What is Ranking Factor?
A signal Google's algorithm uses to determine where a page ranks for a given query — content quality, backlinks, freshness, and 200+ others.
Google has publicly mentioned over 200 ranking factors, though it doesn't publish the full list or their weights. The major ones (loosely): content quality (E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), backlink profile (quality and quantity of links to a page), search intent match (does the page satisfy what the searcher wanted), Core Web Vitals (page speed and stability), and freshness (recent updates for time-sensitive topics). Minor factors include: HTTPS, mobile-friendliness, structured data, internal linking. Most 'ranking factor lists' you'll see online overstate the importance of micro-signals; the big rocks (content quality + backlinks + intent) account for the vast majority of where a page lands.