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While I was analyzing a wide range of factors responsible for the ranking of the sites this year, I have confirmed with the direction my pre-conceived thoughts for the ranking factors, after discussing with some of the leading SEOs. I must admit the fact that there have been dramatic changes made in Google’s algorithm. Of course, ranking factors matter a lot but content factors at the same time continue to play an instrumental role.

Evolvement of the SEO Ranking Factors

It is true that search engines progress way quicker even than it is relevant for SEO business since the latter is in a continuous stage of moving up. Let’s have a brief for the evolvement of different SEO ranking factors.

Statistical Analysis in 2005
It was one of the major evaluations in the algorithms of search engines, and the best thing is that the ranking factors related to the SEO evolved along with them. Link ranking factors emphases on statistically applicable magnitudes of anchors and many more. And thus the quality of links continues to be a crucial ranking factor.

Penguin Algorithm in 2012
Although it was related to Link Ranking, this algorithm took the industry by storm. Nobody was certain about the same, and it had numerous guesses. It took numbers of years to get a detailed explanation backed with citations.

AI Ranking Factors
Today, 30% of the search queries are taken care by AI. Search engine giant Google has been utilizing AI in search throughout 2018, and it is nothing that it’s been in the news recently, months and later.

Ways AI Ranking Mark the Ranking Factors
While I was reviewing the AI algorithms, I found that all of them have come together to play after the ranking algorithm completes their part. So, there is no harm to be presumptuous that conventional ranking dynamics like links and headings play a crucial role in preparing out junk and least appropriate search results applicants.

After the outcomes are transferred to the Neural Matching algorithm, consider choosing a search result with influences apart from conventional ranking factors. Links in this context does not seem to be that crucial for search ranking.

What is crucial to ponder is that all these AI-based systems incline to grind after ranking algorithms end performing their role. This is also the juncture where traditional form of ranking factors such as alt attributes, title tags, and headlines as well as links holds less significance.

AI Search Desires to Response like a Living Being
When we look at the web page, we never analyze the title tag and headings; rather we look for the answer. And this is something Google AI is doing. AI has two different utilities

• to discover a web page that exactly replies the real query unseen without any existing search query
• to comprehend what does the person mean when he/she moves on with a search query

AI does not focus on the conventional ranking factors; rather it makes intelligence to consider or to contemplate in terms of responses.

Content Factors for Ranking
It’s not that I am moving away from the ranking factors, it’s just that it might be effective to enhance a profound contemplation of Content Factors for SEO. Businesses offering local search engine optimization service or SEO oriented one, it is imperative to have a look at these factors.

Different Content Factors are –

• Topic as Content
  Delineating the theme is a copy in itself as it offers a great focus on the site. Lack of attentive theme is a leading cause of incapability to rank. After going for site audits for numbers of sites, experts suggest that this situation is quite common with today’s search algorithm.
• Images as Content
  Images that are handpicked carefully can greatly influence the ranking of sites and can help in popping out featured snippets.
• Implications of Search Query
  Keyword research has remained as the start, and we do not live in that era even. Comprehending the necessities of users is the subsequent progress of SEO, which will look after the fact search engines would rank their sites.

Ranking Factors Also Support Content Factors
Ranking factor elements incline to back the Content-Type Factors. Some crucial examples of considerations related to ranking are

• captions with the content intimate search engines about the image
• content with the image gets relevant to the image
• URL of the image should define the picture properly

Ones in the first two cannot be considered as the ranking factors, but somewhere they also play a crucial role. Whether businesses hire dedicated SEO expert or embark on working on their own, they should certainly make sure to take time to look after the ranking factors.

Examining the Alt Attribute
The best use of Alt Attributes denotes accessibility and is useful for describing the image.

Here’s something that Google’s Developers Page Endorses

Images are an important component of most web pages, and are of course a particular sticking point for low-vision users. We must consider the role an image plays in a page to work out what type of text alternative it should have.

In the page we have a picture of a cat, illustrating an article on cats’ well-known judgmental behavior.”

…You can use the alt attribute to provide a useful text alternative to this image — for example, “A cat staring menacingly off into space.”

The search engine, Google never suggest using keywords in the alt attribute, rather it makes sure to describe the image in an accurate manner.

Google’s John Mueller has affirmed through his official Twitter handle that Alt Attribute is cooperative for the search engine giant –

Google’s John Mueller advised that the Alt attribute was helpful for helping Google Image search rank an image. He did not recommend using the alt attribute for stuffing it with keywords. He merely said it was useful. Google’s recommendation is to use the alt attribute to accurately describe the content of the image.

The image algorithms of Google are accurate enough not only to examine the dog in the picture but can also recognize the type of the dog.

Content and Ranking Factors
While working on SEO for a search engine that is already utilizing AI for replying to almost 30% of the search queries from users, it needs proper preparation to work. The simple idea that suggests ranking rudiments are specifically for integrating keywords appears to be obsolete at times.

This is one of the potential reasons I feel shortchanging to answer yes in case someone makes a query – is alt attribute is a site ranking factor. One of the best advice would be to recommend that it is more nuanced by toting keywords to a positioning element. And there is no rocket science to contemplate with this fact at the SERPs.