Ranking Factors: How Google Determines Order
Ranking factors are the signals and criteria that Google uses to determine the order of search results for a specific search query. Google uses over 200 known factors in its ranking algorithm.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Google uses over 200 ranking signals
- ✓Content relevance, backlinks and E-E-A-T are the strongest factors
- ✓Core Web Vitals act as tie-breakers (approx. 10-15% influence)
- ✓Brand signals will gain importance over traditional links in 2026
- ✓The Google API leak 2024 confirmed the importance of user signals
Google uses hundreds of signals to determine the ranking of search results. Understanding these ranking factors is key to successful SEO.
The most important ranking factor categories
Content relevance is the most fundamental factor. Google evaluates how well a page's content matches the search query. This involves not just keywords, but semantic relevance, thematic depth, and satisfaction of search intent.
Backlinks and authority signals form the second pillar. Every link from an external website is a vote of confidence. The quality and thematic relevance of the linking website is more important than sheer quantity. In 2026, unlinked brand mentions are gaining importance.
User experience is the third pillar. Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS), mobile-friendliness, and page speed influence ranking. The impact is estimated at 10-15 percent and primarily acts as a tie-breaker between pages with similar content.
E-E-A-T as an overarching framework
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It's not a single ranking factor, but an overarching quality framework that applies to virtually all competitive queries since the December 2025 Core Update.
Experience means demonstrable first-hand experience. Expertise is shown through technical depth and precision. Authoritativeness is built through external signals like citations and industry recognition. Trustworthiness is based on transparency, source citations, and consistent information quality.
The Google API Leak 2024
In May 2024, internal Google API documents became public. These confirmed several suspected ranking signals: Google uses click data and Chrome browser data as ranking signals. Brand authority plays a central role. Document freshness is weighted more heavily than publicly communicated.
Ranking factors for AI visibility
For visibility in AI-generated answers, different factors partially apply. Brand mentions correlate with 0.664 to AI visibility, while traditional backlinks only correlate with 0.218. Source citations, statistics, and expert quotes increase AI citation probability by 30-40 percent.
Data & Statistics
Brand Mentions korrelieren mit 0,664 zur AI-Sichtbarkeit, Backlinks nur mit 0,218
Ahrefs (75K-Brand-Studie) (2025)Core Web Vitals haben einen geschätzten Einfluss von 10-15% auf Rankings
Branchenanalyse (2025)“”
— Amit Singhal, Former SVP Google Search