UPDATED Q4 2025

The 2025 Search
Ranking Tier List

The complete breakdown of 80+ Ranking Factors. We translated the noise into a clear hierarchy for Google Maps & AI Models.

S Prerequisite
Search Intent E-E-A-T Branding Omnichannel SEO Tech Audit
A Top Tier
Content Excellence Title Tags Keyword Research Headings (H1-H3) Dofollow Backlinks Structured Data User Experience (UX) WPO (Speed) Topical Authority Mobile First Internal Linking HTTPS Robots.txt Sitemaps Canonicals Redirects Zero Crawl Errors NLP Optimization Entity Stacking Freshness Subtopic Coverage Brand Mentions Reviews Query Fan-Out
B Important
CTR Dwell Time Post-Click Engagement Alt Text Traffic Volume Domain Authority Content Length Referral Traffic WIO (Interaction) Goal Completions External Anchors Internal Anchors Rendering Crawl Budget Local Authority GBP Category NAP Consistency
C Standard
URL Authority (PA) Breadcrumbs Images with Keywords Social Signals Pagination Crawl Depth Hreflang
D Low Impact
Bold/Italic Text Google Ads (Directly) Nofollow Links UGC Links Sponsored Links Transactional Architecture
E Irrelevant
Meta Keywords Keyword Density Exact Match Domain (EMD) Domain Age Domain Expiry Sandbox llms.txt
G Toxic
Unreviewed AI Content Author Stuffing Cloaking Doorway Pages Keyword Stuffing Parasite SEO AMP (Legacy) Pogo Sticking

⚠️ Danger: High risk of Penalty