Everyone wants to appear at least on the first page for the relevant searches if not on the top position. Getting there is not a joke. You have to do so many things right to get success. As you may know, Google’s search algorithm considers over 200 signals for ranking a web page. But nobody precisely knows about them as Google never discusses these in particular. Because of this, a lot of it depends on speculations. If you don’t want to fall into the trap of misconceptions, you must do thorough research before believing anything. Here is a quick look into E-A-T, .edu links, and 301 redirects in this context to give some perspective.
The Truth About E-A-T
Google gives weight to expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T), and there is no reason to contest this. But you cannot point out its connection as the algorithmic ranking factor is straightforward, even when someone rejects or announces it to be the single dominating factor. You have to evaluate the scenario to make it a part of your SEO system. Algorithmic searches don’t go by subjective standards to determine any web pages’ truthfulness. It looks into measurable signals and the user experience and other websites’ stand about your webpages’ credibility. More precisely, it rates a page on its usefulness and quality.
However, these ratings don’t affect the overall website but serve as a quality yardstick for every webpage. In this sense, E-A-T shows whether a piece of content is trustworthy or not. You cannot call it a ranking factor because there is no definitive E-A-T rating or score to help your pages rank high or low. It is only a concept or a framework that Google takes into consideration for ranking purposes. It matters in the search experiences, and Google recognizes its significance in search results. The search engine giant looks at it for content’s authenticity. That’s why you must pay attention to E-A-T whenever you create a piece of content.
The Truth About .edu Links as a Ranking Factor
Although many theories and wrong notions about ranking factors exist, .edu links are still relatively safe from them. Many people think these to be a ranking factor, but an experienced and qualified SEO company in Noida would probably know it better because of their knowledge and domain expertise. But before diving straight into this, let’s dig deeper for clarity.
You don’t have to doubt that links play a critical role in page ranking. They endorse your content for its trustworthiness and quality. That’s why a high-authority website’s links with strict publishing rules remain valuable. When it comes to authority and best publishing habits, you cannot ignore educational institutes and academia. Many people give tremendous importance to .edu links and consider them an essential ranking factor.
Inspired by the same logic, you can easily believe that .edu links are a ranking factor. However, it is essential to realize that these links will only be helpful for you if you earn them based on your content’s quality and relevance. The same applies to having a .com, .gov, or any other such link for that matter. Let’s assume you are a university or college teacher. If you run scholarship programs or have to present something, you can produce relevant content to optimize. But if you buy .edu links or spam a site with your comment without having anything to do with education or institutions, it will be a wasted effort.
So, what is the verdict then? Well, any link is a Google ranking factor. When you ask this specifically about .edu links, you cannot give them special treatment. These can have a role in ranking, but these will have a say only because they are links and not the top-level domain.
The Truth About 301 Redirects as a Ranking Factor
You use 301 redirects to signal search engines about the permanent change of location of your webpage. It is one of the most coveted SEO practices, but its role in organic ranking is still a matter of great interest and speculation. If you go back to 2013 when Matt Cutts was heading Google’s Webspam Team, you will come across a statement where he mentioned that 301 redirects could impact your PageRank a bit. Some SEO people said it could affect rankings by 15%, Cutts didn’t speak about any percentage.
But a transition from HTTP -> HTTPS doesn’t create any problem. To be more precise, you don’t have to worry about losing Pagerank when you do 301 redirects from HTTP to HTTPS. However, Google’s John Mueller in 2016 said that the page rank could change in the case of significant website changes. In 2020, he said that multiple redirects could be harmful to speed, and in 2021, the updated Google guide confirmed that almost all 301 redirects could crawl adequately. Still, you have to be careful about temporary and server-side redirects. Google can correctly interpret server-side redirects, but you cannot be sure about this with temporary HTTP and meta changes.
So, what do you make out of this? Experts consider HTTPS a lightweight ranking factor, but they don’t support such opinions around 301 redirects as these cannot affect your website ranking.
Everyone knows that Google keeps transforming and reforming its ranking signals to offer the best user experience. Due to this, even the latest search engine optimization techniques find their roots in the current algorithm. If you are creative and savvy with your SEO skills, you can take a cue from them for your site’s better rankings. Of course, the list of signals appears endless with too many options. You can focus on the most critical parts to get the best outcome. Or, if you cannot dip your toe into this, you can hire a trusted agency to work on your online property. Their extensive understanding of the domain gives them an edge in these matters.
Some businesses expect overnight success with everything. But you have to keep patience when witnessing the impact of your SEO efforts. Some strategies require time to mature and yield positive outcomes.