Key Ranking Signals: What Still Matters in 2025

Key Ranking Signals: What Still Matters in 2025

While Google’s algorithm remains a closely guarded secret, enough has been tested, analysed and confirmed to give marketers a fairly strong idea of what helps a page climb the rankings.

But with regular updates, shifting user behaviours and the ongoing rollout of AI in search results, it’s important to know which signals continue to carry weight — and which ones are worth less of your attention.

1. Content Quality

Yes, it’s been said before — but content quality remains one of the most consistent ranking signals over the years. That doesn’t just mean well written copy, although clarity and readability do matter. It’s about how well the content satisfies search intent.

Users want content that gets to the point and delivers clear, relevant answers — not long-winded explanations that miss the mark on intent. They want a practical guide with step-by-step instructions. Google’s ability to determine intent is more sophisticated than ever, and your content needs to reflect that.

It also helps to have depth. Pages that go the extra mile by anticipating related questions, including useful images or video, and linking out to reputable sources tend to perform better.

Content That Satisfies Search Intent

2. Page Experience and Core Web Vitals

User experience is now a measurable signal, thanks to the introduction of Core Web Vitals. These are essentially performance metrics that reflect how fast and stable your site feels for users.

The three key metrics are:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – how long it takes the main content to load
• First Input Delay (FID) – how quickly the page responds to interaction
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – whether elements on the page shift unexpectedly

If your site is slow, expect to see ranking penalties, especially on mobile. Fixing these issues doesn’t just help SEO, it improves your overall user experience, which often leads to higher conversion rates too.

3. E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)

Google’s emphasis on E-E-A-T, particularly in sectors like health, finance and legal, is only getting stronger. The idea is to reward sites that are written by knowledgeable people, backed by real world experience and trusted by others.

While E-E-A-T isn’t a direct ranking factor in the same way as, say, backlinks or site speed, it influences many of the signals Google uses to evaluate content. Adding author bios, showcasing credentials and ensuring content is accurate and up to date all help to improve perceived authority.

4. Internal Linking Structure

Internal links are often overlooked, but they’re essential for helping search engines crawl your site effectively and understand which pages are most important.

Good internal linking does three things:

• Passes authority from high-ranking pages to others
• Improves user navigation
• Reinforces topical relevance within content clusters

If you’ve got a library of related content, link between those articles using natural anchor text. It helps establish your site as an expert on that topic, which Google pays attention to.

Effective Internal Linking Improves SEO and Usability

5. Mobile Usability

With mobile-first indexing firmly in place, Google looks primarily at the mobile version of your site when determining rankings. If your mobile experience is lacking with small text, difficult navigation or slow loading times, your rankings will suffer, even if the desktop version is slick.

It’s worth doing regular mobile audits, especially if you’ve made design changes or introduced new features that could disrupt the mobile experience.

Mobile-First Design is No Longer Optional

6. Engagement and Behaviour Signals

While Google denies using metrics like bounce rate or time on site as direct ranking factors, there’s strong evidence that user engagement plays a role in shaping search performance. If people consistently click on your result and stay on your site, that’s a signal of relevance and quality.

Optimising for engagement means making your pages genuinely useful and easy to navigate. Use clear headings, interesting intros and calls to action that guide the user towards the next step. This isn’t just good SEO, it’s good marketing.

7. Backlinks

Backlinks are still an indicator of authority. While the emphasis has shifted slightly from sheer quantity to quality and relevance, having trusted sites link to your pages remains a powerful signal that your content is credible and valuable.

That said, not all backlinks are created equal. One link from a respected news outlet or industry body will do more for your rankings than many from low quality directories or unrelated blogs. Natural link building through good content, digital PR and partnerships remains the most effective approach.

Final Thoughts

SEO is never static, and chasing algorithm updates can be a distraction from focusing on what really matters. But these core signals — quality content, solid technical performance, authority and user experience — have remained consistently important.

If you’re already familiar with the basics, the next step is often about refining your approach, tightening up technical performance and aligning your content more closely with real search intent. In a landscape that’s always evolving, the sites that win are those that stay focused on long term value, not short-term tricks.