, bing, Yahoo!, & – major differences and ranking factors.

NO IMPACT » MAJOR IMPACT

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TECHNICAL Domains & URLs

- Use main pinyin keyword in domain - Main keyword in the domain - Main keyword in the domain - Main keyword in the domain - Easy to remember Keyword Domain 1 - As short as possible 2 - As short as possible 2 - As short as possible 11 - As short as possible

- Use main pinyin keyword in URL - Main keyword as early as possible - Main keyword as early as possible - Main keyword as early as possible - Easy to remember Keyword in URL Path 3 - One specific keyword 3 - One specific keyword 3 - One specific keyword 11 - As short as possible

- As short as possible - As short as possible - As short as possible - No filling words - No filling words - As short as possible Length of URL 2 2 2 22 - URL directory depth as brief as possible - No repeat of terms - No repeat of terms

- Complete website secured with SSL -No ranking boost from HTTPS - No active SSL promotion - Complete website secured with SSL HTTPS 3 - No mix of HTTP and HTTPS 2 -Complete website secured with SSL 1 - Mostly recommended for authentication 22 - HTTPS is easier to be indexed than HTTP Country & Language

- ccTLD or gTLD with country and language directories - ccTLD or gTLD with country and language directories - Better ranking with ccTLD (.cn or .com.cn) - Slightly better rankings in with ccTLD .ru Local Top-Level Domain 3 - No regional domains, e.g. domain.eu, domain.asia 3 - No regional domains, e.g. domain.eu, domain.asia 2 22 - But: gTLD .com is the first choice

- Local language - Local language - Local language - Transliteration of Non-Latin characters - Transliteration of Non-Latin characters - Usage of English or Pinyin is better Language in URL 4 3 3 - Transliteration of Non-Latin characters 22 - Encoding or substitution of special characters - Encoding or substitution of special characters

- Local IPs - Local IPs - Local IPs - Use Local IP Hosting 2 - Worldwide Content Delivery Network 2 - Worldwide Content Delivery Network 1 - Worldwide Content Delivery Network 44

- Correct usage of country and language codes in ISO format - Correct usage of country and language codes in ISO format - Does not recognize this format - Does not recognize this format - Only connect corresponding pages individually - Only connect corresponding pages individually Hreflang 4 1 - Requires a meta language tag in header or body of the page 2 11 - Requires a meta language tag in header or body of the page - Provide x-default page - Provide x-default page Crawling & Indexation

- For all non-existing resources - For all non-existing resources - For all non-existing resources - Correct 4xx status code Error Pages 3 - Correct 4xx status code 3 - Correct 4xx status code 2 33 - Correct 4xx status code

- Active regulation of crawler behaviour - Active regulation of crawler behaviour - Active regulation of crawler behaviour - Allow and disallow directives have to absolute and begin with - Disallow crawling of search-engine-irrelevant paths - Disallow crawling of search-engine-irrelevant paths - Disallow crawling of search-engine-irrelevant paths a slash („/“) robots.txt 2 2 - No guarantee for deindexation 3 - No guarantee for deindexation 22 - No guarantee for deindexation - Individual file per domain - Individual file per domain - Main site mirror assignment

- Definition of one unique URL version - Definition of one unique URL version - Definition of one unique URL version - Definition of one unique URL version Canonical 3 - Only to avoid Duplicate Content 3 - Only to avoid Duplicate Content 3 - Only to avoid Duplicate Content 22 - Only to avoid Duplicate Content

- Crawler regulation on page level - Crawler regulation on page level - Not common on Russian sites - Crawler regulation on page level Meta & X-Robots 4 - Relevant attributes: NoIndex, Nofollow 4 - Relevant attributes: NoIndex, Nofollow 2 - Best practise is robots.txt for all indexation directives 44 - Relevant attributes: NoIndex, Nofollow

- Gather all search-engine-relevant canolicalized URLs - Gather all search-engine-relevant canolicalized URLs - Gather all search-engine-relevant canolicalized URLs - Gather all search-engine-relevant canolicalized URLs - Placed in the root - Placed in the root - Placed in the root - Placed in the root sitemap.xml 2 2 - Only URL location needed 2 22 - Upload to Google Search Console - Upload to Google Search Console - Upload to Baidu Webmaster Tools - Upload to Bing Webmaster Console Performance

- Reduce number of requests - Reduce number of requests - Reduce number of requests - Minimize file sizes - Minimize file sizes - Minimize file sizes - Minimize file sizes Loading Time 4 4 3 - Optimize server setup 44 - Optimize server setup - Optimize server setup - Optimize server setup

- Avoid server downtime - Avoid server downtime - Avoid server downtime - Avoid server downtime Server downtime 3 - Use status code 503 for maintenance 31 - Use status code 503 for maintenance 3 - Use status code 503 for maintenance 33 - Use status code 503 for maintenance Mobile

- Use mobile settings in Baidu Webmaster Tools - Provide mobile-friendly usability and use app indexing - Provide mobile-friendly usability - Mobile-friendly recommended in general - Use text instead of flash, images, Javascript for important - Consider all user-relevant devices - Consider all user-relevant devices - Mobile doctype for mobile subdomain pages Mobile-Friendly 4 4 3 44 content or links. - Responsive design recommended - Responsive design recommended - Crosslink between mobile and desktop version - Independent mobile site recommended

CONTENT Title & Meta Tags

- Unique, short, descriptive - Unique, short, descriptive - Unique, short, descriptive - Unique, short, descriptive - Main keyword at the beginning; brand at the end - Main keyword at the beginning; brand at the end - Keyword should match exactly Title Tags 4 4 4 - Main keyword at the beginning; brand at the end 44 - No keyword stuffing - No keyword stuffing - Main keyword at the beginning; brand at the end

- unique, short, descriptive, full sentenced - unique, short, descriptive, full sentenced - unique, short, descriptive, full sentenced - unique, short, descriptive, full sentenced Meta Description 3 - Include main keyword and semantic environment 3 - Include main keyword and semantic environment 2 - Include main keyword and semantic environment 33 - Include main keyword and semantic environment - Call-to-Action - Call-to-Action - Call-to-Action - Less than 80 simplified Chinese Characters

- Relevant keywords - Not relevant at all - Not relevant at all - Not relevant at all - No keyword stuffing Meta Keyword Tags 1 - Usage not recommended 1 - Usage not recommended 1 - Usage not recommended 21 - Add 3-5 keywords per page Body Content

- Unique; no (near) Duplicate Content - Unique; no (near) Duplicate Content - Unique; no (near) Duplicate Content - Unique, relevant; no (near) Duplicate Content Unique Content 4 - Topic relevant 4 - Topic relevant 4 - Topic relevant 44 - Local language - Local language - Local language - Local language - Avoid large amount of ad pop-ups

- Enough to be relevant - Enough to be relevant - Enough to be relevant - Enough to be relevant - No glibberish content to increase word count Word Count 2 - No glibberish content to increase word count 2 - No gibberish content to increase word count 3 - No glibberish content to increase word count 22 - Include keywords naturally in each paragraph

- User focus - User focus - User focus - Define and include relevant terms in content - Define and include relevant terms in content - Define and include relevant terms in content Relevant Terms 4 4 - Define and include relevant terms in content 3 - Include semantic environment 22 - Include semantic environment - Include semantic environment

- No intentional increase of keyword density - Keyword density - No intentional increase of keyword density - No intentional increase of keyword density Keyword Density 1 - Natural usage of keywords 2 - Natural usage of keywords 2 - Natural usage of keywords 22 - Natural usage of keywords

- Use HTML elements for structuring and emphasizing - Use HTML elements for structuring and emphasizing - Use HTML elements for structuring and emphasizing - Use HTML elements for structuring and emphasizing Text Structure and Formatting 2 - Provide device-optimized structure 2 - Provide device-optimized structure 2 - No over-usage 22 - Provide device-optimized structure - User focus - User focus - User focus - User focus

- Only for structuring and subdividing of main content - Only for structuring and subdividing of main content - Only for structuring and subdividing of main content - Only for structuring and subdividing of main content H-Tags 3 - Follow h-tag hierarchy 2 - Follow h-tag hierarchy 3 - Follow h-tag hierarchy 33 - Follow h-tag hierarchy - One h1 per page including main keyword - One h1 per page including main keyword - One h1 per page including main keyword - One h1 per page including main keyword

- Place important content at the beginning - Place important content at the beginning - Place important content at the beginning of the source code - Place important content at the beginning Content Positioning in Source Code 1 - Load content synchron; avoid AJAX requests and other 1 - Load content synchron; avoid AJAX requests and other 2 - Load content synchron; avoid AJAX requests and other 11 - Load content synchron; avoid AJAX requests and other DOM-changing events DOM-changing events DOM-changing events DOM-changing events

- Use content-related images - Use content-related images - Use content-related images - Use content-related images Images Integration 3 - Include the main keyword within file name 3 - Include the main keyword within file name 2 - Include the main keyword within file name 33 - Include the main keyword within file name - Meaningful and descriptive alt attribute - Meaningful and descriptive alt attribute - Meaningful and descriptive alt attribute - Meaningful and descriptive alt attribute

- Avoid JavaScript and/or Flash for video embedding or at least - Avoid JavaScript and/or Flash for video embedding or at least - Avoid JavaScript and/or Flash for video embedding or at least - XML Feeds or OpenGraph/ Schema.org/ RSS for additional offer a fallback offer a fallback offer a fallback video info transferring Videos Integration 2 - Prefer HTML5 embedding techniques in order to support 2 - Prefer HTML5 embedding techniques in order to support 1 22 - Prefer HTML5 embedding techniques in order to support - Use structured data for description multiple devices multiple devices multiple devices Internal Linking

- Regulate your flow of link juice intentionally - Regulate your flow of link juice intentionally - Regulate your flow of link juice intentionally - Remove unnecessary/ irrelevant pages from internal linking Maximum Number of Links per Page 2 - Remove irrelevant pages from internal linking 1 - Remove unnecessary/ irrelevant pages from internal linking 2 33 - Remove irrelevant pages from internal linking

- Relevant pages need to have the highest amount of internal links - Relevant pages need to have the highest amount of internal links - Use internal linking as a ranking factor - Relevant pages need to have the highest amount of internal links Total Amount of Internal Links per Page 4 - Use internal linking as a hint for crawlers about the hierarchy 3 - Use internal linking as a hint for crawlers about the hierarchy 4 - Relevant anchor texts recommended 44 - Use internal linking as a hint for crawlers about the hierarchy

- Include main keyword of the linked page - Include main keyword of the linked page - Include main keyword of the linked page - Include main keyword of the linked page Anchor texts 3 - Anchor is a hint about the content of the linked page 4 - Anchor is a hint about the content of the linked page 3 - Anchor is a hint about the content of the linked page 33 - Anchor is a hint about the content of the linked page

- Controlling of internal link power inheritance and the crawling - Controlling of internal link power inheritance and the crawling - Controlling of internal link power inheritance and the crawling Nofollow 1 behavior 2 behavior 1 - Nofollow support declared, but does not work correctly 11 behavior - Exclude irrelevant pages and focus link on important pages - Exclude irrelevant pages and focus link on important pages - Exclude irrelevant pages and focus link on important pages Structured Data

- Use structured data to help crawlers understanding your content - Use structured data to help crawlers understanding your content - Use structured data to help crawlers understanding your content - Use structured data to help crawlers understanding your content - Support Baidu structured data,but submit of application to Structured Data 3 - Use schema.org markup to generate rich snippets 2 - Use schema.org markup to generate rich snippets 2 - Use schema.org markup to generate rich snippets 22 Baidu needed

OFFSITE Backlinks

- Usage of keywords - Usage of keywords - Usage of keywords Keyword Anchor Texts 2 - Vary in anchor text design; use brand combinations and plain 3 - Usage of keywords 3 - Vary in anchor text design; use brand combinations and plain 33 - Vary in anchor text design; use brand combinations and plain URL as anchors URL as anchors URL as anchors

- Quality over quantity - Quality over quantity - Quality over quantity - Quality over quantity Amount 2 - Variation of IP classes and domains 3 - Variation of IP classes and domains 3 33 - Variation of IP classes and domains

Geographical Origin 3 - Domestic backlinks to strengthen geo-targeting signals 3 - Domestic backlinks to strengthen geo-targeting signals 3 - Domestic backlinks to strengthen geo-targeting signals 33 - Domestic backlinks to strengthen geo-targeting signals

- The linking page should provide relevance for the topic of the - The linking page should provide relevance for the topic of the - The linking page should provide relevance for the topic of the - The linking page should provide relevance for the topic of the Topic Relevance 4 linked one. 3 linked one. 3 linked one. 44 linked one.

Nofollow Links 2 - Preserve a natural ratio between follow and no-follow links 1 - Not relevant 1 - Not relevant 22 - Preserve a natural ratio between follow and no-follow links

- Avoid backlinks from bad neighborhood - Avoid backlinks from bad neighborhood - Avoid backlinks from bad neighborhood - Avoid backlinks from so called bad neighborhood, e.g. gambling - Highly trusted linking pages pass more positive signals to - Highly trusted linking pages pass more positive signals to - Highly trusted linking pages pass more positive signals to and porn sites linked pages Quality of Referring Page 4 linked pages 3 linked pages 4 - The highly trusted a linking page is the more positive signal it 44 - Links from large websites, government websites, school websites - Disavow links which could be harmful, e.g. from directories - Disavow links which could be harmful, e.g. from directories passes to the linked page and old domain sites are recommended

- Avoid direct link exchange at all - Avoid direct link exchange at all - Avoid direct link exchange at all - Avoid direct link exchange at all Link Exchange 1 - Mark sponsored backlinks and use nofollow attribute 3 - Mark sponsored backlinks and use nofollow attribute 1 - Mark sponsored backlinks and use nofollow attribute 22 - Mark sponsored backlinks and use nofollow attribute Social

- Positive effect on reach and targeting - Positive effect on reach and targeting Social Signals 3 - Not a direct ranking factor 34 - Not a direct ranking factor 2 - Positive effect on reach and targeting 11 - Not relevant - Correlation, but not causation - Correlation, but not causation

USER BEHAVIOR - Optimize the click-through rate by adjusting the meta data - Optimize the click-through rate by adjusting the meta data - Optimize the click-through rate by adjusting the meta data - Optimize the click-through rate by adjusting the meta data - The higher the CTR for a specific keyword is the more rankings - Rankings benefit from higher CTRs - Rankings benefit from higher CTRs - Rankings benefit from higher CTRs CTR 4 3 3 will profit 44 - A high CTR for brand names is a strong indicator for a brand - A high CTR for brand names is a strong indicator for a brand - A high CTR for brand names is a strong indicator for a brand - A high CTR for brand names is a strong indicator for a brand

- Focus on usability - Focus on usability - Focus on usability - Focus on usability Time on Site 2 - Add value to the content 2 - Add value to the content 2 - Add value to the content 22 - Add value to the content

- Monitor the bounce rate - Monitor the bounce rate - Monitor the bounce rate - Monitor the bounce rate Bounce Rate 3 - Increase relevancy 2 - Increase relevancy 2 - Increase relevancy 33 - Increase relevancy - Add value to the content - Add value to the content - Add value to the content - Add value to the content

Additional Certifications 1 - Not available 1 - Not available 1 - Not available 22 - Baidu plus V certification: Make websites more trustworthy

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