HubSpot SEO Certification Practice Test

How does Google measure the popularity of your content?

1. Through page views

2. Through direct traffic

3. Through backlinks

4. Through social media shares

The correct answer is: Through backlinks

Google measures the popularity of content primarily through backlinks. Backlinks are external links from other websites to your content, and they serve as a vote of confidence or endorsement from those sites. When many reputable sites link to your content, it signals to Google that your content is valuable and relevant, which can improve its ranking in search results. This is important for SEO because a higher ranking leads to increased visibility and potentially more traffic. While page views, direct traffic, and social media shares are indicators of interest or engagement, they do not directly influence Google's assessment of popularity in the same way backlinks do. Backlinks are a significant factor in Google’s algorithm for determining the authority and trustworthiness of a website, which in turn affects how well the content performs in search rankings.