Whatever your opinion on ranking factors the Semrush ranking factor study is something as SEO's we should be reading, thinking about and discussing.
Starting this thread for us to share our views and have what I'm sure will be interesting conversations 😁.
Report is downloadable here btw.
Plus, hat's off to the Semrush team for analysing so much data!
Gianna, Gianluca and Tarik, I read your feedback here. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts.
This is indeed a research piece published for marketing purposes. So, I guess, an easy to grasp, catchy title matters.
However, we put a big emphasis into being fully transparent about the limitations of the study. The methodology. Our benchmarking.
We allocated tons of time to link to official Google statements for I think almost every factor. And throughout the study we made sure to propose ways to interpret the findings without emphasising the "this is a Google factor" but instead using best practice guidance, guidance from Google and its spokespeople etc.
I guess what I'm saying is: sure, the title may not please everyone (and I get why). But I hope the overall approach and analysis does.
Thanks again! And I'll be more than happy to hear more of your thoughts and input.
Given that the "ranking factors" SEMrush are referring to are extrapolated, or internally self-consistent, this seems more marketing than anything else. I agree with Gianluca's point emphatically, as SEOs end up needing to educate and disavow content like this. It's great marketing for SEMrush, but it's just more work for SEOs in the industry.
I love a good analysis; I only have an issue with it being labelled "Ranking Factors" rather than what it really is - a correlation study. This title is misleading (but will bring more engagement).