust the page enough to link to it, the page must have something valuable to share, right?
12. 130,000 Facebook shares helped a website rank #1 for highly competitive keywords ( Matthew Woodward )
Google has said that social media shares do cfo at total attorneys scott hanyen not count as links, but the debate about how social media shares affect Google rankings continues .
In case you missed it, here is Google’s stance on the matter:
But after a company directed 130,000 Facebook shares to a page on its website, it seems Google took notice—and boosted the page’s rankings for competitive keywords to the top of the SERPs.
So, if you want to improve a page’s ranking, try promoting it through social media .
While it may seem impossible to gather anywhere close to 130,000 shares, there’s still a chance to improve your SERP position if you can add social credibility.
Local SEO statistics
If you want to have a chance of appearing in local searches (like “grocery stores near me”), you need to make local SEO an integral part of your overall strategy.
Here is the reason:
13. Almost a third of mobile searches are related to a location ( Google )
We think of Google as the place where we can find all the information we’re looking for – and a new wave of mobile searchers is using it for location-based information like:
- Nearby facilities (e.g. “ATM near me”)
- Opening hours of a local business
But how can you use this SEO statistic to boost your local SEO strategy?
Here’s your answer: Focus on creating pages optimized for local SEO while ensuring they’re mobile-friendly . You don’t want to frustrate mobile viewers with a landing page that isn’t responsive.
This won’t do anyone any favors and will likely make it even harder to rank on page #1.
14. Mobile searches for “where to buy” have increased by 85% since 2015 ( Google )
Whether you’re selling garden patios or kitchen utensils, you always want to appear in searches under “where to buy.” After all, these searchers have a high purchase intent—they’re about to hit the buy button and hand over their money.
However, when optimizing your site for this, don’t forget to optimize for mobile devices .
Given the tremendous growth in mobile “where to buy” searches since 2015, you want to make it easy for visitors to complete the purchase by:
- Use large, easily clickable b2c fax buttons
- Clean up the checkout page
- Activation of social login