Google Says There Is No Perfect Formula For Ranking A Web Page

Danny Sullivan, Google’s Search Liaison, said that there is no such thing as a perfect formula for ranking a web page. Sullivan said this on X, saying, “There’s no perfect formula to follow that must be used to rank highly in Google Search.”

Danny wrote, “Today I wanted to share about the belief that there is some type of “perfect page” formula that must be used to rank highly in Google Search. There isn’t, and no one should feel they must work to some type of mythical formula.”

Sullivan said that this is “a belief ****** back to even before Google was popular.” In fact, he said it was something he “wrote about when I was a journalist in 2000,” here is a link to that story named In Pursuit Of The Perfect Page.

“As was the case then, so it remains true now. There’s no perfect formula to follow…” he added.

What about third-party SEO tools that suggest otherwise? Sullivan said, “There is any number of third-party SEO tools that might advise that a page should be a certain number of words long or somehow constructed in a particular way for success in search. Third party advice, even news articles, might suggest some type of thing. Following such advice doesn’t guarantee a top ranking. Moreover, such predictions and advice is often based on looking at averages — which misses the point that completely different and unique pages can and do succeed in search,” he wrote.

So what does Google recommend? “Google’s key advice is to focus on doing things *for your readers* that is helpful. For example, if it makes sense for your readers to see a byline for an article (and it might!), do it for them. Don’t do it because you’ve heard having a byline ranks you better in Google (it doesn’t),” Danny Sullivan wrote.

He said, “put your readers and audience first. Be helpful to them. If you do this, if you’re doing things for them, you are more likely to align with completely different signals we use to reward content.”

Here are those posts:

There are any number of third party SEO tools that might advise that a page should be a certain number of words long or somehow constructed in a particular way for success in search. Third party advice, even news articles, might suggest some type of thing. Following such advice…

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) January 9, 2024

And sorry! I forgot the screenshot in the opening post (and can no longer edit to add it). Here is is, from Feb. 2000. pic.twitter.com/aKIDnNY5PJ

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) January 9, 2024

What is your perfect formula?

Forum discussion at X.